• 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
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (1,992 ratings)

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Master of the Senate  By  cover art

Master of the Senate

By: Robert A. Caro
Narrated by: Grover Gardner
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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)

What listeners say about Master of the Senate

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Incredible Biographer

Caro makes this biography of LBJ as riveting as a fictional, political thriller. Despite the length of the audio, I could not stop listening until it was done. Caro has written 2 other LBJ biographies, as well as a biography of Robert Moses that I wish were available as audio programs. As soon as they are, I'll be getting them. Note: the narrator is excellent as well - very easy to listen to.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

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!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing book!

Great book as expected. What a rip off that they split it into 3 though

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Complete audio book cheaper on Google play

This is an amazing book I loved the first part but learned that you can get the performance uninterrupted of Google play for cheaper than the three parts here on audible. The 2* performance is entirely due to the way they broke it up. Two books I can see but a broken up chunk should be at least 20hrs.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A political history library must-have

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I have rarely read a history/biography that was more engaging and illuminating. Much of the woes we may experience today with our federal government go back to the very beginning. Caro explores the institution of the Senate, laying the groundwork for how it was possible for LBJ, a man of intense drive and uncommon political savvy, to quickly rise to prominence and influence in one of the most stubborn and frustrating institutions of government ever devised.

What did you like best about this story?

The background of the Senate and the origins of many of the parliamentary tools unique to that body (cloture) and the design of the Senate to create a buffer between senators and popular opinion (for better or worse) is illuminating and fascinating.

Which scene was your favorite?

The Leland Olds re-confirmation hearing was a detailed and moving portrayal of how LBJ ruined Olds, whom his Texas oilmen patrons despised. LBJ demonstrated a cruel ingenuity and brilliance in orchestrating the commerce subcommittee hearings such that he was able to falsely portray Olds as a communist while not being directly identified as Olds's chief inquisitor. His work getting critical civil rights legislation passed notwithstanding, Caro's thoroughly researched portrayal reveals a complicated, ruthless man with a crude demeanor, and a singular focus on his own political advancement.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

LBJ's treatment of his wife was appalling. If he'd lived in our age where politician's personal lives are not private, I don't know but that he'd not likely have made it as far as he did. Or, given his political genius, perhaps he'd have been nicer to Lady Bird.

Any additional comments?

Grover Gardner brings the book to life with just the right amount of passion and liveliness to keep me engaged on long drives, walks, or working in the garden.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Don't let the 3 credit price stop you

Sure, I agree with others that 3 credits is high for any book. But this isn't just any book. You get over 50 hours of substantial, fascinating reading here. I know for a fact we have all spent 3 credits on three different books that won't equal the achievement of this one book. Plus I think of it as amortizing the "bargain" of getting volumes 1, 2, and 4 at only one credit each.

As others have mentioned, you do get a lot of backstory about the history of the US Senate in this book. Yes, it could be pretty dull under a less masterful writer, but it really is quite interesting here. It is amazing how thoroughly dysfunctional the Senate was (especially in the hands of the Southern minority) in the 50+ years prior to 1948. It actually makes FDR's accomplishments in the first 100 days all the more remarkable.

Even after Volumes 1 and 2 it is still remarkable to see the dichotomy that is Lyndon Johnson: the tenacity and hard-working ethic when he is engaged in a situation compared to the thorough disinterest if it doesn't suit is goals. He is a thoroughly political animal - and even though you know how the story ends, it is amazing and fascinating to see it play out. How can he - a junior freshman US Senator - tame the unruly beast that is the US Senate. Even though we know he does it (the name of the book!) it isn't at all clear how it can be done.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Going through the series.

If you could sum up Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Volume 1 in three words, what would they be?

Reliving my childhood.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Volume 1?

The best part of this series for me is that I am reliving my childhood. I'm pushing 60 and often visited my grandparent's 40 acre farm growing up. They were born circa 1900. The national infrastructure development, the stringing of electrical lines, the building of dams along the rivers from the homestead days forward sits in clear view along my grandparent's farm next to the Snake River. My grandfather was a democrat and was always watching the news about the changes clearly outlined in this series. My father was in the South Pacific and I was in high school when the Vietnam war ended. I also have a friend who served in Korea. I've traveled through China for two years now and have listened to their side of the 20th Century. Their stories magnify the brilliance of this author's work.

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

I'm in China teaching school and there is no TV or radio in English. School is out for the summer so I have been listening to this series in one setting. :-) I'm not a history hound and I hate dark stories about some sociopath that operates successfully with impunity and at the expense of a continuous body count of victims - just to dominate others. So, this series is hard work for me. But, this is surely the best history book for any of us to experience the 20th century again. It's about Johnson but the author is a master political science, sociology, psychology and economics teacher who is giving us a Pulitzer level history lesson.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

As engrossing as any 5 star novel

I have listened to all three volumes of Master of the Senate, and this review is for the whole thing. These books are terrific. Robert Caro has such a great feel for when to put in background information, and how much. It's a book about people as much as policies. I was glad another reviewer warned me about the long discourse on the history of the Senate at the beginning of the book, though, because I would have been wondering if I had the right book. But the history sets the scene, and Caro makes the history lesson extremely accessible and fascinating. Lyndon Johnson defies summarization in a paragraph, and I won't even try.No wonder Robert Caro couldn't do it in just one book. Caro gets down to the nitty-gritty of LBJ, every aspect of the man. If you are only going to read one book of Caro's, though (they're big!), I would read Passage of Power, which is the next one in the series, and is epic.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Think you know the 60s? Think you know LBJ?

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. LBJ was a huge influence on my generation in a personal way. Few presidents affect so many individual American lives on such a significant personal level. He ruined or elevated people in life changing ways. This book helps show how he became who he was and what a mystery his inner self still is.

What other book might you compare Master of the Senate to and why?

The other Caro books.

What does Grover Gardner bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Unknown

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I think buying and listening to Caro's book on Robert Moses was a pretty extreme reaction.

Any additional comments?

Anyone who is interested in recent US history and a perspective of politics today would find this useful.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

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.

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