I recently completed "The Path to Power," the first volume of Robert A. Caro's multi-volume biography about Lyndon Baines Johnson, the thirty-sixth President of the United States. Here is a magnificently written, highly detailed, and ultimately scathing portrait of the early life of the man who brought us the "Great Society," the "War on Poverty," and the Civil Rights Act of 1964... as well as the "Credibility Gap" and the War in Vietnam.
Robert A. Caro's majestic Johnsonian triptych "The Years of Lyndon Johnson." is currently made up of "The Path to Power," which covers LBJ's life from his birth in 1908 until his first run for the U.S. Senate in 1941; "Means of Ascent," a chronicle of Johnson's years from 1941 to his second (and ultimately successful) Senate run in 1948; and "Master of the Senate," the critically acclaimed narrative of LBJ's 12-year career in the Senate (1948-1960). These three volumes are among the most critically acclaimed and highly honored biographies of all time. They've won three National Book Awards (one for each volume); a Francis Parkman Prize for best work of history (Volume 3); and a Pulitzer Prize for biography (also Volume 3.)
As I've already stated, "The Path to Power" covers Johnson's early life, from his birth in 1908 to an impoverished Texas Hill Country politician and his dreamy wife; through his upbringing, college education, early political career, and early years in the U.S. House of Representatives as a "complete Roosevelt man;" to his unsuccessful first run for the U.S. Senate in 1941.
Of the many premises in the first volume of Caro's triptych, two stand out as paramount: First, according to Caro, is that LBJ secretly harbors a burning ambition to become President of the United States, a craving for political power that apparently manifests itself in his teens, and from which he never wavers until he attains that high office. Caro's second premise is that LBJ is the antithesis of his highly principled, idealistic father, Sam Ealy Johnson. The elder Johnson is a superb politician, but also incapable of bringing prosperity to his family. As young Lyndon watches his father fail at nearly everything he does, he concludes that his father's high principles, tenacious dedication to the truth, and Populist idealism, lead to nothing but failure. Better to lie, say anything at all, in fact, to get what you want, if that's what it takes to be successful.
As a young adult, LBJ is thoroughly inculcated with those personality traits he thinks essential for success: a loud, vulgar, and abrasive manner; a calculating deceitfulness so pronounced he is derisively called "Bull" Johnson to his face by his peers; and a well developed ability to sycophantically curry favor from anyone he deems useful.
After college, it isn't long before opportunity knocks on LBJ's door, in the form of a job as secretary to the newly elected Representative from Johnson's Congressional district. He turns the novice congressman's office into a model of efficiency, all the while displaying a mammoth capacity for hard work. After a few years as the congressman's secretary, LBJ is appointed head of the National Youth Administration (NYA), one of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's (FDR) New Deal bureaucracies. Johnson is the youngest of 48 state directors, and by all accounts, the most successful. His zeal, hard work, and efficiency deeply impress FDR. He soon becomes a favorite at the White House.
In 1937, Congressman James Buchanan of Texas' Tenth District, dies. He is a very senior and influential congressman who has the backing of several Texas contractors, including Herman and George Brown. At his death, Buchanan leaves a host of political and patronage "loose ends," including contracts for a new dam that's coveted by the Brown brothers. The Browns are convinced that LBJ is the man who can get the Federal government to award them the dam contracts. They convince him to run for Buchanan;s vacated seat, and they provide most of his financial backing. After a closely contested special election, in which LBJ once again demonstrates his now legendary capacity for hard work, he is improbably elected to the House over nine other candidates. He will remain a Congressman for eleven years.
In 1934, Johnson meets Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Taylor, and, after a whirlwind courtship, marries her. From the very beginning, LBJ proves himself a despicable, almost abusive spouse. He peremptorily orders Lady Bird around in public. He cheats on her with a succession of women. He ignores her at parties. Yet, this painfully shy, plain, woman remains staunchly loving and loyal to her man.
Caro's portrait of LBJ the Congressman is decidedly negative. LBJ does much work on his constituents' behalf at first - bringing major construction projects to his district (almost all of them going to the Brown brothers and electric power to the Texas hill country. But he rarely, if ever, writes or sponsors legislation or makes speeches in the House. Still, he remains very popular among a grateful constituency.
In 1941, after four years in the House of Representatives, LBJ takes another step along the path to ultimate power: he decides to run in the special election to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the recently deceased Morris Sheppard. Johnson is barely known outside his own Congressional district. In the end, it comes down to a three-man race. LBJ loses by just over 1,300 votes in an election that is almost assuredly stolen from him. It's a lesson that LBJ will remember for the future...
Robert Caro, a journalist who is a virtuoso of research, and a master craftsman with the old typewriter he uses when writing, has painted a portrait of young Lyndon Baines Johnson that is rich, textured, filled with intricate detail, and scathing in its judgments. The pace of the tightly woven narrative never once flags. The prose is elegant, slightly ironic in tone, and written with an historian's eye for detail and a journalist's flair for the dramatic. I found the book so entertaining that it was nearly impossible to put down... the kind of book I found myself thinking about when I wasn't reading it, and anxiously awaiting the time when I could get back to it.
Now... on to the next volume of "The Years of Lyndon Johnson."
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Top reviews from other countries
cash
I just finished all four books in the series
Reviewed in Canada on November 19, 2018
William Jordan
a great biography of Lyndon Johnson's first 31 years
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 16, 2013