Robert Caro talks about The Passage of Power, book four of his monumental biography of Lyndon Johnson. It follows Johnson through both the most frustrating and the most successful periods of his career—1958 to1964, when traded his powerful position as Senate Majority Leader for what became the powerlessness of the vice presidency in an administration that didn’t trust him, and then had the presidency thrust upon him when President Kennedy was assassinated.
Guests:
Robert Caro
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Comments [7]
The lifetime work about LBJ is so impressive---looking forward to reading this most recent edition in this great series
I second Jim B's question on Vietnam -- hope it gets asked.
Mr. Caro's book on Robert Moses was great.
What are Mr. Caro's views about whether JFK was trying to wind down involvement in Vietnam and the extent to which LBJ was responsible for its escalation?
Why on earth hasn't Bill Moyers agreed to be interviewed by Mr. Caro, at least so far?
What did Nixon have on Johnson?
Did JOHNSON really have (illegal) wiretap evidence that Nixon was working to scuttle the 1968 Paris Peace Talks? As Time reported it, Johnson wouldn't reveal the treason because of 1) the methods used to gather the info and 2) did not want to appear to be choosing a 'winner' in the upcoming election.
Nixon approached Johnson for some help during the Watergate investigations asking for help. Johnson dropped dead the next day...Was Johnson in effect saying "I'd rather be dead than help you, Dick"?
I understand that Mr. Caro started out as a journalist. DId any one person or text help? Can he recommend a text on guidelines or a "handbook" to a beginner?
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