The Walls of Jericho: Lyndon Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, Richard Russell, and the Struggle for Civil Rights [Paperback]

Robert Mann (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 1997

In a “rich and engrossing” narrative (Philadelphia Inquirer) that is “filled with sparring and thrilling maneuvers” (San Diego Union-Tribune), Robert Mann brings to life the high-stakes political gamesmanship that led to the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Black-and-white photographs.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Written by a former press secretary to two U.S. senators, this is an account of how the U.S. Senate passed the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the nation's first meaningful civil rights law. Author Robert Mann takes us behind the scenes of a 15-year battle that began in 1949 when both Lyndon Johnson and Hubert Humphrey entered the Senate, where Georgian Richard Russell was one its most powerful members. Humphrey's commitment to civil rights was already a matter of record--a year before he had made a stirring speech at the Democratic convention in support of a strong civil rights plank in the party platform. Johnson, however, was more of an ambivalent figure, a man who might privately express support for civil rights, but was publicly against it. Russell, too was against civil rights, but in the hope that one day Johnson might be elected president, used his power covertly to help Johnson pass a 1957 civil rights bill. This is a stirring story of courage, cowardice and, above all, political calculation.

From Publishers Weekly

This is not a comprehensive account of the battle for civil rights, but a Congress-centric study of the lives and interplay of three powerful Democratic senators?one of whom became President?regarding civil rights law. Thus, Mann, author of a biography of Senator Russell Long (Legacy of Power), mines published biographies, oral history archives and his own interviews to sketch the righteous civil rights opponent Russell from Georgia, the eloquent, progressive Minnesotan Humphrey and the pragmatic strategist Johnson from Texas. Johnson cultivated Russell, his elder and a lonely bachelor; he mentored Humphrey, who provided crucial links to Senate liberals. While Mann's discussion of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King and national civil rights protests is hardly new, his description of the passage of the important Civil Rights Act of 1964 is absorbing: Humphrey led the charge, while Russell, who chose filibuster over negotiation, was the biggest loser. Johnson, however, undercut Humphrey's effectiveness as vice-president, and Russell's friendship with Johnson broke down during a conflict over a judicial appointment. All three men, sadly, ended their careers in rejection and defeat. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 624 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books; 1ST edition (June 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156005018
• ISBN-13: 978-0156005012
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #346,140 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A journalist and historian, Robert Mann has written critically acclaimed political histories of the Vietnam War and the U.S. civil rights movement.

Mann holds the Manship Chair in Mass Communication at Louisiana State University's Manship School of Mass Communication.

Mann spent more than 20 years working in national and Louisiana state politics. Prior to joining the Manship School in 2006, he served as communications director to Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco. He joined the governor's staff in 2004 after serving 17 years as state director and press secretary to U.S. Senator John Breaux of Louisiana. He was also press secretary to U.S. Senator Russell Long of Louisiana and press secretary for the 1990 re-election campaign of U.S. Senator J. Bennett Johnston of Louisiana.

In the early 1980s, he covered Louisiana politics as a reporter for the Shreveport Journal and the Monroe News-Star. His essays and book reviews have appeared in numerous publications, including the New York Times and the Boston Globe.

He is director of LSU's Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs and editor of the Center's Media & Public Affairs Book Series, a series sponsored by the Reilly Center and LSU Press.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Story of struggle and inspiration, February 23, 2002

By 

Terry St. Peter (Belfast, Me.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Walls of Jericho: Lyndon Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, Richard Russell, and the Struggle for Civil Rights (Paperback)

The Walls of Jericho offers a riveting, close-up and personal review of the political struggles of the Civil Rights movement, seen through the eyes of three is its major protagonists. Author Robert Mann carries us to know and understand southerner, racist Richard Russell, southerner human rights supporter Lyndon Johnson, and northerner firebrand liberal Hubert Humphrey. We agree with them, or disagree with them, Mann allows us to understand where they are coming from. In the end, they are good men trying to do good things, as they see them to be good. I was emotionally struck in reading about the personal, political, and social interplay.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book on civil rights and politics, March 6, 2001

By 

Sloper Dude (L'Étoile du Nord) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Walls of Jericho: Lyndon Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, Richard Russell, and the Struggle for Civil Rights (Paperback)

Having grown up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where Hubert Humphrey is remembered and revered, and then living in Atlanta, Georgia for 14 years, the land of Martin Luther King and Richard Russell (and the region of LBJ), I was very intrigued by the subject of this book. I also found it refreshingly evenhanded, yet an intimate and personal view into one of the most important periods of American history, written about a subject that not only is in the forefront of out collective attention, but has been so since before our nation was founded. Not only that, it was a good read, with as much excitement and plot twists as the latest from Grisham.

If you are at all interested in Civil Rights, or you just like reading about politics, this is a very good place to start.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars high praise for an intricately balanced book, September 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Walls of Jericho : Lyndon Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, Richard Russell and the Struggle for Civil Rights (Hardcover)

Can America's favorite topic of dissent--race--in an historical context be explained rationally and with fairness from all perspectives? Anyone reading this book, which looks at the finely nuanced legislative maneuvers of those who both proposed as well as opposed the major civil rights initiatives of the 1960s in Congress, would have to say yes. Robert Mann, who is also the author of a fine and revealing biography of Louisiana Senator Russell Long, pulls off what seems like the impossible as he serves up deeply sympathetic profiles of Senator Richard Russell, who maintained a last-ditch effort against civil rights legislation, the always-bouyant Hubert Humprey, who was civil right's greatest friend in Washington, and Lyndon Johnson, who, in an act of unheralded nobility, staked his entire presidency upon the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the even-more politically vital 1965 Voting Rights Act. Most of us know the civil rights struggle from the perspective of the brave activists, inspired by Martin Luther King, who fought for their vision on the streets. Now meet the mysterious and mighty men of Washington who transformed that vision into reality.