The Passage of Power

The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Book 4

By: Robert A. Caro

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 32 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

National Book Critics Circle Award, Biography, 2013

The Passage of Power follows Lyndon Johnson through both the most frustrating and the most triumphant periods of his career - 1958 to 1964. It is a time that would see him trade the extraordinary power he had created for himself as Senate Majority Leader for what became the wretched powerlessness of a Vice President in an administration that disdained and distrusted him. Yet it was, as well, the time in which the presidency, the goal he had always pursued, would be thrust upon him in the moment it took an assassin’s bullet to reach its mark.

For the first time, we see the Kennedy assassination through Lyndon Johnson’s eyes. We watch Johnson step into the presidency, inheriting a staff fiercely loyal to his slain predecessor; a Congress determined to retain its power over the executive branch; and a nation in shock and mourning. We see how within weeks - grasping the reins of the presidency with supreme mastery - he propels through Congress essential legislation that at the time of Kennedy’s death seemed hopelessly logjammed and seizes on a dormant Kennedy program to create the revolutionary War on Poverty.

Caro makes clear how the political genius with which Johnson had ruled the Senate now enabled him to make the presidency wholly his own. This was without doubt Johnson’s finest hour, before his aspirations and accomplishments were overshadowed and eroded by the trap of Vietnam.

It is an epic story told with a depth of detail possible only through the peerless research that forms the foundation of Robert Caro’s work, confirming Nicholas von Hoffman’s verdict that “Caro has changed the art of political biography.”

©2012 Robert A. Caro (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

The best political biography

Outstanding and riveting. Caro’s best book covering one of the most crucial phase of American history:

Transitional in more ways than one

Carol's research is breathtaking and it's safe to say that the depth of his analysis of this period will never be equalled, since he spoke with many people who are now gone. The book covers a transition period beautifully but it is a transition. For much of the period covered, its main subject was in the background. The book doesn't really come alive until the last few chapters. The next book in the series, if Caro is able to finish it, will be a milestone in American history writing.

Great book about a very important man

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

Robert A. Caro has done a fantastic job in this volume in his life of LBJ. I have lived in Texas for many years and to hear some of the background of public and not so public figures that I have heard of but did not know to much about is a real plus. The author niether glorifies or denigrates LBJ but seems to try to explain this very complex man.Since this is the fourth volume on the life of LBJ it gives some background and even referes to spcific chapters of prior volumes.The only series that seems to be comparable is the multi volume work on Churchill by Martin Gilbert, which I have read is the longest biography in the english language.

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

Grover Gardner's narration is excellent. He is neither overly dramatic nor to dry in his naration.

Any additional comments?

One of the things about this book that I really like are the authors comments about other books written about LBJ and puts them in prespective.My regret is that the first two volumes of this series does not seem to be on audilbe which is a real lack.

The best kind of history

Where does The Passage of Power rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Near the top.

What did you like best about this story?

The author not only describes specific events in detail, but gave me a far deeper understanding than I ever had before of not just Johnson and the many other characters involved, but also the workings of American politics, and the way power might have been brokered in other countries and other times.

One of the best biography's I've ever listened to

Wow! is all I can say after finishing this book. It must stand as one of the great biography's of all time. Caro has woven a tale of such complexity that it defies any summary. Having grown up during the years of this book, I was completely unaware of the enormous achievement of Lyndon Johnson during the six months following Kennedy's assassination. I had not read the previous three volumes and so was unaware of the complex nature of Johnson. It didn't matter. Caro so thoroughly revealed his character and so seamlessly wove it into the history of those pivotal years that the book almost seemed like a novel. I literally could not stop listening at certain points in the book. It was engaging as any of the best suspense novels: How will he get that bill passed? Who will he have to threaten, who will he have to massage, what promises will he have to make? He was able to facilitate the passage of the unpassable, stalled in Congress for thirty five years, Civil Rights Bill in four months at one of the most volatile moments in our history. He began the process four days after assuming the Presidency. Unbelievable! People (myself included) took this unbelievable achievement with a blase' attitude-Oh, no big deal. This book puts this dismissive in a deeply buried coffin where it belongs. As always, the superficial picture of famous people is often taken as the truth of who they really are and what they really achieved. It has often been said that the legacy of John F. Kennedy was most greatly served by his assassination. Although a cruel statement, this book proves this assertion. The book shows that Kennedy was completely impotent in domestic affairs. He had no idea how to deal with a recalcitrant Congress who ran circles around him and he had not achieved one significant piece of legislation during his three years. He had great ideas but it took the political genius of Lyndon Johnson to bring them to fruition and change the course of American history. It is sad that Johnson's great achievements will always be overshadowed by his horrible decisions regarding the Viet Nam war. Caro hints at this Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde dichotomy at the end of this book. The greatness of this book is how well Caro elucidates Johnson's internal contradictory devils, how these devils were used for the greatest good and then for the greatest evil. Caro also pulls the curtain back on how Washington really works. Considering what is happening in Washington today, it is illuminating to see how things have not changed much. It only emphasizes the greatness of Lyndon Johnson and how his particular political genius single handedly moved our Country to a level of greatness that may never be achieved again. When the moment called, he rose to it like no other President in our history. Hopefully, history will give Johnson credit as one of the great President's we've had. If you like biography, put this book at the top of your list.

Great incite into a interesting, yet tragic man.

I knew little about Lyndon Johnson before reading this book, yet having lived through his presidency as a young boy, and being fascinated with this period in history I was drawn to this book. I came away knowing that Johnson was a shrewd politician, a manipulator of men, a lier and the perfect person to be vice president when John Kennedy was killed. This book covers the period of time up until his first state of the union address in January 1964 in great detail, but it's hardly ever boring.
His intuitive knowledge of how to keep the government running, his ability to keep the Kennedy men on and working for him, thus keep some communality in the government was brilliant, especially given the fact that most of those men regarded Johnson a “corn pone” He was not educated at an ivy league school, did not have the family linage of JFK, yet he had the working knowledge of how to get a bill through congress that Kennedy didn't have. He was able to get part of Kennedy's agenda passed at just the right time, and then continuing to move forward with his own agenda.
The story was good, Grover Gardner's narration was good, not great but I wanted to continue to listen till the end. I will be looking for the next book in the series.

Informative

A very interesting account of this time in LBJ's life. So much I was not aware of. The fued between Johnson and Bobby Kennedy and the way Johnson was treated as VP brought me to tears at times only to then feel sorry for Bobby in the next chapter. Such a captivating time in the history of American politics. As an Aussie, I don't know where my obsession with the Kennedys comes from, but an obsession it is and I loved learning more about them from the other side of the coin. Recommend it to anyone interested in this era.

Caro and Gardner are a great team!

If you could sum up The Passage of Power in three words, what would they be?

Interesting researched powerful

Who was your favorite character and why?

LBJ. Being a Texan child when LBJ came into the presidency, my interest in what drives powerful men led me naturally to be drawn to reading about LBJ. Caro has done a excellent job of in depth research on his subject. I will always have my eye out for any book he chooses to write. Gardner just completes the package with his voice.

Have you listened to any of Grover Gardner’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes. Love his voice and smooth cadence.

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

No. It's way too long for me to stay awake that long, but I have listened to this book over and over ....and will again and again...

Hooked on Caro!

I read this after reading "Master of the Senate" because I was hooked on Caro's analysis of power--it's acquisition, it's manipulation, and what happens when a leader no longer has power. "Master of the Senate" was about how LBJ transformed what used to be considered a nothing job--Senate majority leader--into a bastion of power. It's a wonderful description of how--and why--he then used all of his talents at manipulating his power to pass the 1957 Civil Rights Act. In "The Passage of Power," LBJ has become JFK's vice president--a position with no power under which he chafes, until he is suddenly elevated to power by the assassination. And it gives fascinating insights into the LBJ-RFK feud. I can't wait for Caro's next volume in the series on the Vietnam War. I only wish the first two volumes of the series were available in an Audible format.

And speaking of Audible, I can't imagine a better narrator that Grover Gardner. He narrated both "Master of the Senate" and "The Passage of Power" superbly. I've thoroughly enjoyed listening to other books he's narrated. And I hope that if they do decide to record the first two books of Caro's LBJ series, that they pick Gardner to read them.

Caro is a consummate biographer!

Robert Caro is a gifted writer/researcher. I only wish he could have narrated this illuminating portrait of LBJ. Outstanding!