Having finished the 50+ hour audiobook of David McCollough's Truman, I'm now about ten hours into Robert Caro's equally long book about Lyndon Johnson's years in the Senate. McCoullough's book was fantastic, but this one blows it away. What an amazing writer Caro is. He writes with such even-handed authority, spiced here and there with appropriate splashes of admiration and righteous indignation.
I have to say, though, I'm not yet sure what to make of Johnson, and what he means in the larger scheme of things. I mean, the guy was an asshole without equal. He was cruel to his wife, mean to his subordinates and hideously solicitous to his superiors. He would actually force his staffers to stand right beside him and dictate memos while he took a shit. And so, so mean to his wife. Just awful.
And he was, for much of his career, a typical racist Southern Democrat. He joined without hesitation in fillibusters against anti-lynching legislation. Used the N-word freely. Was the prodigee of Richard Russell, the smooth-tongued white supremacist after whom the Senate building is named (more on this later).
Yet, it's he who pushed Civil Rights legislation through.
What to make of this?
A Chicago Tribune Best Book of the Year
A Publisher's Weekly Best Book of the Year
One of Kansas City Star's 100 Noteworthy Books of the Year
Winner of the William Rockhill Nelson Award for Nonfiction
Winner of the Harry Chapin Media Award
. . .
Forget the nerdy reputation that debate has. Instead think of a scenario as exciting as a sports game with high stakes like triumphing over racism. bad politics and abject poverty... An important, thoughtful and provocative look at race and class in America.
- The Boston Globe
Joe Miller's enthusiasm is infectious and the plot creates the suspense of a good courtroom thriller.
- Entertainment Weekly
The minute I finished Joe Miller's Cross-X, I held the book out in front of me -- amazed, rapturous, and hopeful... Miller's mesmerizing, vivid accounts of the debates will leave you crouched in your seat, holding your breath... An incredibly powerful, daringly hopeful book.
- Minneapolis Star-Tribune
Irresistible... Miller begins breezily but is soon deeply invested in the Central squad's mission to not only master the debate game on its own terms but revolutionize it with flashes of poetry and hip-hop wordplay... If all these kids could run things, Miller implies, imagine what could get done.
- Elle
3 comments:
I recently read a book about power and politics by Jeffrey Pfeffer. His descriptions of LBJ's development and use of political capital and power were interesting. The contention was that Kennedy didn't have the same ability to force the legislation through.
So how many hours is the Caro book?
I'm wanting to read Caro's bio of Robert Moses one of these years.
I think the book is about 47 hours long. Ditto on the Robert Moses book
Caro's "The Power Broker" is an essential read for anyone interested in urban governance and development over the last 75 years. Read it, hand in hand with Jane Jacobs, and you have the equivalent of a masters in urban planning, and a great read to boot.
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