Customer Reviews

Means of Ascent (The Years of Lyndon Johnson)

5 star:		(69)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I loved "The Path to Power" but I held off on reading this volume because I could not understand why Caro would devote an entire volume to seven years in LBJ's life. After I read this book, I have no doubt that this decision was a good one. These years--particularly the 1948 Democratic Senatorial Primary--were some of the most historically significant events on the last hundred years. It was this election that perhaps more than any other lay the foundation for politics as we know it. Without the eventual win in this election, Caro argues that LBJ's political career would have been finished. If that were true, he never would have gone on to be president. And if that did not happen, one most ask would Vietnam or "The Great Society" ever have happened quite the way they did. Caro is very convincing in arguing that this dramatic election is one of the most important in U.S. History.

Aside from the significance of the year, I would like to emphasize what a truly exciting read this volume is. I was utterly enthralled to read about what unfolded next in the battle for the democratic candidacy for Texas' senatorial seat. This in spite of the fact that everyone reading the book already knows the outcome. Many have said that this is a hatchet job on LBJ. While this is not a positive portrait of LBJ as a moral figure, it praises him highly as a calculating politician--possibly one of the greatest of all times. The other thing to remember is that Caro is highlighting an election in 1940s Texas, which has always been notorious for corruption in politics (witness the cartoonish and stranger-than-fiction Pappy O'Daniel). The difference in this case was that Coke Stevenson was not as willing to accept that corruption as LBJ was. It is also a lament for the loss of politicians like Stevenson, who one feels Caro holds in much higher regard than LBJ, as will most readers--despite political leanings--once they complete this volume.

This volume is--hands down--one of the most exciting books I have read in a long time. I found it fascinating and could not put it down. I look forward to moving on to the third volume (The Master of the Senate) but I fear how long I will have to wait for the next volume after that.

I love this series. I perused this site to see if anyone knew when the third volume would be out. No one did, so I e-mailed Randon House. Their response: "Robert A. Caro is hard at work on the last part of Volume Three of The Years of Lyndon Johnson, in which he shows how Johnson mastered the United States Senate as no one else has before or since. You know the amount of research Caro does, how he leaves no stone or paper unturned in his insistence on getting every fact and detail absolutely correct in his life of LBJ and his history of America in the 20th century. And you know what a great writer he is. Such research and writing take time, and we have not as yet set a publication date."

Robert Caro portrays Johnson as a compulsive liar with a need to prevaricate and steal that could make a politician cringe. I believe that the domestic program of Lyndon Johnson, civil rights legislation in particular, makes him one of the great US Presidents - even after reading this book. Given the disparity in these views of Johnson, it is remarkable that I found "Ascent to Power" compelling reading.

Caro's book is extensively researched and written with a gripping intensity worthy of the best detective novel. His work gave me an insight that went beyond politics to that of human nature, the drive to power and impact that one individual could have on the course of the 20th century.

My greatest regret - Volume 3 in this biography is years behind schedule. Robert, stop the foolin' around and finish that book!

There are a lot of reviews on this site that criticize Caro for making Means of Ascent a seperate volume, saying that there isn't enough here for a standalone book, that he rehashes too much. After finishing the book, however, I think nothing could be further from the truth. Let me explain.

The first book provides the essential context and builds LBJ up, allowing the reader to see the burgeoning of his political power and domineering personality. But it is in the second book, when he is driven to the absolute brink, when he "had to win" in the "all or nothing" 1948 Senatorial race vs. Coke Stevenson that his unique character bursts into full, dazzling bloom. It is this ratcheting up that makes this volume so necessary.

Caro's brilliant depiction of the epic battle between LBJ and Stevenson is like something out of Shakespeare, American-style. We have on one side, LBJ, who in a lot of ways is the dark version of the American story: a poor boy who rose from nothing by any means necessary, selling himself (often lying) and working himself (and everyone around him) to the absolute bone in order to get ahead; someone who gave everything he had in order to get the ultimate prize (and took unlawfully what he didn't earn). On the other side, in the almost too good to be true character of rancher-statesman Coke Stevenson, is much of what we cherish about the American character: self-reliance, hard work, dedication to principle, humbleness, duty. In this clash of the new vs. the old, of Johnson's do anything, say anything brand of media driven, money fueled politics (sound familiar?) against Coke's principled campaign in which issues and the real positions of the candidate actually mattered, we know who eventually won and the consequences such a victory had, but we can't help but wish that maybe the old way could have had one last hurrah. And that maybe the age of substance-less, meaningless politics that LBJ ushered in with his 1948 race could have been postponed a few years. You get the feeling that perhaps Caro feels the same way...but I digress.

Whether you agree with his implied politics or not, in Means of Ascent, it is unarguably clear that Caro has written an unparalleled legal and political thriller. Reading what actually happened in that fateful race between Johnson and Stevenson, I had to continually remind my self that YES, this REALLY DID happen in AMERICA just 50 years ago! The outright stealing of votes, the legal maneuvering, the armed showdowns between Mexican bandits and Texas Rangers (!!!)...it all seems like something out of some Third World banana republic, but it all happened, right here in America! And the final courtoom scenes will absolutely enthrall you, better than anything Grisham has ever written, for sure.

In the end, by reading this book not only will you learn what really happeend in the 1948 Senate election and how the current brand of media based politics came about, but you'll get a glimpse into the rather undemocratic way power works in this country. Sure, things have changed since then, but I have a feeling "the people" have quite a bit less power than they believe, and for this lesson alone, Means of Ascent is priceless.

Do yourself a favor and ignore all the naysayers. This is an essential volume of the series, and rightfully deserves its place as a standalone work. EXCELLENT!

...and this is a big "but." Caro verges on the hatchet job in volume two. He is a brilliant writer and his research methods are precise and methodical. But his take on LBJ here is overly negative, he always sees the worst case scenario and it winds up being hard to swallow, even if you detest Lyndon Johnson. He damns Johnson for stealing elections, when anyone else worth their salt in Texas in the 30's and 40's did the same thing. John Connelly ultimately refused further interviews with Caro because he felt this book was too brutally negative and I concur. So why the five stars?

Because Caro is such an outstanding writer, he turns history into literature. His way with words is leagues ahead of other historical biographers, he writes with the flair of a novelist but he backs up his words with years of dilligent research. What other biographer pulls up stakes and lives for *five years* in the Texas hill country in order to better understand his subject? This first volume stands at the pinnacle of the biographical art, the second volume is slightly less convincing and a great deal more negative.

Many have criticized Caro (Lady Bird and Connelly most vociferously) for being overly critical of Johnson. I share this concern and feel he sometimes bends over backwards to "stick it to" Johnson. Caro has said repeatedly that he will deal with LBJ's Presidency with a more charitible outlook and this is to be hoped.

I am an unabashed fan of Lyndon Johnson and this will stand as the definitive biography of him for many years. Though it's caustic and critical, it's so beautifully written you can read it again and again. A masterpiece of biography and I can't wait for the third volume. Hopefully, that will be more forgiving of LBJ.

The story of Lyndon Johnson's narrow victory in the 48 Texas Democratic primary proves that truth is stranger than fiction. Caro, who clearly is conflicted between his admiration of LBJ's political genius and leadership qualities and revulsion at his amorality, writes this drama as if it were a novel, and indeed it reads like one, with larger than life characters (my favorite being Frank Hamer, the old Texas Ranger) and remarkable twists and turns and a climax that is better than anything even the most skilled novelist could make up. If you thought the Florida election was interesting and had its ups and downs, it pales compared to the drama and legal battles that result in LBJ's winning (stealing, to be more precise) the Texas primary. Fascinating and compelling political reading, remarkably well researched and written (much of it based on first hand accounts of the events).

The first volume of Robert Caro's mammoth biography of Lynson Johnson was one of the best books I read last year - gripping, immensely readable, shocking and insightful. Hence, I came to the second instalment with a real sense of anticipation and excitement. For the most part, Caro did not let me down.

"Means of Ascent" deals with the period between Johnson's unsuccessful campaign for the Senate in 1941 and his victorious campaign in 1948 - the election in which Johnson won by an incredibly dubious 87 votes and earned the nickname of "Landslide Lyndon". "Means of Ascent" delivers a number of further blows to Johnson's legacy - Caro reveals the extent to which Johnson inflated his role in the Second World War, lays the groundwork for his look at how Johnson allegedly accumulated vast wealth during his career in public office and then, in the bulk of the book, provides the reader with a comprehensive study of the 1948 Senate Campaign which seemed to alter Texan (and US) politics for ever and cast a permanent cloud over Johnson's legacy.

Caro's indictment is damning and his analysis creates compelling reading. My only complaint would be that Caro may, to a certain extent, devote too much time and attention to placing Johnson's opponent, Coke Stevenson, on a very high pedestal. As a result, the reader cannot help but wonder whether Coke Stevenson was, in fact, one of the most honest and genuine politicians ever to grace US politics or whether Caro's portrait is, to a certain extent, provided through rose tinted glasses. Caro's telling of the story of the campaign does, at times, become repetitive - he devotes page after page to Johnson's innovative use of a helicopter in the campaign and I have to admit that, after a while, I began finding the description a little too tedious and repetitive for my liking.

Nevertheless, the book is fascinating and every bit as well written as the first. Furthermore, I feel that it can be read on its own and the reader need not necessarily have read "The Path to Power" before coming to this book. Once again, this is political biography at its finest and I await "The Master of the Senate" with eager anticipation.

Means of Ascent gets rapped at times for being too negative or too narrow in focus. Caro states, "Those threads (elements of LBJ's character and actions), bright and dark, run side by side through most of Lyndon Johnson's life . . . As the story unfolds in succeeding volumes, the threads will, again, run side by side . . . The two threads do NOT (my emphasis) run side by side in this volume. The bright one is missing. For this volume is about a seven-year period in the life of Lyndon Johnson in which his headlong race for power was halted."

It's not Caro's fault that that happens to be the reality of this period in LBJ's life. To "make" the book more balanced would be intellectually dishonest. Let's read the subsequent volumes before passing judgment on the balance of the subject matter in this one.

Note: Since this was written, the third volume (Master of the Senate) has been published. Having read this latest volume, I remain convinced that the work in total should be treated like a jigsaw puzzle: each piece takes on an interesting, unique form with splashes of bright and dark colors, but you have to put them all together to see the entire picture. And the picture is more than just Lyndon Johnson the man - it is a picture of political power in the U.S., embodied in the life and "Years of Lyndon Johnson". What makes Caro's work in "Means of Ascent" so remarkable (along with the other volumes) is not just the recounting of events, but the documented mechanics of the acquisition and execution of power in all its ugly and awesome dimensions. The story of Ballot Box 13 in this volume is a fascinating example. And for the true Caro fan, you simultaneously marvel at the story within the story: the detective-like research work that uncovers the truth, culminating in Johnson's own gloating of the event after he became President.

Ambition and Narcissism

I wish I could remember what I thought of LBJ when I voted for the first time in 1960. Moving to Berkeley that Fall to work on my doctorate, I kept my residency in Illinois in order to vote for JFK in what would be a crucial swing state. Those who believe Gore was robbed of the election in 2000 forget that JFK won by something like one vote in every county in the country. Mine was one of those. But I can only remember LBJ through the lens of his civil rights presidency and his tragic flaw, Vietnam. Listening to the first three volumes of Caro's work on tape, I can't help feeling that it in order to make sense of the LBJ he has painted we need to know what happened to him when he became president. Where is volume four? Were my feelings toward LBJ in 1960 analogous to what I thought of JFK's phony missile gap and Cuba bashing. Did I regard LBJ simply as a bad guy JFK needed as VP in order to get elected (As it turned out Cuba policy was not expediency until JFK woke up during the Bay of Pigs; after the election the missile gap simply was disappeared). Did I have any idea what a fowl piece of work LBJ was? Well Caro leaves us no doubt. Although I tired of the author's repeated descriptions of how LBF invaded what is called personal space: his ham hands on people shoulders, his iron grip through lapel holes---I probably would have slugged him---,had little use for the detail descriptions of the Senate chamber and would have had liked more on the political context of the third volume---what was going on after the mid fifties besides civil rights---, Caro's work is indeed monumental. We have LBJ ambitious, lying, manipulating and deeply narcissistic. He was in bed with some of the most reactionary men in the US, southern racists, McCarthyite anti-communists and reactionary Texas oil barons. LBJ's maiden "We of the South" speech and his sycophantic manipulation of lonely Richard Russell and Sam Rayburn, let alone his viscious redbaiting in his destruction of Leland Olds, are more than enough to condemn him to the trash barrel of history. His abuse of Lady Bird and then abject dependence on her after his heart attack earn him nothing but contempt. How did he pull it off for so many years and no one successfully expose him? Caro sees LBJ as a master, well that must have been the case for the years covered by the three volumes. Master magician at manipulation of people, master of working the Senate system, master of keeping his backers out of the lime light, master of tricking the Senate liberals, master at manipulating the press. And yet what did it all achieve. He ran a Truman like committee during the Korean war supposedly to expose corruption in war preparation, but unlike Truman driving around the country really looking, Johnson's committee garnered phony press coverage but did almost nothing. He was able to make the Senate a more efficient institution, but to what end. In all of Caro's writing I don't have a sense of what LBJ accomplished politically. He stifled civil rights under the guise of passing a civil rights bill. He enriched his backers, but what was his role in the Cold War, economic justice, etc. Maybe I missed that in all the detail of how he ran the Senate.

In volume one, Caro's history of the Senate is interesting. I get it that the Senate stood in the way of reform in the years after reconstruction. His treatment of Russell is masterful both in how Russell kept the appearance of Southern liberalism despite the vicious racist and cold warrior which lay behind the facade. Although Caro paints a picture of Johnson manipulating Russell, Johnson really carried Russell's water: stymie civil rights. As the country changed after WWII and the power of both northern liberals and Negroes grew, Russell felt the South would be outnumbered unless it planted a Trojan horse in the liberal camp. Johnson was to be that Trojan horse. The 1956 civil rights debate revealed Russell's true colors when he lost it on the Senate floor, and Johnson's final bill revealed to the liberals how empty Johnson's liberalism really was. In addition Johnson's flawed attempt at getting the 1956 nomination when he had no chance showed how limited his mastery could be and how blinded he was by his narcissism. Because I listened to the books out of order, vol. 2, 3, then 1, and am a bit confused, it seems to me like Johnson went into some sort of eclipse after '56 as the Republicans began to move leftward to grab the initiative from the Democrats, particularly on civil rights, and Johnson faced the underlying contradiction that he couldn't satisfy his Southern racist backers and woo the northern liberals at the same time. Caro gives us a glimpse of what came next when he shows how the Senate rejected Johnson's' attempts to maintain control once he became vice-president and how his failure completely deflated Johnson. After Johnson left the presidency (in disgrace as I remember it), did his narcissism again invert?

I think the most dramatic parts of Caro's books are his description of civil rights in the United States. Although I worked in the Chicago stock yards in the late forties and early fifties, remember well its strict color line, its shuffling blacks, experienced segregation in New Orleans, the Klan in Indianapolis and am a veteran of the Congress of Racial Equality in the 60s', I found myself becoming teary-eyed at Caro's rendition of the struggle for equality, the violence of lynching in Russell's Georgia, the hatred that dripped from the lips of Eastland and his ilk on the Senate floor. How Johnson could have pulled off any appearance of liberality is testament to how powerless Humphrey, Lehman, Douglas and others were in a racist country where Southerners had a hammerlock on the Senate. That Johnson and Russell could, through their superior understanding of Senate rules, outmaneuver the liberals was testament to the latter's' naïveté, but when push came to shove there was the filibuster and no way to overcome that---as with Bush's 2000 win---the constitution did not provide for any way around the Senate's inbuilt conservatism, even though Caro, says that prior to the civil war the Senate was the chamber for debate of great issues. After Reconstruction it became a tool of entrenched power and a stumbling block to change. It is interesting how Southern Senators could throw up Reconstruction as an evil, equivalent to Communism, in debates about civil rights. Reconstruction is, in my mind, a big hole in American history. Besides the dated works of Foner and chapters in history textbooks, I have found no good history of Reconstruction.

Well LBJ changed the US when he inherited the presidency. How that fit into who he was before 1960 is still a mystery to me. In fact there are other mysteries: his affair with Helen Gehagen Douglas, how he could get away with his abuse of the people around him, why was he never exposed in terms of his real allies---hard to image that in the age of the internet--- or maybe he was but it never took for some reason. Caro pictures LBJ as a consummate con man. Was he? Could Hubert Horatio Humphrey have been so cowed when snubbed for his hubris in his maiden Senate year (and later tutored on behavior by LBJ), that he didn't see through his one time mentor? I remember the New Left Power Structure pamphlets about LBJ, Brown and Root and Vietnam. But that was all after '66 or '67. I NEED volume four.

Charlie Fisher author of Dismantling Discontent: Buddha's Way Through Darwin's World

While the first volume of Robert A. Caro's biography on Lyndon Johnson read like epic fiction, his follow-up second volume, 1990's "Means Of Ascent," reminds me more of a crime novel, a closed-door mystery where a single missing ballot box presents us with a Maguffin for the proceedings.

You know about "The 39 Steps." Well, here's "The 87 Votes."

That was the final margin of LBJ's victory over Coke Stevenson in Texas's 1948 Senate Democratic primary, which as described by Caro here was one of the shadiest non-expressions of democratic will in the history of America's wildest, woolliest state. By buying off critical precincts, Johnson's handpicked goons, many of them armed, reported absurdly slanted returns, in some areas giving Johnson more than 100 votes for every one for Stevenson's.

Caro writes: "The unwritten laws, the ethics, the morals of Texas politics were so loose and elastic that it was difficult to break them. But Lyndon Johnson had broken them."

Caro backs this up with impressive research, including interviews with key Johnson aides and a former pistolero named Salas proud of how he helped push Johnson over the top by casting 200 votes for him on behalf of absent, sometimes dead voters. As the story develops, Stevenson figures out what has been done to him and sets about to make things right, whereupon the fight of Johnson's career shifts to a courtroom, where a row of mysterious locked barrels are lined up before the court, each possibly containing the missing ballot box with its provably fraudulent votes. Can the box be found before the whole proceeding is rendered moot by a court order from Washington?

All this is very readable stuff, if a half-step below the impossibly high standard set with "Path To Power." It's not so much the narrower focus of "Means Of Ascent" (just the years 1941-48, fallow ones for LBJ except for this election), but the reduced scope from PTP one is aware of, especially at the start when Caro recounts much of the first book in a pedantic "what-we-have-learned-so-far" way. Caro's beef with Johnson is clear and valid, but it becomes more overbearing in this volume, especially as he keeps going to Coke Stevenson as an contrasting exemplar of political virtue. Others point to Coke being a segregationist as making this approach suspect; I just found him dull, and perhaps too proud for public office. A point Caro doesn't make but could is that for all his faults, LBJ wanted the job more.

I also think there is some wiggle room to account for Johnson's behavior Caro refuses to grant. Simply put, Caro uses a lot of second-hand testimony from foggy thinkers to make his darkest points, like quoting Salas at length. He didn't seem to stretch such testimony as far in "Path To Power," and as Robert A. Divine notes in his own Johnson bio, the end result seems to make Caro "a prisoner of people's memory" more than it ought.

But "Means To Ascent" is well-sourced, richly-detailed, and contains one of the most dazzling narratives this side of Hitchcock. It's no doubt not Caro's best LBJ book, but a singular and worthy piece of the larger puzzle Caro is still putting together.