Lone Star Rising: Vol. 1: Lyndon Johnson and His Times, 1908-1960
Dallek sums up his subject, the 36th U.S. president, in this generous and touching sentence: "If Lyndon Johnson demanded much and took much, he also gave much in return." In the initial book of this two-volume biography, Dallek ( Franklin D. Roosevelt and American Foreign Policy, 1932-1945 ) reconstructs Johnson's Texas childhood, his 1937 election to the House, his war experiences as a Navy officer, election to the Senate in '49, his years as "the greatest Senate majority leader in history," and finally his selection as John Kennedy's running mate in 1960. LBJ as wheeler-dealer is already a familiar figure, but Dallek, tracing the origin of the War on Poverty and the Great Society to Johnson's experiences and observations as a young man, reveals that much of the wheeling and dealing was an expression of Johnson's genuine interest in helping the disadvantaged. One of our least-admired presidents, Johnson (1908-1973) has been portrayed in recent years by Robert Caro and others as a monster of ambition, greed and cruelty. Dallek's LBJ is a somewhat more complicated, contradictory and sympathetic character, "struggling with inner demons that drove and tormented him." Photos. 50,000 first printing; $60,000 ad/promo.Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.