Means of Ascent
The Years of Lyndon Johnson II
Reeks: The Years of Lyndon Johnson
Robert A. Caro
- In
- Means
- of
- Ascent,
- Book
- Two
- of
- The
- Years
- of
- Lyndon
- Johnson,
- Robert
- A.
- Caro
- brings
- alive
- Lyndon
- Johnson
- in
- his
- wilderness
- years.Here,
- Johnson’s
- almost
- mythic
- personality—part
- genius,
- part
- behemoth,
- at
- once
- hotly
- emotional
- and
- icily
- calculating—is
- seen
- at
- its
- most
- nakedly
- ambitious.
- This
- multifaceted
- book
- carries
- the
- President-to-be
- from
- the
- aftermath
- of
- his
- devastating
- defeat
- in
- his
- 1941
- campaign
- for
- the
- Senate-the
- despair
- it
- engendered
- in
- him,
- and
- the
- grueling
- test
- of
- his
- spirit
- that
- followed
- as
- political
- doors
- slammed
- shut-through
- his
- service
- in
- World
- War
- II
- (and
- his
- artful
- embellishment
- of
- his
- record)
- to
- the
- foundation
- of
- his
- fortune
- (and
- the
- actual
- facts
- behind
- the
- myth
- he
- created
- about
- it).The
- culminating
- drama—the
- explosive
- heart
- of
- the
- book—is
- Caro’s
- illumination,
- based
- on
- extraordinarily
- detailed
- investigation,
- of
- one
- of
- the
- great
- political
- mysteries
- of
- the
- century.
- Having
- immersed
- himself
- in
- Johnson’s
- life
- and
- world,
- Caro
- is
- able
- to
- reveal
- the
- true
- story
- of
- the
- fiercely
- contested
- 1948
- senatorial
- election,
- for
- years
- shrouded
- in
- rumor,
- which
- Johnson
- was
- not
- believed
- capable
- of
- winning,
- which
- he
- “had
- to”
- win
- or
- face
- certain
- political
- death,
- and
- which
- he
- did
- win-by
- 87
- votes,
- the
- “87
- votes
- that
- changed
- history.”Telling
- that
- epic
- story
- “in
- riveting
- and
- eye-opening
- detail,”
- Caro
- returns
- to
- the
- American
- consciousness
- a
- magnificent
- lost
- hero.
- He
- focuses
- closely
- not
- only
- on
- Johnson,
- whom
- we
- see
- harnessing
- every
- last
- particle
- of
- his
- strategic
- brilliance
- and
- energy,
- but
- on
- Johnson’s
- “unbeatable”
- opponent,
- the
- beloved
- former
- Texas
- Governor
- Coke
- Stevenson,
- who
- embodied
- in
- his
- own
- life
- the
- myth
- of
- the
- cowboy
- knight
- and
- was
- himself
- a
- legend
- for
- his
- unfaltering
- integrity.
- And
- ultimately,
- as
- the
- political
- duel
- between
- the
- two
- men
- quickens—carrying
- with
- it
- all
- the
- confrontational
- and
- moral
- drama
- of
- the
- perfect
- Western—Caro
- makes
- us
- witness
- to
- a
- momentous
- turning
- point
- in
- American
- politics:
- the
- tragic
- last
- stand
- of
- the
- old
- politics
- versus
- the
- new—the
- politics
- of
- issue
- versus
- the
- politics
- of
- image,
- mass
- manipulation,
- money
- and
- electronic dazzle.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
