In His Steps: Lyndon Johnson and the Kennedy Mystique [Hardcover]

Paul R. Henggeler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1991 | ISBN-10: 0929587502 | ISBN-13: 978-0929587509

When Lyndon Johnson succeeded to the presidency amidst national tragedy, he took on not only the burdens of the office but the weight of the Kennedy myth—a blend of style, youth, romance, and political charm. Yet Johnson was John Kennedy's very opposite in upbringing, manner, and temperament. Big, boisterous, intimidating, and expressive, he grew up in a land of dirt roads, bare feet, outhouses, and oil lamps while Kennedy was being raised in a sophisticated urban setting of wealth and status. In the White House, Johnson was to be haunted by the myth of Camelot. In this intimate personal and political history based on exhaustive new research, Paul Henggeler chronicles Johnson's frustrating struggle with John and Robert Kennedy. LBJ saw in them both opportunities and threats. Towards John he felt affection and respect, and often drew upon the Kennedy legacy in his conduct of the presidency. But he feared Robert as the living embodiment of that legacy and as a man determined to dethrone him. Drawing upon thousands of fresh documents as well as published sources, Mr. Henggeler has constructed a fascinating and revealing account of personalities and politics which produced dramatic upheaval at the highest levels of government.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Written by an assistant professor of history at Bowling Green State University in Kentucky, this is an exceptionally revealing portrait of Lyndon Johnson in the context of his relationships with John and Robert Kennedy. Henggeler describes how Johnson, in his role as Senate majority leader, worked comfortably with the junior senator from Massachusetts, then served loyally as JFK's vice-president even though he was shunned politically and socially--and openly despised by attorney general Robert Kennedy. After JFK's death in 1963, Johnson was haunted by widespread charges that he was a usurper and somehow responsible for the assassination, and was at the same time threatened by the growing power and popularity of Robert Kennedy, the "heir apparent." According to Henggeler, Johnson "felt curiously cheated" by RFK's assassination in 1968 and once again had to deal with rumors that he was implicated. In sharp contrast to Robert Caro's reductive portrait of Johnson as power-mad ogre, Henggeler sympathetically explores the causes of Johnson's insecurities and search for a self-image as he tried unsuccessfully to distance himself from the Kennedy mystique.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

An exceptionally revealing portrait. (Publishers Weekly )

Impressively thorough...a sadly useful reminder of the Democratic Party's own War of the Roses in the 1960s. (Hodding Carter III Washington Times )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Ivan R. Dee (February 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0929587502
• ISBN-13: 978-0929587509
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,151,380 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Henggeler Student Review, March 16, 2000

By 

Jay Adams (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In His Steps: Lyndon Johnson and the Kennedy Mystique (Hardcover)

Absolutely the most brillant piece of histo-drama ever written on the political affairs of men and their madness.

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Henggeler Student Review, March 16, 2000

By 

Jay Adams (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In His Steps: Lyndon Johnson and the Kennedy Mystique (Hardcover)

Absolutely the most brillant piece of histo-drama ever written on the political affairs of men and their madness.