Lyndon Baines Johnson (American Presidents Reference Series) Review

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Lyndon Baines Johnson (American Presidents Reference Series) ReviewThis represents an interesting twist to the brief presidential biography. It includes key documents at the end of each chapter, so that the reader can use some primary sources to flesh out their understanding of the subject of each volume in the "President's Reference Series."
The subject here is Lyndon Baines Johnson, who succeeded to the office after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The author, Thomas Langston, tells us something of Johnson's perspective (Page vii): "Lyndon Johnson's dream was to be a somebody. From childhood, he displayed a keen sense of power and an urgent need to dominate people. . . His vision was to improve life for ordinary people throughout the country. . . ."
The book begins with a sketch of his life in brief--from the Hill Country of Texas to Washington, D. C., to Texas again after his presidency. Documents at the end of this chapter include a map of the Hill Country, election results in his Congressional district (four of his elections were unopposed, with LBJ receiving 100% of the votes), and examples of Johnson's humor. There follows a chapter on campaigns and elections, which is pretty straightforward in its look at election irregularities in key campaigns. We learn about his "no holds barred" energetic campaign style. Documents at the close of this chapter include public opinion and election results. The Daisy TV Commercial (aired only once against Barry Goldwater in the 1964 election) is also depicted. Policies of the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations are outlined in Chapter 3, with special emphasis on key initiatives enacted under Johnson (e.g., Tax cut, Elementary and Secondary Education Act, The War on Poverty, the Great Society, and foreign policy decisions. Chapter 4 examines crises facing him--acceding to the Presidency after Kennedy's death and the Vietnam War. As usual, a series of documents appears at the end of this chapter.
Chapter 5 looks at his relations with other government institutions, such as the courts, Congress, the public, media, intellectuals, the military, and so on. Finally, his career in retirement is described.
The narrative is relatively brief, given the inclusion of so many documents. But the combination of documents and text provides an interesting perspective on understanding Lyndon Johnson as person and as public figure. And the book does not shy away from some of Johnson's "edgier" aspects (election shenanigans, duplicity on ownership of his media "empire").
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