Rating: 
Summary: A Stunning Achievement
Review: Comparing this biography to other works is like comparing a fine painter (Caro) to a bunch of house painters. This is truly the very essence of Caro's ability to bring to full life the subject of LBJ: like an expert painter, he flawlessly paints a captivating landscape of facts, emotions, stories. And all around this incredible universe shown by Caro is the 'large than life' prescence of Lyndon Johnson. I feel humbled in not being able to adequately describe in words the beauty and depth of this manificent work. For those people who claim history is "too boring," they just need to pick up this book and begin reading. Never again will they view any biography or historical work in the same light. The standard that all other biographies will be measured up to.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Political Biography
Review: I wasn't particularly interested in Lyndon Johnson when I started reading this book but thought it might be an interesting diversion. How surprised I was to find that I was riveted. Caro's writing is flawless and truly gives an exceptional portrait of Lyndon Johnson as a man consumed by the need to achieve greatness, no matter how. Yet Lyndon Johnson is portrayed as pursuing power for the sake of power, destroying anybody who gets in his way. The naked ruthlessness he displayed to get his way, in everything from his political to his private life is almost frightening. How such a flawed man could have achieved the presidency is truly a mystery. As soon as I finished reading this volume, I devoured the second and am eagerly awaiting the third.
Rating:
Summary: The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Path to Power
Review: The text closely matches information about LBJ's election hijinks described in a much later book, "The Fall of the Duke of Duval" by John Clark. Johnson's first try for senate in 1941 failed, not because of his enemies but because powerful liquor lobby forces wanted Gov. W.Lee O'Daniel, his opponent, out of Texas to Washington,DC to keep him from appointing prohibitionists to the state liquor control board. Johnson would not have won his second try for U.S. Senator in 1948 without the corruption of the famous ballot box 13 in Jim Wells county, Texas -- vote fraud orchestrated by "The Duke of Duval", George Berham Parr. Mr. John Clark's test in "The fall of the Duke of Duval" provides full disclosure of the vote theft that made LBJ win this election. As a third generation native Texan, I can tell you LBJ was not popular with many Texans and was losing by a few hundred votes LEGALLY in 1948. But Parr came through from South Texas and provided about 200 extra votes that made LBJ win by about 87 votes out of 1,000,000 cast. He never was considered Presidential Material but was selected as VP to get Kennedy more southern votes. Even at that Kennedy nearly lost. Considering Kennedy's age, no one expected LBJ to last long enough to becomne president after 2 Kennedy terms. A very good book showing LBJ just didn't get the way he was "Yesterday".
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating look at LBJ the schemer- before Vietnam
Review: Having grown up in the Vietnam era, I had discounted LBJ as a slow-talking, slow-thinking warmonger out of touch with reality. This book paints a picture of a razor sharp Andy Hardy go-getter type with ample quantities of "What Makes Sammy Run?" thrown in for good measure. The first 100 pages is a little slower as Caro describes the exceptionally rural background of Johnson's progenitors. (I'm beginning to research relatives of same time in Arkansas, so I really understood for the first time why everyone looks SO OLD in photographs!). Once you pass these (rightfully) slower pages, this becomes a real page-turner! You will fly through this book! Hard-to-believe, right? Get it by hook or by crook!
Rating:
Summary: When is Volume 3 Coming?
Review: I've read both volumes of Mr. Caro's book. He paints a dark picture of a man who believed that the ends justify the means. Besides the Vietnam Conflict, which ultimately drove LBJ from power, LBJ did a lot of good for the disadvantaged in our country. Despite this, LBJ's means to these ends were questionable. Caro makes these points well in both volumes. It is very frustrating waiting for Volume 3, et. seq. With these two excellent volumes, I can't wait to see what Mr. Caro does with LBJ's years as Senate Majority Leader, VP, and President.
Rating:
Summary: fantastic book would love to hear about volume III
Review: I loved the first two volumes of the Lyndon Johnson Years, but I haven't heard anything about volume III. If anyone knows anything please let me know.
Rating:
Summary: The autoritative LBJ biography.
Review: Caro's work is simply flabbergasting. I read the 768 page book in a week flat (and ordered Vol. 2 at the mid-point to ensure I could seamlessly continue). The key to the work is the way in which Caro is able to take a complex set of events and explain it in the context of a central theme. For example, Caro uses the building of the Marshall Ford dam to explain the urgency with which Herman Brown and Alvin Wirtz worked to get Johnson elected to the House. In short, the book is well-written, thorough, and smart. Caro adds the extra value we require of a historian -- that is, he doesn't merely retell events, he places them in a coherent context so that we can understand what made LBJ. In the end, the portrait is a complex but ultimately scary one of power sought for power's sake.
Rating:
Summary: Much more to it than the life of LBJ
Review: Unlike many biographies, this fascinating book goes much more in-depth than "LBJ was born on...LBJ did this, did that...died on..."; it explores family history, the history of the Texas Hill Country and goes to great lengths to illustrate the lives of those who most influenced LBJ such as Sam Rayburn, Lady Bird and Alvin Wirtz just to name a few. I was made a Caro fan by this book and anxiously wait for more volumes beyond "Means of Ascent" ("Path to Power" ends at about 1942 and "Means" ends at about 1949). If the writing about LBJ's early life is this good, I can't imagine what the expected volumes will be like (which should cover LBJ's years in the Senate, Vice Presidency and finally Presidency).
Rating:
Summary: Greatest Biography I've Ever Read
Review: Add my voice to the chorus of praise for the work of Robert Caro. The breadth and depth of this massive book (and its sequel) are stunning. Caro's incredibly thorough research, coupled with his brilliant story-telling ability, make for an unforgettable reading experience. I can't say enough about this book.
Rating:
Summary: Caro's book is well-written, informative, and intoxicating.
Review: Path to Power provides the reader with a very well-written account of LBJ's early years. The depth of Caro's knowledge is unbelievable as he tells fascinating stories of Johnson's political rise. Although the author is informative, Path to Power is both easy to read and very enjoyable. This book kept me up long after I should have been asleep. Caro's book should be required reading for anyone interested in politics, in political personalities, in the presidency, or in making educated decisions about voting.
| 
