The Path to Power

The Years of Lyndon Johnson

By: Robert A. Caro

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 40 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

This is the story of the rise to national power of a desperately poor young man from the Texas Hill Country. The Path to Power reveals in extraordinary detail the genesis of the almost superhuman drive, energy, and ambition that set LBJ apart. It follows him from the Hill Country to New Deal Washington, from his boyhood through the years of the Depression to his debut as Congressman, his heartbreaking defeat in his first race for the Senate, and his attainment, nonetheless, at age 31, of the national power for which he hungered.

In this book, we are brought as close as we have ever been to a true perception of political genius and the American political process. Means of Ascent, Book Two of The Years of Lyndon Johnson, was a number-one national best seller and, like The Path to Power, received the National Book Critics Circle Award.

©1981, 1982 Robert A. Caro, Inc. (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Best Book I Have Ever Listened To

If you’re still on the fence I have six words for you: Read it! Read it! Read it!

Just fantastic...

If you could sum up The Path to Power in three words, what would they be?
Riveting, dramatic, instructive. The story really is riveting. The initial description of the Hill Country in Texas is so fantastic, poetic, dramatic, revealing, evocative, and rich, that I have gone back several times to listen to it . And I will do so again.

The description of Lyndon's childhood, his fathers travails, rise, and demise and the effect on the family and the boy, are utterly unmatched in contrast and drama. Finally, the way Lyndon copes with it all, using his bright and dark sides to get ahead, ingeniously in both, is very instructive. I believe one can learn as much if not more from the 80% successes than the 100% successes, because their moral or other failings make them come alive more and even a sleazy scheme should be learned from, in that it took drive and courage to perform it, and THAT is never a bad trait to have.

Who was your favorite character and why?
Mr. Sam, Lyndon's dad, is a very powerful and tragic figure and as he falls from grace, and we witness it by painstaking degrees, we develop a love for this character that makes us think of him long after the book is done. I find myself wondering what would have happened if he hadn't done that last unadvisable thing, made that last unsound investment....could he have swung back from failure?...

Which scene was your favorite?
I won't give away the plot by giving a thorough description. It feels like a novel eventhough it isn't..so I know it's silly but I think you should have the pleasure of discovering it yourself.

Lyndon was courting a young lady and her dad didn't think Lyndon a suitable husband for his daughter. the way he tried to humiliate Lyndon is very dramatic. And the way Lyndon got back at him and the family years later, even more so.

Enjoy!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
It made my eyes go wide and it made me shake my head and it moved me.

Any additional comments?
Totally get this, you won't regret it! Also, read The Power Broker

As engrossing a biography as I've ever read

And unfortunately about a man who seems to embody Machiavelli's "the prince". The ruthlessness and conniving machinations of LBJ set against the brawny hardscrabble backdrop of turn-of-the-century and pre-World War II Texas makes volume one a fantastic read

If you think 2020's election was nuts...

...read about LBJ's US Senate run of 1941! Only unlike 2020, Johnson's really was riddled with fraud. Robert Caro does not make you like Johnson. He was obnoxious as a child, and he did not improve in his
personality or behavior. Winning by intimidation was the name of his game, and many underhanded maneuvers. Sound familiar?

A Must for Any History Buff

I've just finished Book 1 of Caro's Lyndon Johnson series. This is a fantastic biography of one of our country's most intriguing presidents. The book creates a broad understanding of the characteristics that make LBJ an unapologetic political genius. If you appreciate stories about backroom political deal-making, this book is for you. I'm hooked! Grover Gardner delivers an exceptional performance. Bring on "Means of Ascent."

Extremely detailed!

I think book is aptly named, thought it does not covers L.B.J's full political career it is extremely detailed and paints compete picture of him... Author goes into great detail of his ancestry and what type of people his predecessors were; so that we have better idea where he got his character!

I don't know if ai even re-read this but I definitely enjoyed the book!

Great book

One of the best books that I’ve ever read. Well worth the time it takes to listen.

Masterful

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

Insightful, epic, powerful.

What about Grover Gardner’s performance did you like?

Gardner is measured and wry and clear. He is a wonderful narrator for so long a book.

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

At 40 hours long, obviously not.

Any additional comments?

This book is stunning and deserving of every bit of praise it has received. Published in the early 1980s (first of five volumes, fifth still in progress), this is a masterwork of history, biography, and story-telling. Caro's writing is crisp and evocative, his thoroughness expansive and creative. At just shy of 1000 pages, the book never feels tedious or drags. Instead, chapter by chapter he introduces the reader to the world that gave rise to Lyndon Baines Johnson, explaining his immediate ancestors and the Texas they lived in, the ecological and climatic elements of the area that led to poverty and failure, and the encounters that shaped LBJ's psyche. No stone is left unturned and the sheer scope of interviews and sources consulted is mind boggling. Caro weaves each thread into a whole, and vignettes that on first blush appear to be random or tangential are revealed to be foundational, enriching the final product and deepening the reader's understanding. A friend described this book as an exploration and contemplation of power, and it is that. I look forward to continuing the journey with Caro.

LBJ as a case study on power

A few times the details become too much, but Caro's exhaustive analysis of power, using LBJ as a case study, is brilliant history. Like Nixon, Johnson was pure sociopath. And like Nixon in the hands of Ambrose, Caro's subject here is utterly compelling.

The best

Simply the best political biography. Caro’s assessment of power, how it is found, how it is used, told through the lens of LBJ’s life is rendered even more powerful through the deft narration of Grover Gardner. What a fantastic experience to listen to this even after having read the book in print before.