The Path to Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson

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."

This is a portrait of the young man as bootlicker and bully. A professional son. A corrupt and dishonest manipulator. An unprincipled opportunist. And an efficient and incredibly hard working champion of some good causes. No congressman ever did more for his district. A man who never read a book in his life if he didn't have to.Robert Caro has attracted a lot of praise and awards for his monumental biography of LBJ, so far in 4 mighty volumes, a fifth yet to come. There is no question that the man and his times are worth a big bio, but at times there is too much detail, and too much space given to material of questionable relevance.This first book covers the man's first 33 years, plus quite a bit about his ancestry. There are many strong passages, like those describing the malaise (climate and soil) of the Texas Hill Country, where LBJ grew up and where his father failed as a speculator and farmer. Also some strong passages about the corrupt political machinery in the state. Or the terribly hard life and work on farms without electricity. Or the impact of the depression on the Texas agriculture. Or the well intentioned but difficult bureaucracy of the New Deal.I have no personal reason to root for young LBJ, but I find the lengths to which Caro goes in painting his subject black a little uncomfortable. An unpleasant child, a whiner, a bully. A difficult and demanding adolescent without redeeming points. A sycophant, a braggart, a notorious liar and a coward as a college student. Manipulation and treachery in his early politics. No real personal interests other than politics and self promotion, no attractive trait to the character. Not even any issues apart from 'power'. A boss from hell when he gets to have people under him. Subservience the key ability for an underling. Corrupt when he had a chance to cash in. What a creep. What a sorry subject for a biographer to spend years on.Couldn't this first volume have been shrunk to normal dimensions of size and negativity? After all, what counts is hardly the flawed young man's character, but his ambivalent later performance as politician and president.Caro was aware of this question. He raises this in self defense: the later man has not changed compared to his college years. His methods stayed the same. However, he got involved with causes and issues, which would have clouded the analysis of his methods. Ok,granted.I was wondering where Caro was going. Is this another New Deal bashing? Quite to the contrary, Caro is a strong supporter of the New Deal, his report seasoned with cautionary and realistic observations. Roosevelt is an ambivalent hero, and LBJ becomes a part of new deal bureaucracy, a guy who gets things done, who moves the machinery. But he doesn't necessarily commit to the cause, he remains aloof in respect to ideological support. He speaks with different people differently, a classic opportunist. 'Lyndon goes which way the wind blows.' His first congressional campaign is to the point. He placed his bets fully on being 'Roosevelt's man', while in reality he was supported and paid by people with special interests in mind, who would consider Roosevelt a bolshevik.What is the point in writing and reading political biographies? It can surely not lie in the details of a politician's private life. The potential interest lies in the issues of the time. A good biography is always partly a general history. This one here is a good biography, as much as I hated it at times.Another conclusion: this political system is deeply flawed. It is built on nepotism and influence peddling. It is deeply corrupt. Money rules. Vote buying and election rigging are regular procedures. This kind of parliament can't possibly work properly. A typical third world country. Has it been improved since the 1930s and 40s?

I started in May and now here it is on November 19th, 2018. This four book series is a masterpiece and a must read for fans of American politics. LBJ was a giant in American history no matter how you feel about him. If I had to rate all four book it would be as follows:1- Master of The Senate - Amazing stories of LBJ controlling the Senate as majority leader2- Means of Ascent - the 1948 Senate race in Texas was fascinating and historical in hindsight3-Path to Power - a great look at the young LBJ and is time as a Congressman4- Passge to Power - cover LBJ as Vice President and his early days as PresidentI can't wait for the final installment.

After reading this first volume of four I was in awe and disgust of LBJ, bright and dark that is what LBJ was. But what a book, what a man and what a story and how fascinating written... 700 pages of reading pleasure. If you want to know the life and times of the 20th century people living in rural Texas and America and LBJ especially, buy this first volume and work your way up to the second, the third and fourth... a hell of a read...

Riveting, revealing and encapsulating. This 780 page book that follows LBJs life up to the age of 32 is probably one of the best books I've ever read....and dare I say ever written.Painstakingly researched over 7 years, 3 of which Robert Caro (with his wife Ina) actually moved to the Hill Country where LBJ was born to ingratiate himself amongst its inhabitants.We're taken on a whirlwind tour starting from LBJs ancestors, a fascinating explanation on how LBJ grew up in poverty using the grass in the Hill Country as a touchstone, what caused him to have this extreme ambition and his ruthless tactics at achieving his goals...and above all his political genius. We go from a life of poverty to the San Marcos Southwest Texas Teachers University, a brief stint at a Mexican Teaching school in Cottula, on to becoming probably the most effective Congressional Secretary in political history to becoming a Congressman of the 10th District through sheer grit and perseverance. His scheming opportunism gives way and oscillates back and forth from his sincere and innate liberal idealismI beseech you to give this a try, you won't be sorry. If anything for the chapter called Sad Irons alone...

Lyndon B Johnson's Presidency is often overlooked,since he has the distinction of being the President that followed Kennedy's Camelot and preceded Nixon's Watergate. But none the less,his rise to power is no less fascinating the two Presidents who came before and after LBJ.Robert Caro sets the stage,to tell the story of a politician whose ruthlessly brutal and pragmatic ambition,took him to great heights at early age,but earned him the scorn,hatred and distrust from his peers. The first part of this epic biography starts out in the barren,poverty stricken Hill Country,in Texas. The author paints a vivid picture of the hard life the Johnson family had,living in a part of the United States which was 20 years behind the rest of the country. Raised on a bleak,isolated Texas Farm, Lyndon B John,wanted nothing more then to break of this poverty and make something of himself. His father's former position as a Texas State Legislator,inspired his entrance into politics, but ultimately his father's failures drove him relentlessly,towards success,to avoid the poor,back breaking life,he experienced at an early age.To reach the great heights he desired to reach,LBJ lied,cheated and back-stabbed anyone who was in his way achieving his goals.Which is a tactic that is effective,it earns you little friends in the process. In college he was a hated and unpopular student. But through the use and misuse of the colleges political system,LBJ was able to gain great power within thecollege,the respect of his peers and the affection of the faculty.After University,LBJ talents were no overlooked and his first experiences in politics, was as a secretary of a Texas congressman who had no interest,what so ever in politics. LBJ took advantage of his position and his bosses absence and became de facto congressman,using his position to learn how to play politics within Washington DC. By the time he was finished,the amount of influence and connections he made,laid the groundwork for a political network,that would prepare him for his first run for public office.The latter half of the books goes into detail, about Lyndon B Johnson's tireless campaign for Congress,which earned him an unlikely victory as well as the start of a friendship with President Roosevelt and concludes with his first taste of political defeat.Robert Caro's first volume on the life of rise of LBJ, is told with rich detail and intimate detail. Just like his contemporaries, I find myself hating Lyndon B Johnson for the tactics he uses to acquire influence and power, but there are moments I cant help respect the tenacity and endless energy he possessed,which pulled him out of a hard,back breaking life,like his father before him. By far one of the best political biographies I have ever read and could not recommend it more.

Investigates the genesis of Johnson's unquenchable thirst for power, from his ancestors and his childhood in the miserable Hill Country of Texas, to his election as congressman at a very early age.Caro does a wonderful job -- this is a book you won't be able to put down. Truly one of the best biographies ever written.