Flawed Giant: Lyndon B. Johnson and His Times, 1961-1973
In the opening pages ofFlawed Giant, readers meet a  downtrodden politician whose greatest ambition--the presidency--is  tantalizingly close but seemingly out of reach. JFK's elder by almost  20 years, Johnson was a reluctant and unenthusiastic vice president.  When he finally realized the office, his satisfaction there was marred  by his difficulty in reconciling his deeply held beliefs and political  expediency. In this sequel to the critically acclaimedLone Star Rising,  biographer Robert Dallek concentrates on Johnson's White House years.  In addition to expertly covering the major events of Johnson's  presidency, Dallek probes lower-profile episodes that help expose  Johnson's character. His agonizing search for a vice president in 1964  is one such example--in order to salve his ego, Johnson was adamant  that he should win reelection without a Kennedy on the ticket and  resisted both the Democratic party and Robert Kennedy right up until the convention.Dallek is skilled at laying bare the man's complicated and even  contradictory nature. At diplomacy, Johnson often seemed like a loud,  brash American, yet successful trips to Southeast Asia and Africa as  vice president prove his occasional adroitness in this area. One of  Johnson's Achilles' heels, it seems, was paranoia; a firm believer in  the fact that knowledge is power, Johnson rarely communicated his true  intentions or feelings, even to his closest confidants or cabinet  members, until the last. And he secretly tape-recorded thousands of  conversations with people at all levels of government. Dallek avers  that Johnson's impenetrability is the reason why much of his action on  Vietnam defies explanation. And the dark cloud of the war now largely  obfuscates Johnson's impressive congressional record. Careful to  neither vilify nor deify his subject, Dallek devotes large sections of  the book to both Vietnam and Johnson's major accomplishments in the  area of reform and funding for programs such as civil rights, Medicare,  clean air and water, the NEA, public broadcasting, and food stamps.This engrossing biography is peppered throughout with snippets of its subject's trademark: colorfully idiomatic speech that brings him  vibrantly to life. Based upon exclusive interviews with Lady Bird  Johnson and Bill Moyers, as well as recently released papers and  transcripts, Dallek's biography is a major contribution to the  collective understanding of this man whose passions had a major impact  on American society.