C-SPAN Q & A: Robert Caro, Part 2

This is the second part of a discussion with Pulitzer prize winning author and historian Robert Caro. He talks about his newly released biography of Lyndon Johnson entitled The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Passage of Power.

This is his fourth book in the Johnson biographical series and Caro promises a fifth and final book in the future. The period covered in the book is from 1958 until early 1964. The author suggests he was drawn to write about Lyndon Johnson because he was wanted to explore how raw political power was exercised in the 20th century.

He discusses how Johnson was humiliated and despised by many of the White House staff people in the Kennedy administration. Johnson had to reach out to many of those same staff people to help run the country in the aftermath of the assassination of President Kennedy. He describes the scene in Dallas as Johnson takes the oath of office inside Air Force One with Mrs. Kennedy at his side.

Caro suggests that Lyndon Johnson rose to the occasion of leading the country and reached the height of his leadership skills by securing the passage of several legislative initiatives including the civil rights act and the tax cut. [Broadcast Date: May 20, 2012]

Listen to The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Passage of Power by Robert Caro.

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