Flawed giant
Subtitle: Lyndon Johnson and his times, 1961-1973
By: Robert Dallek.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 1998
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 754
Subjects: Johnson, Lyndon B. 1908-1973; Presidents -- United States -- Biography; United States -- Politics and government -- 1961-1963; United States -- Politics and government -- 1963-1969; United States -- Politics and government -- 1969-1974
Description: Dallek takes us through Johnson's tumultuous years in the White House, his unprecedented accomplishments there, and the tragic war that would be his downfall.

Drawing on hundreds of newly released tapes and extensive interviews with those closest to LBJ - including fresh insights from Lady Bird and his press secretary Bill Moyers - Dallek takes us behind the scenes to give us a portrait of Johnson that is at once even-handed and completely engrossing.

We see Johnson as the visionary leader who worked his will on Congress like no president before or since, enacting a range of crucial legislation, from Medicare, Clean Air and Water Acts, the establishment of the National Endowments for the Arts and for the Humanities, and Public Broadcasting to the most significant advances in civil rights for black Americans ever achieved.

And we see for the first time the depth of Johnson's private anguish as he became increasingly ensnared in Vietnam, a war he did not want to expand and which destroyed his hopes for The Great Society and a second term.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [647]-736) and index.