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View Full Version : Mid-book report on The Passage Of Power



W1GUH
06-05-2012, 03:40 PM
The Passage of Power (http://www.amazon.com/The-Passage-Power-Lyndon-Johnson/dp/0679405070/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335989813&sr=8-1)

About half way through, up to the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The book doesn't disappoint, I can't put it down. The intimate look into President Kennedy and Vice President Johnson is fascinating and Mr. Caro, IMHO, does a superb job of painting a word picture of the two men's personalities and how they interact with each other. Of course I recommend it. It isn't necessary to have read the first three volumes of the overall work to read this volume; Mr. Caro does a great job of adding whatever background from those volumes that's necessary for the current volume to make sense.

Again....IF you actually WANT to know how the government REALLY works, this book is for you!!!!

One thing I want to comment on is LBJ's personality and how he used it to get power. Today, he would probably be labeld "bipolar". To get his way, he'd fly in to a "majestic rage" (Caro's words). Or, in a different situation, would give his "hang-dog" look that he was so, so sad. Then just as soon as he got his way he changed instantly into his usual self again. On one occasion, when he was the Leader, when a senator he was talking to didn't move fast enough, he kicked him so hard in the shins as to leave a big bruise. Gopod! Image that today? He'd have been arrested, at least!

In general, when LBJ accepted the offer of VP, he had really mis-judged JFK and thought he'd gain power as VP. What he found, as the months rolled on, was that JFK was a LOT smarter and shrewder than LBJ ever thought. Mr. Caro covers this in a way that puts the reader right there in the room with either of them, and the tactics JFK used on LBJ to keep him powerless were pretty awesome.

Tech note:

This book is the perfect one for me to try an e-reader. The hardcover is big and heavy, about 700 pages, & just laying in bed reading it is tough, not to mention taking it anywhere else to read. But on an e-reader, well, obviously, no problem! The one on my Transformer is OK, and it'll be even better when I get good at using it.