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.

Most in depth Biography Ever Concieved

Robert Caro is truly one of the best biographers who ever lived. Amazing series and truly inspiring research effort. If political prowess and machinations of power were ever a wonder you held, Caro does his damndest to show you where it's starts and how it develops. I wish he was immortal so he could illustrate the public of more prominent people that seek power. The public truly has no idea how Presidents like the fascinating Lyndon Johnson view and move through the world. They would benefit floating around in Caro's head in how he understands things. The man is unmatched.

Enlightening information

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The reader casts a spell that makes you feel like you are in the story. It is enlightening to learn how little has changed in Washington.

Caro knows LBJ !

It’s incredible how so much detail can be attained and complied so meticulously on a man’s life, at home and political career. LBJ is painted as a self-promoting chameleon who changed his colors based on what elevates him in his only interest... power. No virtues permanently adhered LBJ to any political beliefs: liberal or conservative, joining political movements that helped propel him like The New Deal, to dropping it abruptly when he realized he no longer needed it to climb his ladder and trashing it when he realized doing so may help him attain yet more power. It also seems he was the man who took the DNC from the useless 19th century operation to the effective way it’s used today. It was well read.

Every Word, Every Page: Perfection

I am heading straight to the next book in this series, Means of Ascent, but I cannot imagine anything better than the book I just finished.

Top 5 Favorites

This is one audio book I couldn't stop listening to. Robert Caro's genuius shines here

Detailed & Fascinating Story of LBJ's Early Years

This book is long, but interesting from start to finish. Caro has written a fascinating story about LBJ's early life. The detail about the Texas Hill Country and LBJ' ancestors and family provide context about a not very likeable, power-hungry man who left his mark on the United States. The narrator reads the story well. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in American politics or history or who looks a good biography.

Amazing story about an amazing Americsn

While I wasn't an LBJ supporter, this story could only happen in America.
Caro provides the necessary detail to understand how an impoverished kid from the Hill Country of Texas could rise to become the wealthiest President of the U.S.

I couldn't put it down.

Fascinating

In the past, I'd seen this series and always thought to myself, "I'm just not that interested in Lyndon Johnson." Now that I know how interesting this book is, what a fascinating narration of recent U.S. history it is, I can't wait to listen to the next book in the series. I found Grover Gardner to be the perfect narrator for this content. Highly recommended.

Excellent

I loved it. I enjoyed the story as told by the author in a most detailed and clear fashion. you won't be disappointed at all. Every chapter is full of history and vivid detail

good read and loaded with info and fa r

love the book and looming forward to the next in the series. an unbiased look into the Johnson life