The Vantage Point: Perspectives of the Presidency, 1963-1969 [Hardcover]

Lyndon Baines Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1971

The Vantage Point: Perspectives of the Presidency, 1963-1969 by Lyndon Baines Johnson 1971 Hardcover

Product Details

• Hardcover: 636 pages
• Publisher: Holt, Rinehart and Winston; 1st edition (1971)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0030844924
• ISBN-13: 978-0030844928
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #669,000 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Read this in context, April 3, 2007

By 

K. C. Kasten (Olivet Nazarene University, Bourbonnais, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Vantage Point: Perspectives of the Presidency, 1963-1969 (Hardcover)

As a personal memoir, this account of the Johnson presidency must be taken with a grain of salt, but overall, it is an interesting firsthand account of the considerations, assumptions, and goals that guided President Johnson in his decisions. Predictably, quite a bit of space is devoted to Vietnam, but aside from his defensive justifications in foreign policy, Johnson highlights the accomplishments and triumphs that were closest to his heart, domestic achievements like his civil rights legislation, the war on poverty, etc. Overall, the reader gets an impression of Johnson as a tireless worker with good intentions who did the best he could. The book is easy to tackle, being rather concise for memoirs of a presidential term (compare with Kissinger's near 1400 pages), well-written, and interestingly personal (instead of "the U.S. did so-and-so", you get "I thought that" "I said" "I called", etc.). It is not revelatory, it is not a complete history, and it is not the big picture, but it is an account of the decision-making process from a "vantage point". It is Johnson's personal apologia, his self-justification, his case for his own memory as an American president.

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hidden Gem, August 14, 2010

By 

Alexander Robinson (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Vantage Point: Perspectives of the Presidency, 1963-1969 (Hardcover)

Johnson is a President that has been very caricatured by the left and the right. It is essential to read the man in his words.

"The Vantage Point" is fairly concise and contains many hidden gems from his stories about different legislators, his personal motives during the Presidency in both politics and policy, and his views on the structure of government. Regardless of your views about Johnson a fuller, more intelligent man emerges.

This book is not perfect it is occasionally long-winded. However, it wonderfully achieves its objective of putting the reader in Johnson's shoes and revealing the inner workings of Johnson.

12 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lyndon Johnson - a man of action and few words!, August 4, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Vantage Point: Perspectives of the Presidency, 1963-1969 (Hardcover)

The Vantage Point by Lyndon Johnson is an in-depth look at the Johnson Administration. The book focuses on a wide variety of accomplishments and events, both domestic and foreign, which shaped the Presidency of Lyndon Johnson. The reader learns of the struggles that the conflict in Vietnam presented Johnson with, and begins to develop an accute understanding for the actions he took. In addition to the war in Vietnam, Johnson tells of the War on Poverty here in the United States. It becomes quite apparent that President Johnson was not a crooked politician, but a man of action who had the well-being of his fellow man at heart. Although some of the reading tends to be a little "dry," the author manages to instill a sense of respect, in his readers, for all he has done for America.