Around the World with LBJ: My Wild Ride as Air Force One Pilot, White House Aide, and Personal Confidant [Hardcover]

James U., Cross (Author), Denise Gamino (Contributor), Gary Rice (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2008

When Lyndon Baines Johnson wanted to go somewhere, there was no stopping him. This dynamic president called for Air Force One as others summon a taxi--at a moment's notice, whatever the hour or the weather. And the man who made sure that LBJ got his ride was General James U. Cross, the president's hand-picked pilot, top military assistant, and personal confidante. One of the few Air Force One pilots to have a position, simultaneously, in the White House, General Cross is also the only member of LBJ's inner circle who has not publicly offered his recollections of the president. In this book, he goes on the record, creating a fascinating, behind-the-scenes portrait of America's complex, often contradictory, always larger-than-life thirty-sixth president. General Cross tells an engrossing story. In addition to piloting Air Force One around the globe, he served President Johnson in multiple capacities, including directing the Military Office in the White House; managing a secret two-million-dollar presidential emergency fund; supervising the presidential retreat at Camp David, the president's entire transportation fleet, and the presidential bomb shelters; running the White House Mess; hiring White House social aides, including the president's future son-in-law, Charles Robb; and writing condolence letters to the families of soldiers killed in Vietnam. This wide-ranging, around-the-clock access to President Johnson allowed Cross to witness events and share moments that add color and depth to our understanding of America's arguably most demanding and unpredictable president.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"What a delightful, honest, and entertaining story Jim Cross tells. Here is a man who was so close to power he would come down with a cold if the President sneezed (and could have brought a lot of us literally down with him), but he never forgot his roots in rural Alabama. A man whose daddy worked for the Horseshoe Lumber Company grows up to serve the most powerful man in the world, and his account of that amazing journey--some of it scarily bumpy, as I can testify--is a bird's-eye view, from the cockpit of Air Force One, of why character counts." Bill Moyers

Review

What a delightful, honest, and entertaining story Jim Cross tells. Here is a man who was so close to power he would come down with a cold if the President sneezed (and could have brought a lot of us literally down with him), but he never forgot his roots in rural Alabama. A man whose daddy worked for the Horseshoe Lumber Company grows up to serve the most powerful man in the world, and his account of that amazing journey--some of it scarily bumpy, as I can testify--is a bird's-eye view, from the cockpit of Air Force One, of why character counts. (Bill Moyers )

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 218 pages
• Publisher: University of Texas Press; First Edition edition (May 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0292717687
• ISBN-13: 978-0292717688
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #749,447 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #56 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( J ) > Johnson, Lyndon

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars LBJ's Personal Side From His Pilot, May 18, 2008

By 

Dick Stanford (Crisscrossing our great country) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Around the World with LBJ: My Wild Ride as Air Force One Pilot, White House Aide, and Personal Confidant (Hardcover)

There are those who disliked LBJ. They probably would have felt differently if they had known the personal man. This book gives highly personal insights into a man often called "bigger than life." And, reading this well written and well-researched book (the author lived it), many would change those negative views.

The writing is interesting, well done, and highly engaging. The author, retired Air Force General, Air Force One Plane Commander, and Presidential Military Aide James Cross said he wanted to show the unknown and deep humanity of President Johnson. He succeeds without pandering, but rather just by stating plain-spoken truths from an impressive man himself, General Cross.

General Cross started as an Alabama country boy and became a close confidante of the President of the United States. He was not political; he was a highly respected and respectable officer in the U. S. Air Force who did his job and did it well. General Cross is the unsung hero here. The incidental glimpses we get of him in this book - definitely not given to build himself up - show a very decent man serving his president and his country well and with good, old-fashioned patriotism and honor.

I would personally estimate that almost anyone who reads this book will enjoy it, be impressed by it, and come away from it with a much more positive image of President Johnson...plus meeting a genuinely nice guy who our country is fortunate to have had that close to the top: General James U. Cross
Review by:
Dick Stanford
The Azusa Gazette
Book Reviews
May 2008

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, August 22, 2008

By 

Stephen W. Sims "Casual Reader" (Oklahoma) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Around the World with LBJ: My Wild Ride as Air Force One Pilot, White House Aide, and Personal Confidant (Hardcover)

Very well written and tells a lot about the inner being of LBJ. You won't want to put it down.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FANTASTIC, September 29, 2008

By 

JamesJBoylan (Toms River,NJ) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Around the World with LBJ: My Wild Ride as Air Force One Pilot, White House Aide, and Personal Confidant (Hardcover)

Fantastic insight to behind the scenes situations at the highest level; apart from politics, the book describes how great and caring some people can be, particularly those who are, or may be, bludgeoned, ruthlessly and ignorantly by the media.