The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson (Volume 4)
Robert A. Caro
Hailed as 'the greatest biography of our era' (The Times) this is the fourth part of Robert Caro's multi-award-winning best-selling work on American President Lyndon Johnson.
The Passage of Power, 'the series' crowning volume' (Economist), spans the years 1958 to 1964, arguably the most crucial years in the life of Johnson and pivotal years for American history. This era saw some of the most frustrating moments of Johnson's career, but also some of his most triumphant. His battle with the Kennedy brothers over the 1960 Democratic nomination for president was a bitter one, and the ensuing years of Johnson's vice-presidency were marked with humiliation. But, thrust into power following the assassination of J. F. Kennedy, Johnson grasped the presidential role with unprecedented skill. Caro also provides a fresh perspective on Kennedy’s assassination from Johnson's viewpoint, and penetrates deep into what it was like for him to assume a position of such power at a time of national crisis.
The Passage of Power documents Johnson's extraordinary early presidency, forcing previously abandoned bills on the budget and civil rights through an uncooperative Congress and striving to achieve what he saw to be the highest standard of office.
In The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Caro shows a delicacy of touch and a profoundness of insight into the state of a nation under the hand of a political master. Collectively these volumes constitute a major history of America in the first three-quarters of the twentieth century.
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About Robert A. Caro
Reviews for The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson (Volume 4)
Daniel Finklestein
The Times
This extraordinary work will remain essential reading for decades to come
Richard Lambert
Financial Times
A true story of huge personalities, bloody assassinations, loves, hatreds and betrayals (and the Kennedy family) that renders it by turns gripping, sensational and immensely depressing… A white-knuckle rollercoaster ride… Magisterial
Andrew Roberts
Telegraph
A work of pure genius
Steve Akehurst
Huffington Post UK
A work of greatness, of such acute observation of politics that its insights are applicable far beyond [its] time and place
Independent
Caro’s strength as a biographer is his ability to probe Johnson’s mind and motivations… Riveting… A rollercoaster tale
The Economist
Brilliant... Important... Remarkable... With this fascinating and meticulous account of Lyndon Johnson, Robert Caro has once again done America a great service
Bill Clinton
New York Times Book Review
As riveting as a thriller… The next book will crown an achievement in presidential biography unmatched among presidential histories
David Hendricks
Houston Chronicle
Caro sets the gold standard for modern political biography ... we can only hope we are fortunate enough to see this monumental work reach its long-awaited conclusion
Tim Soutphommasane
New Statesman
One of the most ambitious single-handed literary enterprises in our time
James M. Murphy
TLS