LBJ: A Life

by Irwin Unger and Debi Unger

Book Overview

From a Pulitzer prize-winning writer, the only single-volume biography of the towering yet enigmatic leader--from his humble origins to his rise to America's highest office. Flawed as a human being, Lyndon Johnson was a towering public figure of his era, a man whose social programs changed America in profound ways. In this compelling new biography, Irwin and Debi Unger explore the political and personal influences that made Johnson such an unpredictable,...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471176028
• ISBN13: 9780471176022
• Release Date: September 1999
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 592 Pages
• Weight: 2.36 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.7" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Who was LBJ? This book helps shed light on a complex man

This biography of Lyndon Johnson is certainly worth reading if his life interests you, although it is largely a sympathetic and somewhat incomplete work. The authors take pains to document LBJ's life from his hardscrabble roots in Texas to the apex of his Presidency, and finally, his rapid downfall. The bulk of the book focuses on Johnson's legislative accomplishments and burgeoning war in Vietnam after he assumed the Presidency upon Kennedy's death. Here the authors offer little critique of his free-spending ways, although the growing concern over the rapid growth of government spending and the economic fallout from it are explored. Throughout the book Johnson's relationships and hands-on personality are frequently examined, along with his perplexing feelings of inferiority. Perhaps the most telling parts of the biography is when its mentioned that Johnson could little enjoy his brief moment of popularity since he feared it would not last. In the end his management of the Vietnam War and rebellion within the Democratic party is what led to his decision to serve just a single full term. Johnson's love for his wife Lady Bird and children are evident in the book, as well as his concern for the civil rights movement and the less fortunate. However, at the same time Johnson had great disdain for anyone who offered a different viewpoint than himself, especially from the intellectual classes. It's hard to believe he ever agreed to be Kennedy's V.P! Overall I recommend the book because it presents a view of Johnson that, while being sympathetic, does not sugarcoat his shortcomings and his ultimate political fall from grace. I think readers will get a view of Johnson that is overlooked today since he seems to be overshadowed by the Vietnam War itself and his legacy is too complicated for today's 10 second soundbites.

a very complex politician -- a simple man

an excellent biography of the career of LBJ, craftilly weaving between the simple values man and the complex politician. very worthwhile reading

A well written primer

The Ungers have composed a carefully researched, sympathetic and for the most part fascinating primer biography of one of the most demonized President in contemporary history. What that means is while the Ungers do a fine job defending LBJ from his many attackers by illustrating many of his fine political gifts and successes, the entire book appears somewhat abridged.The Ungers frequently hint at Johnson's warts and missteps, but never do they fully explore and expand. This is not to suggest that dirt digging would a better book make, simply that bringing such points up need, I feel fleshing out. Unlike McCullough, Amrose and Ellis, the Ungers aren't quite as successful as building, in a one volume form, the broader historical and cultural spectrum for LBJ. The book certainly needs a touch of "the bigger picture".This criticism aside, LBJ certainly works as a fine introduction to a complex man who was a gifted politician who possessed an uncanny ability to forge bipartisian coalitions to pass a great many pieces of legislation. Were it not for the inherited morass of Vietnam, the Ungers suggest that history could have been much kinder to the man from Texas. The LBJ as portrayed in this book is a driven man plagued by many contradictions, least of all his oscillation between depression and doubt and victory and satisfaction. LBJ as book, despite its overall "Reader's Digest" feel, does introduce Johnson to a new generation. A solid read.

Brilliant and fair analysis of an overlooked political giant

What a treat it was to read a one-volume biography of Johnson which included just enough detail to give you a complete, colorful picture of his entry into politics, his ascendency in Congress, and his almost-brilliant Presidency! Unger focuses on LBJs childhood and relationship with his mother to set the table for the glaringly apparent psychological handicaps (insecurity, need for adulation)that held him back from greatness later in life. Reading about his years as a Congressional aide conjures up images of an innocent, pre World War II Washington DC where a young man could come from the dust bowl of Texas and seize the reigns of power. The story of LBJ's first, breathtaking campaign for Congress is memorable, as is the well-narrated U.S. Senate race a few years later, giving us insight into the complexities of the Texas Democratic Party of the 1940s. The reader rises along with LBJ through the U.S. Senate into his role as Majority Leader, and his fateful decision to seek the 1960 Presidential nomination (while avoiding the primaries) and his decision to run with JFK that year. Unger paints a picture of Johnson as a man with boundless energy and drive, who was instrumental in some of the great New Deal programs, which set the stage for the slew Great Society legislation he got passed in 1964 and 1965. When the book has you at the height of his Presidency, getting everything he wants from Congress, mastering his relations with the House and Senate in a way no President has been able to approach since him, with a booming economy and feeling on the verge of breakthroughs in civil rights, poverty, housing, environment and urban renewal, the ugliness of the war in Vietnam creeps in and you can actually feel the presidency weakening, the country dividing, and LBJ losing his place in history as some one who worked harder for minorities, women and the poor than perhaps every other President combined (if it sounds like idolotry, just read what he did!) The difficulties in Vietnam, and the agonizing decision over whether to run in 1968, while desperately trying to make a breakthrough in the peace process in Vietnam (all the while escalating the war and sending more troops just to preserve the status quo!)and Johnson's unseemly poutiness which perhaps cost Humphrey the 68 election to Nixon, all paint an objective portrait of LBJ as a man who basked in greatness and suffered in defeat, and one who demanded unrealistic loyalty from all those around him but showed little in return at times. He dies just 4 years after leaving the White House and it is sobering to read how he spent those years attempting to repair his image and remain relevant. This book was a great read for anyone interested in learning what is actually a history of our government from World War II into the 1970s. You finish the book feeling that Vietnam truly robbed Johnson of what would otherwise have been a brilliant presidency, and hoping that future historians will see his near-

Definitive One-Volume Biography of LBJ

This is an excellent biography. As an avid presidential history buff, I was fairly familiar with Lyndon Johnson's accomplishments as President. I was surprised to learn, however, Johnson's rise from freshman Congressman from rural Texas to Majority leader in an amazingly short amount of time. He was the towering figure in the Senate in the 1950's and accomlished much, even though the Democrats were in the minority during most of the Eisenhower years. LBJ was able to get votes where others couldn't by the sheer force of his personality. His ability to work with the members on the opposite side of the aisle should be emulated by most of today's politicians, who put partisan politics above what is best for the country.Irwin and Debi Unger do an excellent job of trying to explain what drove LBJ. His rural background gave him an inferiority complex that caused him to work harder and longer than everyone else to get things done. It also made him feel that the public never fully appreciated his service to the country, especially after rising to the Presidency because of the assassination of JFK, a beloved figure.If not for his ill-advised Vietnam polcies, however, I believe Johnson would have been re-elected in 1968 and would have been remembered as one of our great Presidents. Overall, an excellent read for both admirers and critics of LBJ.