Master of the Senate

The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Volume III (Part 1 of a 3-Part Recording)

By: Robert A. Caro

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 18 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Master of the Senate, book three of the Years of Lyndon Johnson, carries Johnson’s story through one of its most remarkable periods: his 12 years, from 1949 to 1960, in the United States Senate. At the heart of the audiobook is its unprecedented revelation of how legislative power works in America, how the Senate works, and how Johnson, in his ascent to the presidency, mastered the Senate as no political leader before him had ever done.

It was during these years that all Johnson’s experience—from his Texas Hill Country boyhood to his passionate representation in Congress of his hardscrabble constituents to his tireless construction of a political machine—came to fruition. Caro introduces the story with a dramatic account of the Senate itself: how Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, and John C. Calhoun had made it the center of governmental energy, the forum in which the great issues of the country were thrashed out. And how, by the time Johnson arrived, it had dwindled into a body that merely responded to executive initiatives, all but impervious to the forces of change.

Caro anatomizes the genius for political strategy and tactics by which, in an institution that had made the seniority system all-powerful for a century and more, Johnson became majority leader after only a single term—the youngest and greatest Senate leader in our history; how he manipulated the Senate’s hallowed rules and customs and the weaknesses and strengths of his colleagues to change the unchangeable Senate from a loose confederation of sovereign senators to a whirring legislative machine under his own iron-fisted control.

Caro demonstrates how Johnson’s political genius enabled him to reconcile the unreconcilable: to retain the support of the Southerners who controlled the Senate while earning the trust—or at least the cooperation—of the liberals, led by Paul Douglas and Hubert Humphrey, without whom he could not achieve his goal of winning the presidency. He shows the dark side of Johnson’s ambition: how he proved his loyalty to the great oil barons who had financed his rise to power by ruthlessly destroying the career of the New Dealer who was in charge of regulating them, Federal Power Commission Chairman Leland Olds. And we watch him achieve the impossible: convincing Southerners that although he was firmly in their camp as the anointed successor to their leader, Richard Russell, it was essential that they allow him to make some progress toward civil rights. In a breathtaking tour de force, Caro details Johnson’s amazing triumph in maneuvering to passage the first civil rights legislation since 1875.

Master of the Senate, told with an abundance of rich detail that could only have come from Caro’s peerless research, is both a galvanizing portrait of the man himself and a definitive and revelatory study of the workings and personal and legislative power.

This is Volume 1. Don't forget to listen to Master of the Senate, Volume 2 and Volume 3.

©2002 Robert A. Caro, Inc. (P)2002 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

“A wonderful, a glorious tale.... It will be hard to equal this amazing book. It reads like a Trollope novel, but not even Trollope explored the ambitions and the gullibilities of men as deliciously as Robert Caro does. Even though I knew what the outcome of a particular episode would be, I followed Caro’s account of it with excitement. I went back over chapters to make sure I had not missed a word.... Caro’s description of how [Johnson passed the civil rights legislation] is masterly; I was there and followed the course of the legislation closely, but I did not know the half of it.” (Anthony Lewis, The New York Times Book Review)

“A masterpiece.... Robert Caro has written one of the truly great political biographies of the modern age.” (Daniel Finkelstein, The Times, London)

“Mesmerizing.... [It] brings LBJ blazing into the Senate.... A tale rife with drama and hypnotic in the telling. The historian’s equivalent of a Mahler symphony.” (Malcolm Jones, Newsweek)

Master Narrative and Narration

This is an example of the great value of the audiobook format. It allows you to digest massive narrative history--even while multitasking. The narration is distinctive and very consistent.

Superb Biography by Excellent Author

If you could sum up Master of the Senate in three words, what would they be?

Brilliant. Meticulous. Deep.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Master of the Senate?

The whole thing was a triumph.

Which character – as performed by Grover Gardner – was your favorite?

I guess Lyndon Johnson, but the cast of characters around him made the book truly great.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It was, happily, too long for that. But every time I quit listening to it, I looked forward to returning to it. I listen to these books driving back and forth to and from work.

Any additional comments?

Robert Caro is so dedicated to his work. Any book by him is a treasure.

very transformational

I became addicted to.the book. it is 3rd in series but still there is novelty in every minute

Difficult, Mind Boggling, Informative

Mr Caso has written a book that every
Historian, student, and citizen should
Read. Master of the Senate is a
Masterpiece of information well presented as well as heart breaking

Mr Grover is more than a reader or
A voice.... He is a superb actor
You may regret listening to him as
This is a difficult story to swollow.

Great book // Ask Audible for two credits

For those rightly upset that this book costs three credits, I emailed Audible pointing this out and they gave me two credits so I could get the full book by using only one credit. Note that the first CSR didn't understand the problem so I emailed them a link to the Kindle version showing that this is only a single book.

For all the reasons stated in the reviews, I've enjoyed the entire series so much and hope the last installment comes soon.

TOM

Very good book. I especially like the beginning with a history of the Senate. It really gives you a new look on how this body has evolved over the years. The reading is excellent. However, anyone who says these volumes are not long is seriously mistaken. There is about 4 hours of material on the Johnson hearings about Truman's nomination of Leland Olds for the national utilities commission. You can easily leave for an hour and come back an not miss much at all.

Audible: Step Up Your Production/Editing!

First, let's get the complaints with Audible.com addressed:
-Selling this book as "3 parts" makes no sense. Don't do that again!
-I mainly gave this 4 stars because of Audible - they had poor production quality in adopting an audiotape to digital audio ("turn the tape over").
-The narrator, Grover Gardner, is simply outstanding!

Everything you ever wanted to know about the US Senate and American politics in the 1950s is in this book. In this volume, Caro continues the "life and times" approach to his biography of LBJ. The discussion of civil rights in this era was fascinating. The sheer extent of robust political support for racism was shocking to see. I also found the power moves within the Senate fascinating to a point. Caro does well in showing how Johnson fashioned power for himself from unlikely areas. Indeed, this exploration - of how power is built and exercised in the real world - is his greatest strength.

At times though, it felt just too detailed. There were day by day accounts of some episodes here that just felt painfully long and drawn out. One cannot doubt Caro's incredible commitment to research though!

Best Political Biography I've Ever Read!

Where does Master of the Senate rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Man it's long, but when it was over, I felt like I was losing an old friend. Good thing Passage of Power was next in the queue. :)

Caro is brilliant. He does an excellent job of weaving in specific themes without being overbearing or redundant. As soon as I get another six months to commit to a book, I plan to dig into his book on Bob Moses.

Masterpiece by a master storyteller and narrator!

Unfortunate that Audible broke this title into 3 parts to make money even though all the other volumes in the series about LBJ are all one audiobook.
One way around this is to get the kindle version, then get whisper sync audio of the book at reduced price for the whole book!!
Enjoy!

I had no idea

Where does Master of the Senate rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I'm a history buff. This book gives a masterful history of the US Senate from the before the Civil War to the years of Lyndon Johnson's work there. At first, I felt annoyed at the length of the overview, then if occurred to me that Mr. Caro was giving the history of a very dysfunctional organization. It showed how Lyndon Johnson slipped into power, using this staggering dysfunction. It was all very interesting.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Master of the Senate?

There isn't really ONE moment. The book illustrates Johnson's breathtaking ruthlessness as a politician.OK, one moment. After WWII 75% of the American people wanted civil rights for blacks in the South. The source for this statistic wasn't cited in the book but there might be a bibliography in the paper book, that sites the source. 75%... and the southern democrats blocked it, wouldn't let it happen, and Lyndon Johnson was one of them. To me, he was not only ruthless, but his action was evil.

Which character – as performed by Grover Gardner – was your favorite?

Mr. Gardner has a pleasing tenor voice. I enjoy listening to his narration.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, I like absorbing information and stewing in it before going onto the next section. This book is very well researched.

Any additional comments?

If you like history and biography, this book is very well done and very interesting. I've had it for over a year and hadn't gotten around to listening to it. I'm sorry it took me so long.