1960--LBJ vs. JFK vs. Nixon: The Epic Campaign That Forged Three Presidencies
The 1960 presidential campaign season was dominated by the personalities of three men, each of whom became president. Award-winning author Pietrusza chronicles their roles and character in a stirring, hard-edged political saga. This is no insider account; Pietrusza is not beholden to any of the three candidates, and they are not portrayed sympathetically. Johnson, the product of a hardscrabble existence, is viewed as domineering, obnoxious, and ruthless; yet he was the only true FDR-style liberal of the three, and his concern for the disadvantaged was genuine. Kennedy, in contrast, was laid-back, viewed as lazy or uninteresting by his senatorial colleagues, and seemed to lack any distinct political principles. Nixon was brilliant, suspicious, and prone to self-pity, but he probably had the best mastery of the issues. This is a wide-ranging panorama that includes a vast cast of characters, many of whom seem more appealing than the main protagonists. Included are such notables as the eloquent but arrogant Eugene McCarthy, a passionate and compassionate but seemingly overwhelmed Hubert Humphrey, and a sharply skeptical Martin Luther King Jr. An outstanding reexamination. --Jay Freeman