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: The Best Biography I have EVER read!
Review: From the insight of the land and the Bunton family, this is so well written it is the best biography, I feel, ever written. Caro's magnificent style kept you interested no matter what happened to LBJ or the people he affected. The author did an amazing amount of research and showed Johnson and all his warts. He lost his insight in his second book which may have ruined our chance for the last two volumes and that is really too bad. Through all of this he NEVER was soo overwhelmed to lose sight of his subject as did the supposed fabulous biographer Doris Kearns Goodwhatever. NONE of her writing, including her pulitzer prize winning tome EVER came close to either of these two books. Caro really delves into Johnsons personality and how it was formed. It is a MUST read book for any historical, biographical or Presidential student of these type of books
Rating: 
Summary: Long but interesting path
Review: I don't know why LBJ fascinates exactly. Most baby boomers like myself only really know him as JFK's Vice President and as the Vietnam War President. His mastery of the senate let alone his relationship with FDR would be a large unknown to many of us. Still, this book is fascinating if not a bit long. Robert Caro presents a startlingly different picture of LBJ than many would expect. Not especially a handsome man, LBJ thought himself a ladies man and proved it with an affair while still a young man. A teacher because his choice of college was limited due to the financial situation of his family, he became a powerful man in the House of Representatives during FDR's presidency. The path that led him there and the conniving and back room dealing that it took to get him there is quite a story. This first volume in what is now to be a 4 volume set takes him to the end of his time in the House, having just lost a race for the senate seat opened because of death. LBJ's early life is a primer in how to get ahead by flattery and guile. Caro outlines the tactics he used and the people he had to flatter to get to a position of power. Johnson comes across as a somewhat shallow young man looking to do whatever it took to further his best interest. A strained relationship with his father (who doesn't/didn't have one of those at least for a time?), an affair a few years after marrying the shy Lady Bird, and his use of a friendship with House Speaker Sam Rayburn create a portrait of a man whose number one priority is himself. The book is a bit long and even the paperback volume is fairly hefty so this isn't light reading. But Caro does a good job in presenting LBJ's early years almost like a novel which will keep the interest of even someone mildly interested in history in general or Johnson in particular. Worth the effort.
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Summary: 4 Volumes on a Dead Man since '73. Get a Life Please
Review: I picked up this book on a recommendation from a coworker who said that LBJ was the most intriguing character of all the America presidents. I've read several past presidential biographies and I felt that LBJ's legacy and history were important for me if I were to grasp the motivating forces behind Civil Rights history and Vietnam. This book exceeded my expectations and turned out to be a gripping read. Caro gives his reader story, character, and research. The length of this book is its strength because he gives the reader so much context for the events. Before talking about how LBJ brought electric power to his impoverished home district for example, Caro breaks away for a 14 page illumination of the realities of day to day to living without electricity entitled "The Sad Irons". Where many other biographers make their subject the sole focus, Caro generously supplies his reader with the details that make you empathize for the characters he portrays. In that sense, I put this book almost up there with Richard Kluger's "Simple Justice" for its ability to create vibrant vivid history. Caro does see LBJ in a somewhat negative light, although he tries to temper his criticism with understanding of why he became the way he is. Caro respects the political genius of Johnson in his admiration for Johnson's work ethic and drive during the 1937 campaign for Congress. He also admires how LBJ did take pride and gain satisfaction for the individual voters that he presented and the benefits he won for them as a Congressman. Yet I expect a Macbeth as I read Caro's later volumes. Caro disapproves of Lyndon's unwillingness to take a stand and reveals how the Lyndon Johnson succeeded in part because he was a "professonal son" exceedingly capable of earning the good graces of those with the power to help him be they Sam Rayburn, President Roosevelt, or even the college president as he struggled to earn tuition. So many episodes in this book will linger. I almost wish LBJ had been an anonymous teacher after hearing how successful he was in the two positions he held early on in his career. The power that he earned through his stint as unofficial Congressional campaign manager is amazing as is his ability to balance New Deal rhetoric with conservative financial backing. Besides LBJ you gain the story of his rural district, a lesser know side of the New Deal, the beginnings of the awesome power of Texas Oil and understanding of democratic politics. I could go on so much, but all I can say is if you are at all interested in LBJ this book will be worth the effort. 5 stars! --SD
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Summary: From the Texas Hill Country to Capitol Hill...
Review: I recently completed "The Path to Power," the first volume of Robert A. Caro's multi-volume biography about Lyndon Baines Johnson, the thirty-sixth President of the United States. Here is a magnificently written, highly detailed, and ultimately scathing portrait of the early life of the man who brought us the "Great Society," the "War on Poverty," and the Civil Rights Act of 1964... as well as the "Credibility Gap" and the War in Vietnam.
Robert A. Caro's majestic Johnsonian triptych "The Years of Lyndon Johnson." is currently made up of "The Path to Power," which covers LBJ's life from his birth in 1908 until his first run for the U.S. Senate in 1941; "Means of Ascent," a chronicle of Johnson's years from 1941 to his second (and ultimately successful) Senate run in 1948; and "Master of the Senate," the critically acclaimed narrative of LBJ's 12-year career in the Senate (1948-1960). These three volumes are among the most critically acclaimed and highly honored biographies of all time. They've won three National Book Awards (one for each volume); a Francis Parkman Prize for best work of history (Volume 3); and a Pulitzer Prize for biography (also Volume 3.)
As I've already stated, "The Path to Power" covers Johnson's early life, from his birth in 1908 to an impoverished Texas Hill Country politician and his dreamy wife; through his upbringing, college education, early political career, and early years in the U.S. House of Representatives as a "complete Roosevelt man;" to his unsuccessful first run for the U.S. Senate in 1941.
Of the many premises in the first volume of Caro's triptych, two stand out as paramount: First, according to Caro, is that LBJ secretly harbors a burning ambition to become President of the United States, a craving for political power that apparently manifests itself in his teens, and from which he never wavers until he attains that high office. Caro's second premise is that LBJ is the antithesis of his highly principled, idealistic father, Sam Ealy Johnson. The elder Johnson is a superb politician, but also incapable of bringing prosperity to his family. As young Lyndon watches his father fail at nearly everything he does, he concludes that his father's high principles, tenacious dedication to the truth, and Populist idealism, lead to nothing but failure. Better to lie, say anything at all, in fact, to get what you want, if that's what it takes to be successful.
As a young adult, LBJ is thoroughly inculcated with those personality traits he thinks essential for success: a loud, vulgar, and abrasive manner; a calculating deceitfulness so pronounced he is derisively called "Bull" Johnson to his face by his peers; and a well developed ability to sycophantically curry favor from anyone he deems useful.
After college, it isn't long before opportunity knocks on LBJ's door, in the form of a job as secretary to the newly elected Representative from Johnson's Congressional district. He turns the novice congressman's office into a model of efficiency, all the while displaying a mammoth capacity for hard work. After a few years as the congressman's secretary, LBJ is appointed head of the National Youth Administration (NYA), one of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's (FDR) New Deal bureaucracies. Johnson is the youngest of 48 state directors, and by all accounts, the most successful. His zeal, hard work, and efficiency deeply impress FDR. He soon becomes a favorite at the White House.
In 1937, Congressman James Buchanan of Texas' Tenth District, dies. He is a very senior and influential congressman who has the backing of several Texas contractors, including Herman and George Brown. At his death, Buchanan leaves a host of political and patronage "loose ends," including contracts for a new dam that's coveted by the Brown brothers. The Browns are convinced that LBJ is the man who can get the Federal government to award them the dam contracts. They convince him to run for Buchanan;s vacated seat, and they provide most of his financial backing. After a closely contested special election, in which LBJ once again demonstrates his now legendary capacity for hard work, he is improbably elected to the House over nine other candidates. He will remain a Congressman for eleven years.
In 1934, Johnson meets Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Taylor, and, after a whirlwind courtship, marries her. From the very beginning, LBJ proves himself a despicable, almost abusive spouse. He peremptorily orders Lady Bird around in public. He cheats on her with a succession of women. He ignores her at parties. Yet, this painfully shy, plain, woman remains staunchly loving and loyal to her man.
Caro's portrait of LBJ the Congressman is decidedly negative. LBJ does much work on his constituents' behalf at first - bringing major construction projects to his district (almost all of them going to the Brown brothers and electric power to the Texas hill country. But he rarely, if ever, writes or sponsors legislation or makes speeches in the House. Still, he remains very popular among a grateful constituency.
In 1941, after four years in the House of Representatives, LBJ takes another step along the path to ultimate power: he decides to run in the special election to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the recently deceased Morris Sheppard. Johnson is barely known outside his own Congressional district. In the end, it comes down to a three-man race. LBJ loses by just over 1,300 votes in an election that is almost assuredly stolen from him. It's a lesson that LBJ will remember for the future...
Robert Caro, a journalist who is a virtuoso of research, and a master craftsman with the old typewriter he uses when writing, has painted a portrait of young Lyndon Baines Johnson that is rich, textured, filled with intricate detail, and scathing in its judgments. The pace of the tightly woven narrative never once flags. The prose is elegant, slightly ironic in tone, and written with an historian's eye for detail and a journalist's flair for the dramatic. I found the book so entertaining that it was nearly impossible to put down... the kind of book I found myself thinking about when I wasn't reading it, and anxiously awaiting the time when I could get back to it.
Now... on to the next volume of "The Years of Lyndon Johnson."
Rating:
Summary: Lyndon Johnson the Giant
Review: Love him or hate him Lyndon Johnson comes alive in the pages of Robert Caro's "The Path To Power". Caro provides a vivid account of the very difficult younger years of Lyndon Johnson. He does not come across as a hero, but you do have admiration for the man even with all of his very human flaws. He was striving and manipulative, but he had a sensitive side to him as well. Johnson is the great paradox of the century in American politics.
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Summary: A VERY GOOD BIOGRAPHY - THE BEST I HAVE READ
Review: Of the many biographies of Lyndon B. Johnson I have read, this, and the two following volumes, are probably the best. Well researched and extremely detailed, they follow Johnson through his early years, as the title says, "The Path to Power." Not only do these books give us a good picture of one of the most fascinating men in our history, they also give us quite a history lesson in reference to this country and those troubling times. I am one of those who is not a big LBJ fan, being a product of my time, but I must admit to having a fascination with him. He was certainly one of the brightest politicians this country has ever produced and he was "in place" during the times of the greatest turmoil this country has ever seen. To understand those times, those events, I really feel it is well to understand as much about this man, LBJ, as possible. Caro can and is rather harsh when treating certain aspect of Johnson's life, but then, if Caro's research is correct, then harshness was quite called for. Recommend you read this one and the two following volumes (hopefully we will get a fourth soon) and enjoy and learn. This work is ome of my favorites and I must admit to have read it at least twice.
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Summary: The greatest biography in print
Review: The Path to Power is probably the greatest biography ever written. I'm a Texan, but a Republican, and I never particularly admired LBJ for his political decisions. However, he's a fascinating study in contemporary politics. Even if you hated Lyndon, he was the most masterful politician of the 20th Century. This book is a 24 karat gold winner. I've probably re-read it twenty times and each time I learn something else. The Washington Post called it "a book of radiant excellence". That is a gross understatement. This book transcends everthing I have ever read about American politics. It captures the true feelings, emotions, ambitions, and everything else about America in the middle of the 20th century. This is the most compelling book I have ever read. You have to read it too. Get it now. You'll love me and thank me later for recommending it.
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Summary: Best biography written in past fifty years!
Review: There is no way around it: this is a fantastic book. Caro's detailed portrait of Johnson's early years through 1941 provides the reader access to a political world that is often closed off. Caro covers so much ground here. We get insight into Texas history and politics and politicians in the first half of the century. I particularly enjoyed the chapters detailing Johnson's relationship with teh great Sam Rayburn. I will grant that Caro's depiction of Johnson seems to be colored hy his hypothesis that LBJ wanted power more than anything else. He seems to attribute every action--professional or otherwise--to this one goal. While appropriate in some places, he can go overboard in this area. And yet, this remains the pinnacle of the biographical art. I will eagerly read the other volumes in this extensive biography of one of our more interesting presidents.
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Summary: He just HAD to be SOMEBODY!
Review: This first volume of Robert Caro's award-winning series is absolutely fascinating, a riveting study of a supernaturally insecure and self-interested, manipulative unprincipled pragmatist. Being from Central Texas, as I child my only knowledge of LBJ involved the fact that my grandparents (from north of the Hill Country) worshipped him. I could see that LBJ talked like us, and wore boots like my relatives, but that was about it. Caro's account of Lyndon's self-promotional antics was unbelievably illuminating -- I immediately could see why so many (and many of them uneducated) folks adored him, and Caro reveals all that was happening behind the scenes. Lyndon's capacity to push himself forward and upward was often nauseating, and it's no wonder he had few true friends because contemporaries could always see beneath his manipulations. However, in adulthood he left all of his contemporaries behind with his patronage of the powerful and dominance of the powerless. The manner in which he treated those around him, those who worked for him, is eye-opening -- he subjugated them completely, demanding total loyalty regardless of his behavior toward them. He treat his own wife like dirt, ordering her around like a servant while conducting an affair practically in her presence. Commentator Molly Ivins, being a yellow-dog member of LBJ's own political party, complained that Caro did not treat Lyndon kindly in this book -- which is simply another way of saying that Caro was extremely honest, open, blunt and fascinating in this fine book. This may be the best biography you ever read (with or without adding the other volumes of the series).
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