Means of Ascent

The Years of Lyndon Johnson #2

by Robert A. Caro

In Means of Ascent, Book Two of The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Robert A. Caro brings alive Lyndon Johnson in his wilderness years.

Here, Johnson’s almost mythic personality—part genius, part behemoth, at once hotly emotional and icily calculating—is seen at its most nakedly ambitious. This multifaceted book carries the President-to-be from the aftermath of his devastating defeat in his 1941 campaign for the Senate-the despair it engendered in him, and the grueling test of his spirit that followed as political doors slammed shut-through his service in World War II (and his artful embellishment of his record) to the foundation of his fortune (and the actual facts behind the myth he created about it).
 
The culminating drama—the explosive heart of the book—is Caro’s illumination, based on extraordinarily detailed investigation, of one of the great political mysteries of the century. Having immersed himself in Johnson’s life and world, Caro is able to reveal the true story of the fiercely contested 1948 senatorial election, for years shrouded in rumor, which Johnson was not believed capable of winning, which he “had to” win or face certain political death, and which he did win-by 87 votes, the “87 votes that changed history.”
 
Telling that epic story “in riveting and eye-opening detail,” Caro returns to the American consciousness a magnificent lost hero. He focuses closely not only on Johnson, whom we see harnessing every last particle of his strategic brilliance and energy, but on Johnson’s “unbeatable” opponent, the beloved former Texas Governor Coke Stevenson, who embodied in his own life the myth of the cowboy knight and was himself a legend for his unfaltering integrity. And ultimately, as the political duel between the two men quickens—carrying with it all the confrontational and moral drama of the perfect Western—Caro makes us witness to a momentous turning point in American the tragic last stand of the old politics versus the new—the politics of issue versus the politics of image, mass manipulation, money and electronic dazzle.

Genres: Biography, History, Politics, Nonfiction, Presidents, American History, Biography Memoir

522 pages, Paperback

First published March 7, 1990

About the author

Robert Allan Caro is an American journalist and author known for his biographies of United States political figures Robert Moses and Lyndon B. Johnson.
After working for many years as a reporter, Caro wrote The Power Broker (1974), a biography of New York urban planner Robert Moses, which was chosen by the Modern Library as one of the hundred greatest nonfiction books of the twentieth century. He has since written four of a planned five volumes of The Years of Lyndon Johnson (1982, 1990, 2002, 2012), a biography of the former president. Caro has been described as "the most influential biographer of the last century".
For his biographies, he has won two Pulitzer Prizes in Biography, two National Book Awards (including one for Lifetime Achievement), the Francis Parkman Prize (awarded by the Society of American Historians to the book that "best exemplifies the union of the historian and the artist"), three National Book Critics Circle Awards, the Mencken Award for Best Book, the Carr P. Collins Award from the Texas Institute of Letters, the D. B. Hardeman Prize, and a Gold Medal in Biography from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 2010 President Barack Obama awarded Caro the National Humanities Medal.
Due to Caro's reputation for exhaustive research and detail, he is sometimes invoked by reviewers of other writers who are called "Caro-esque" for their own extensive research.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

To say that Means of Ascent does not reach the towering heights of Caro's first volume of his Years of Lyndon Johnson is no slight. Path to Power is one of the greatest feats of biography I've ever read. The only reason Means falls short is because it happens to dwell on LBJ's wilderness years.

This was the time between his first failed senate run, during a special election, and his second, successful senate run, which culminated in the famed "87 votes that changed America." During these 7 years, LBJ, the ambitious, over-weaning, butt-kissing, glad-handing, lying, cajoling, cheating, adulterous power-seeker was backed into a corner. His flamboyant traits were diminished as he came up against an imposing barrier: the seniority rules of the House of Representatives.

LBJ, as one of 435 members of the US House, was neutered. His 11-year career was inauspicious and, to put it bluntly, a little depressing. He made no speeches, asked no questions, introduced only 7 bills, of which only 2 became law. He spent a little time grabbing for money, through a radio station he owned, but other than this secondary ambition - to be rich - he mostly stewed in the belief that he would die before gaining his ultimate goal - to be president.

Means lacks the first volume's great arc, from Hill County bumpkin to Roosevelt favorite. It also lacks the great side-story of Alice Glass and Charles Marsh, as LBJ sacrificed the great love of his life to his all-consuming drive for the White House. Means also drips with Caro's disgust for this version of LBJ. It is almost unconcealed, and seldom softened. LBJ is not only crass and unscrupled, but what is worse, he has no moral compass. No beliefs. Caro paints him as the ultimate chameleon. However, as Caro notes in his forward to volume 3, LBJ was shifting throughout his life in order to gain power. The great question, then, was what he would do with that power once gained. It is how LBJ finally used his capital that ultimately proves the measure of this man; it is this story that awaits the further volumes.

Means has much to offer. As in volume 1, when Caro raised Sam Rayburn to mythic status, a different hero is presented to stand athwart and in constrast to LBJ. This is Coke Stevenson, whom Caro, flirting with demagoguery, calls a "legend." Stevenson comes off as almost impossibly good. However, his story is incredibly touching, and Caro never fails to deliver the human elements. In all his books, he manages to delve into the personal details that drove the great men and women of our times. He wrote beautifully of Sam Rayburn's loneliness and shyness in volume 1; here, he gives us Coke, the self-made man, honorable and tough, who studied late into the night by light of candle. Coke, who lost his first wife and, late in life, found love once again. Coke, who "didn't know how to steal an election."

Caro has a way of shaping history to suit his narrative, which is both enjoyable to read, and capable of stretching reality. Coke is positioned as the exact opposite of the venal, sneaky LBJ.

In the '48 election, LBJ runs for the senate against Coke. LBJ pulls out all the stops. He gets in his bubble helicopter and flies around Texas. He makes speeches and shakes hands till his voice is gone and his hands are bleeding. He campaigns till exhaustion. Then, when that isn't enough, he cheats. It is this section of the book that is most enlightening. Caro proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that LBJ, with the help of border boss George Parr, out and out stole the senate election. It's a fascinating tail, filled with desperadoes and bandits and shady, squint-eyed men doing business in the shadows (the business being the buying and selling of Mexican-American votes). There is even a cameo by future Supreme Court jurist Abe Fortas, who stops a federal judge from opening contested ballot boxes.

The end result, of course, is that LBJ gets to the senate. The book ends, appropriately enough, with Coke Stevenson, retiring nobly to his ranch with his new love, to fade into history. We are left with an image of LBJ as - Caro frankly says - an "immoral" man, and Coke as an honorable Man of the West.

I thought this book was excellent, but I have to add an addendum: thank God LBJ stole that election. History may show that Coke never stole an election, but it also shows - and Caro FAILS to mention - that he didn't care one whit for blacks. It was LBJ, at the end of the day, who took a lifetime's worth of accumulated power and spent it on the Great Society, a package of program that did more for civil rights than any event in history short of Lee's surrender at Appomattox.

History is funny that way - it offers redemption at every turn.

[Luffy Sempai · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is a masterpiece, of that I don't doubt. It rings so true too. It feels lifelike, even if a few of the people - real people - are both larger than life and also dead, giving the story told a marvellous hue. The book is almost a standalone. The Path to Power is too good to overlook. But if push comes to shove, then do your bookish self a favour and read this biography.

Unlike a sizeable % of the books I'm fond of, this is not a forgotten but remembered book from my childhood. Neither it is a book that is a beloved Fantasy, a sequel a la Harry Potter. Robert A. Caro, the chronicler, has done his country and the Western (and Eastern) civilisation a favour. Of course, the book is not for everyone. But I say that only in terms of the likelihood the book will fall in the lap of a twenty-something reader. And that is a damn shame.

The book starts from chaos. Lyndon Baines Johnson's political plans are foiled by WW2, and by the removal of the shade provided by Roosevelt. I still don't know how exactly Johnson goes about charming the stalwarts of Washington, that bastion that radiates power and prestige. Washington DC might be the only capital city in developed countries that, outside of its museums and memorials, has little to offer to the tourist. But it is the root of every senatorial and every presidential existence.

For someone who doesn't like congenital liars and shysters, I was not surprised to find myself aloof from LBJ's narrative. But the book made me curious about his life. This book was written with so much detail yet one is never in doubt about its sources and its veracity. This is the first nonfiction book that made me cry aloud in excitement (when Stevenson gets to be the nemesis of Johnson).

Johnson's characterisation has a familiar sound and look and feel to it. You can imagine how often people of varying origins have a mind like his. A mind thirsty for power, recognition, respect, awe. The mind that dominates is no fun to be made a show of, but Caro gives it his all. Johnson's last book looks like it won't be completed, but the third book in the series has a reputation for being the best of the known four. I don't know if I will rank among its hailers. Means of Ascent provides sinister stories but also stories reeking with humanism.

Stevenson's life was very interesting to go through. You know that, when you read his feats of struggle, then of study, then of valour, that his is a life that doesn't, simply doesn't, grow on trees. He was my preferred person in the book. In context, he was probably a racist, but compared to that Johnson, he was a better man. Both Johnson and Stevenson have passions. The former for power, and the latter for amenableness and love of the land. The difference that really overshadows the quality in Stevenson gave him the last laugh. Coke Stevenson was born at a time when cowboys were passing into legend. He would add his epitaph to even that bygone era. But he lived for his ranch, dearly but honestly bought. He lived for the loves of his life. He was 20 years Johnson's senior and he outlived the latter. Both got what they were looking for, and while one sold his soul to do it, the other enriched his, to do it.

I beseech you, if you are looking for a tl;dr section in this review, here it is. Don't overlook this book. Give your romance/mystery/horror book of the month a rest for a few weeks, and give this book an opportunity to open your eyes to a world that was perhaps your country, but in which you, the native, was a stranger to.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It is the type of book that I thought certain history and philosophy books would turn out to be. This book should never make a cynic out of you. Evil things happen, but so do fair ones. I am very relieved to venture out of my well trampled trails. This particular trample leads you to... something unequivocal. Maybe the lesson to be learnt from this book is that everyone is a child of the earth, and under the skull of anyone, has a fixed potential, and also, that everyone born in the 19th century, seemed to have lead a brief life. We can only imagine.

[Kiekiat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Only 488 prior reviews of the second volume of Caro's LBJ bio. The major details of this relatively slim book (in comparison to the other 3 volumes) have been hashed and rehashed. I'm hoping to craft an arresting and apposite summation worthy to stand beside the many great reviews preceding me. Not sure I have the chops to do it, but what the hell.

I ended up liking this book a bit more, even, than Caro's first volume (The Path to Power). In this second volume, Caro really seemed to hit his stride as a writer. This book describes a period of forced quiescence in Johnson's life, his so-called "Wilderness Years," and I have the attention span of a gnat; so by rights this book should have supplanted my nightly Ambien as a soporific. Instead, due to Caro's magnificent writing and ability to craft a story line, there were some nights this book defeated my sleeping pill and kept me riveted. It is rumored that many people, especially celebrities, do or say strange things while on Ambien--so if I interject any inappropriate remarks, please realize my review notes were scribbled, at times, in an Ambien haze when I was non compos mentis.

In 'Means of Ascent,' Caro begins by rehashing a bit of the info he presented in volume I, thus ensuring a smooth transition and providing a bit of background for contrarians who insist on reading books "out-of-order."

The gist of the book can be summed up in a few paragraphs. Johnson, in a rare political blunder, was outfoxed by his opponent in his 1941 US Senate campaign. This was done by Johnson, being confident of victory, releasing his vote tally early on the eve of the election; thus giving his opponent, Texas governor W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel, the opportunity to steal the election via payoffs to party bosses who controlled huge blocks of minority voters, especially in South Texas, an area with a huge Mexican-American population. Johnson was shamed that his opponent had "stolen" the election from him but he was still a US Congressman and had to campaign for that office. Additionally, the senate election in 1941 was to fill a vacant position and there would be another senate election in July of 1942 and Johnson was confident he could win this election and redeem himself. This redemption was nixed, however, when President Roosevelt backed another candidate who had already been slotted for the senate seat in the 1942 election.

Despite his loss and stymied senate run, LBJ continued to enjoy the special attention from President Roosevelt. Johnson resumed an active social life in Washington and was a popular host at parties he would hold for friends and acquaintances. One acquaintance, future US Supreme Court justice Abe Fortas, was to play an important role both later in this book and throughout Johnson's life as a friend/consigliere. LBJ's contact with the White House is finally kaput in 1945 after Roosevelt's death. Former Senator Harry S. Truman, now President, was a keen observer of men. One would expect this since in early life he was a haberdasher, a profession requiring keen observation skills. He easily sees through Johnson's persiflage and false bonhomie and Johnson's access to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is abruptly curtailed.

During Johnson's failed 1941 Senate campaign, when it seemed likely that the US would be drawn into the war ensuing in Europe and other locales, LBJ had made an adamant campaign promise that should his fellow Texans be called to serve, he would be right there in the trenches fighting with them after vacating his Senate seat.

Johnson "fulfills" this promise after the outbreak of WW II. Most of his brief stint in uniform is spent touring bases on the US West coast. He finally finagles a trip to Australia where he joins a B-26 bombing team on a bombing run to a Japanese air base at Lae on the island of New Guinea. Johnson does see action, as the plane he is riding in his hit and unable to complete the mission and returns to base being pursued by Japanese fighter planes. Johnson's plane takes many hits and he reportedly keeps his composure while watching the firefight from a position behind the cockpit.

Johnson returns to Washington where this story is embellished with each retelling. Interestingly, Johnson lies even when knowing that those listening will know he is lying. One thing critics of Caro have complained about is that Caro does not "capture" the true Johnson charm and charisma. Apparently LBJ had such a command over an audience, and such a storytelling talent, that listeners enjoyed even his prevarications. (To those that want a depiction of LBJ as seen by a writer who worked for him, I highly recommend the novella written by former Johnson staffer Billy Lee Brammer, 'The Gay Place,' a book of 3 novellas with "The Flea Circus" describing life working for LBJ. Brammer, no stranger to aberrant behavior, does a great job of capturing LBJ's manic mix of charm and intimidation. Here's a quote from 'The Gay Place' describing a young aide's worldview after some experience enduring Johnson (named in the book as Arthur "Goddamn" Fenstemaker--a nod to his favorite curse word and a last name the German for "window-maker," an allusion to a man skilled at framing life to suit his needs):

"Jay had more the quality, characteristic of those constantly exposed to Arthur Fenstemaker, of having peered steadily at the scene of an accident, experienced a revelation, seen death and redemption, God and Lucifer staring back, and somehow, incredibly, survived."

Brammer captures the life-altering impact of working for Johnson in a way that a mere factual, historical account could never do.

During the next six years, Johnson's rising Lone Star loses its luster, as he serves out his remaining terms in congress in a desultory fashion, introducing no significant legislation. He remained as cagey as ever, never voting for a losing bill during his many years in congress.

Johnson does not "come to life" again (supposedly) until the infamous 1948 election for the US Senate in Texas against former Texas governor and full-time saint, Coke Stevenson. This election, with Stevenson the heavy favorite in the primary, is where the main action in the book takes place. Caro proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Johnson stole the election, which he won by 87 votes, through a combination of tireless campaigning, a huge campaign fund from his millionaire oil/construction backers and extreme political chicanery involving egregious vote fraud and ballot box stuffing.

Some of my thoughts/observations about the book:

--Caro is justly known for his thorough and meticulous research. Some would say it reaches the point of obsessiveness, a charge perhaps justified given that the Johnson bio was originally planned as a trilogy and now is a shelf of 3 very thick volumes and one mid-sized volume (Means of Ascent), with the fifth and final tome expected should Caro not shuffle off this mortal coil before completion. Caro has a gift for writing interesting digressions that actually serve a purpose of helping to tell his story. That said, I feel like there was MUCH left unsaid here about this "quiet" period of Johnson's life.

Johnson was a force majeure. People like him really do not have "quiet periods" until they are on their deathbeds and comatose. Yes, LBJ may have been in a political wilderness, where he had lost his influence with President Roosevelt, as FDR was busy with the war, and LBJ was also on the outs with his old mentor Sam Rayburn. Likewise, due to political changes, his power to pull strings and grant favors to his fellow congressmen had waned.

Caro is fascinated by power and by people like Robert Moses and LBJ who are masters at obtaining it and using it to sway other people, both the powerful and the lumpen proletariat, to embrace their desires. It is thus no coincidence that 'Means of Ascent' has been Caro's shortest work in the Johnson tetralogy. It was a period when Johnson had the least political power of his entire career.

I suspect, though, that while Caro views this power vacuum period as a time of hamstrung desires, LBJ the force of nature undoubtedly was living as he usually had--using his tremendous personal charisma to work others to his will. I suspect this was a time that Johnson had many gratuitous sexual affairs and found ways to complicate his life outside the political sphere. I am also guessing his eye was always on the prize of the 1948 election and that much scheming and planning was already being implemented behind the scenes in preparation what would be Johnson's real war.

In fairness to Caro, I can see why little of this 1942-1948 period is chronicled. Johnson had seemingly lost his power and influence and I'm having trouble envisioning a Caro-Lady Bird interview where Lady Bird casually mentions, "Well, Lyndon was pretty down during this time. The only thing that kept him going was that he was screwing every young vixen he could get his huge hands on."

What Caro does dredge up about this period is that this is the time Johnson turned his energies toward getting rich, a goal he valued nearly as much as his ambition to be President. To begin what would become a modest media empire, Johnson purchased an Austin radio station and put it in Lady Bird's name and she ran the day-to-day affairs. (Johnson's media empire was sold for 9 million US dollars before his death--a figure equivalent to about 54 million US$ in 2018). Meanwhile, Johnson worked behind the scenes to move the station to a more desirable spot on the dial and increase its broadcasting range to cover a much wider area of Texas than its low wattage had previously allowed. He also maneuvered to get the station affiliated with CBS, no small feat. The station, under Lady Bird's efficient management, began making large profits due to greatly increased advertising revenue--profits that would lead to other media acquisitions and serious wealth, especially with the advent of television in the 1950's.

I was delighted that Caro devoted a chapter of this book to Lady Bird. She is an oft-overlooked figure in LBJ's larger-than-life persona. She tended to stay in the shadows but in reality she was perhaps Lyndon's biggest champion and most perspicacious advisor. I realized this years ago reading the Michael Beshchloss trilogy of LBJ's secret White House tapes. I had always thought of Lady Bird as a demure, loving but uninvolved spouse. Beshchloss's books reveal a Lady Bird with a keen understanding of her husband's political life and LBJ often consulted her for advice on how to handle different people and situations. It is obvious from reading the transcriptions of the tapes that Lady Bird was a person of high intelligence who played a crucial role in her husband's life as advisor, partner and confidant. Caro interviews several suitors from her youth and one of them notes that Lady Bird was a person who had always planned to marry a man with power, a man "going places." She wasn't going to settle for a man of low ambitions. Though Caro often describes Lady Bird as a sort of maid-in-waiting to a bossy, demanding LBJ, his chapter on Lady Bird shows that, far from being a mere doormat, she was a brilliant, determined person who aided and championed Johnson's rise to power and was a valuable, supportive ally through all of Johnson's good and bad times.

The controversial stolen senate election of 1948 is the book's predominant focus. Caro has done some stealthy snooping to get the definitive truth about this suspect election. This is both the book's strongest and weakest section, IMHO.

It is strong because it reads as if one is watching a great drama, with a malevolent force (Johnson) using modern campaign techniques (he visits Texas towns by helicopter, a stunning spectacle in 1948, and uses statewide media, especially radio, to campaign). Coke Stevenson, his opponent and front runner, simply drives from town-to-town talking to small groups of voters, the old-fashioned way.

The story of how the election is stolen makes the Bush-Gore fiasco of 2000 look like a grammar school election in some podunk town in flyover country. (For those of you who are foreigners or unfamiliar with American vernacular, flyover country is anywhere in the United States that is not metropolitan New York City, Los Angeles, maybe San Francisco and Boston and DC and Seattle, Miami and Las Vegas--are excluded as "flyover" rabble). Most "flyover" people wear red caps, voted for Trump and are, fortunately, unable to read).

Johnson, with the aid of his rich backers, steals the election in a conclusion so powerful it makes the political writings of Theodore H. White (a noted political writer specializing in chronicling elections) seem like sixth-grade essays from those few literate flyovers capable of writing. I don't want to give away too much except to say that this election proved a couple things: 1. LBJ would go to any lengths to "win" an election; 2. Without the brilliant legal mind of Abe Fortas and Johnson's balls of steel, LBJ may have ended his days as an Austin used car salesman; 3. Johnson, despite his proclivity to tell tall tales believed by no one, was extremely concerned about his reputation and appearance and standing in every aspect of his life.

Onto the book's weakness. Stevenson is cast as the "hero" in this tale and portrayed as a man of such moral probity and goodness that compared to Coke, Albert Schweitzer would be a depraved serial killer. Coke is the prototypical self-made American man who rose from a poor family to establish a perilous delivery business as a teenager while studying on long hard nights under a light held by an angel. First he studied finance and moved from fording dangerous streams with wagon loads of much-needed goods for remote country folk to working in a bank while reading law in the late evenings. His main goal in life was to buy a ranch and spend his days working it while practicing a bit of law. His assiduous study pays off as he passed the bar and apprenticed under a skilled and experienced attorney. Coke's love of the US Constitution was so powerful that by comparison the great Supreme Court Justice John Marshall was a seditious traitor.

Coke realizes his dream, buys his ranch, marries the love of his life and begins ranching and lawyering (not a real word) and being a good citizen by spending his nights protecting his fellow ranchers from cattle rustlers. He was a man with no political ambitions but is so respected by his fellow citizens that he is cajoled into running for various state offices, leading up to two terms as Texas governor. He was undefeated in 12 elections prior to facing LBJ (and a few others) in the democratic Senatorial primary. He won the last gubernatorial election with a mere 85% of the vote. After serving his two terms, Coke retired to his ranch to dig post holes in the rocky soil of his ranch.

This depiction of Coke as the exemplar of morality and goodness, juxtaposed by the portrait of LBJ as a venal, vote-stealing sociopath diminished the book, IMO, though not enough for me to withdraw my five-star rating. It's diminishing because I think it fails to give an adequate estimation of both men.

Johnson once quipped, "The very fact a man is a newspaper reporter is evidence of some flaw of character." Could "politician" have been substituted for "newspaper reporter?" One of Caro's themes in his books seems to be that the very act of seeking power necessarily involves the power-seeker to capitulate to malign forces and, at times, compromise his values, should he have them.

Coke Stevenson was a man who had run for office twelve times in Texas and twice had held the highest elected office in the state. He was a man with flaws and a keen political sensibility. Caro fails to mention any of those flaws and thus the reader learns about a Coke who is almost too good to be human. In critiques I've read of the book, several reviewers point out that Coke was known in Texas as "Calculatin' Coke" and I'm guessing if Caro had interviewed African-Americans in various parts of Texas, some of them might view Coke in quite opposite ways than the Coke presented to us in 'Means of Ascent.'

Coke was a racist, in other words, as has been pointed out by Matt in his magnificent review. This was also noted in the critiques I read of the book and one reviewer cited a direct quote from Coke during his reign as governor where a black man had been lynched and Coke was urged by a US Attorney to prosecute the white men suspected in the lynching. Coke's response was along the lines that, "Some Negroes get what they deserve" and he declined to have the lynching investigated. Coke was also supported by the "Dixiecrats" in the election, a far-right group of politicos who ran racist Strom Thurmond for President in the '48 election. Caro mentions this but downplays it and implies that Coke received their endorsement solely because the Dixiecrats perceived Coke as the lesser of the two evils.

It's also interesting that Johnson's wealthy political backer, Herman Brown, whom Johnson had helped make even richer, described him as being in favor of improving the lives of black people. Johnson did not vote this way but, apparently, he was open in admitting he favored better treatment of African Americans at a time when Texas had regular lynchings and maltreatment of someone due to skin color was simply the order of the day. Further, Johnson based on past journalistic accounts I have read, had always been a champion of black civil rights but could not openly state this as it would have meant death for his political career. Reports I have read indicate that Johnson, when traveling around Texas, would do seemingly innocuous things like casually approach a black hotel porter and ask, "How are things going down here for your people?" A colleague may have seen Johnson talking to the porter and assumed he was giving instructions for his bags. Johnson used surreptitious ways to sound out some oppressed minorities.

Caro's assiduous research allows him to dig up Johnson scandals like his technique of using local supporters to spread malicious rumors about Stevenson, one being that Coke was a champion of big labor and a communist pawn who planned to repeal the Taft-Hartley Act after being elected.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taft%E2...

Amazingly, NO questionable campaign maneuvers are ever mentioned in Coke's camp. Perhaps there were none but I wonder how much digging Caro did to find out? It is rather hard to believe that Coke's racial views wouldn't have been widely known, but Caro made no attempt to present this less than savory side of the man because to do so would have lessened the power of his good versus evil story line.

In sum, this is an excellent book full of what readers have come to expect from Robert Caro. Interesting asides that add richness and texture to his writing and clear, detailed explanations of complex matters that include new insights and factual accounts that could only have been obtained through laborious research. The book's account of the stolen election would likely be upheld in any court in the land as damning testimony. Most historians are going to write accounts of a particular person or event and either consciously or inadvertently are going to interject their personal prejudices and opinions of that person or event. In this respect, Caro is no different from most writers of history and biography. I recommend 'Means of Ascent' as an important connecting link in the complicated life of Lyndon Baines Johnson, a complicated man. At the same time, I'd suggest the discerning reader conduct a bit of side research to investigate the political life of the noble and saintly Coke Stevenson.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

In hopes of trying to stir up the vibes for Robert A. Caro to complete this multi-volume biography of Lyndon Baines Johnson, I chose to begin a re-read of those tomes already published. Let’s see if it works!

In reading Robert A. Caro’s second volume of the Lyndon Baines Johnson biography series, I was completely blown away once more. While some call it less exciting than Caro’s opening volume depicting LBJ’s Texas life and early congressional years, I felt that it helped shape the image of the president I knew from the history books. This tome is by no means a shrinking violet in the literary world, though the level of action does pale when placed against the first book. Still, Caro brings to life those years that bridge the lead up to his arrival on Capitol Hill and his arrival in the Senate, where he made a national name for himself. From falsified war stories to his campaign and complete robbery of the 1948 Democratic primary for the US Senate. Here I thought ‘Dewey wins’ was the #1 story in the 1948 election cycle.

Caro pulls no punches, appearing to side only with the truth and that which the record reflects, rather than cozying up to the famed LBJ. The reader learns a great deal about the chain-smoking, ill-tempered LBJ as the story progresses from his arrival on the scene as a congressman and his failed attempt at the Senate in 1941. The reader will, more than likely, not leave this volume with a strong feeling that the hometown son will vanquish his foes.

Early parts of the book explore LBJ’s ability to spin a tale like no other, puffing up his war efforts to make himself look the hero, when he was in action for only 13 minutes. His lies and deception with this event helped exacerbate the tales that would be useful when he needed the support for his successful Senate run.

Johnson’s wife, Lady Bird, plays a prominent role in this volume. While she was quite shy, she helped to shape Johnson into the prominent politician he would need to be for decades to come. It was also her family money that helped purchase some radio stations around Texas, whose messaging could be used to promote the congressman during his early political years, thereby paving the way for his Senate campaign in 1948.

What stunned me most in this volume, perhaps in the entire biography up to this point, is the story (read: saga) surrounding the 1948 US Senate election and LBJ’s attempts to (and successful actions to) steal the Democratic primary by any means necessary. Caro makes this election campaign the poignant part of this volume, spending a great deal of time on the issue and looking at it, both in-depth and from a variety of perspectives. Not being American, I was not as aware of his moment is history as some may be (and it seems the US media really picked up on it after LBJ’s death in 1973), but the 87 votes that changed the world really is a key event in both the progression of this biography and the life of LBJ. For, as it is said many times, had he lost (and actually been declared the loser), his limelight would surely have burnt out and left others to fill the void. It was with this victory that his way to greatness and infamy on the national political scene was paved.

I cannot express how impressed I am with this book and the progression of this series. As I enter the third book (longest and probably the most powerful, as we examine LBJ in the Senate), I cannot wait to see what Caro reveals and what history has to say about this powerful man, who will do anything to get what he wants.The chapters were filled with great narrative bits and helped shape an image of LBJ for the attentive reader. While there are surely tangential aspects to the storytelling, everything has its place and serves a purpose. Caro is a master and I cannot wait to see how things progress into the meatier tomes to come!

Kudos, Mr. Caro, for another stunning volume in the life of this most conniving politician.

Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/

[Darwin8u · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A platform, he said in his dry way, was like a Mother Hubbard dress: it covered everything and touched nothing. Platforms and campaign promises were meaningless; politicians issued them or made them, and then as soon as they were elected forgot them."
- Robert A. Caro, Means of Ascent, quoting Coke Stephenson



This was a different book from Caro's Vol. 1 of the Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Path to Power. 'The Path to Power' detailed the rise and early history of LBJ. It set the table. It showed LBJ as a boy, showed the Hill Country. It described his father (so much of LBJ can be explained by his complicated relationship to his father). It moved through LBJ's college career, early political connections, and how all the attributes that made LBJ who he was were formed. It ended as LBJ lost the 1941 election for the US Senate to W. Lee O'Daniel. He basically had the election, out stolen from him. He lost focus too soon.

This book starts off with LBJ's brief stint in the Navy after Pearl Harbor, his attempt and failure to move up in D.C. (with FDR, with Truman, in congress with the Party). He was stuck. So it moves on to LBJ using the power he had, to buy a radio station in Austin. One that would later be the source of his and Lady Bird's enormous wealth (it is amazing how many of our politicos enter DC rich and leave quite rich).

The last half of the book details the 1948 Senate election when LBJ ran against Coke Stephenson for the Texas Senate seat. At this point, it becomes almost a dual biography. One of opposites. Coke was old school, honest, thoughtful, popular, low key. In many ways he resembled LBJ's father. Caro never said it directly, but in many ways he didn't need to. LBJ's character was formed as a reaction to his father's unwillingness to get into the gutter. LBJ was all ends. He would use whatever MEANS were required. And in 1948, that meant MONEY and corruption.

Anyway, it was hard to decide to give this 5-stars. It wasn't as impressive a book, in some ways, as Vol 1. However, it was beautiful. I loved reading about Coke. Coke was a good counterbalance to LBJ's style. But it is hard, too, not to admire LBJ's work ethic and his ability to take enormous risks and sometimes his brilliant ability to read and use people.

The book is also a lesson on how we are also suckered by the exact things we think we want badly. I'm pretty sure, the men who bought/brought LBJ into office certainly loved some of the things he did, but I'm not sure they would ever have thought their "Man" would eventually pass the Civil Rights Act and much of his great society agenda. Eventually, many would come to regret their man. LBJ was never anyone's man.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Note: I initially wrote a review here for book I of the series, when this is book II in the series. Oops. The first few comments here are referring to the book I review, which I moved here. Here is the Book II review:

Means of Ascent: The Years of Lyndon Johnson II

I’d love to see someone turn this book series into a television drama. It would have to be television because there is too much material to do justice in a movie. The drama would be just as wild as House of Cards with the bonus of it being true. So many events in Lyndon Johnson’s life seem like it had to be scripted.

This book, the shortest one of the series, covers the “wilderness years” of Lyndon Johnson from 1941 to 1948, when his political career is stalled. He has a safe Congressional seat but that wasn’t enough for him. He desperately wants to be a Senator but doesn’t have the chance until 1948.

The Senate Election of 1948

Any great dramatic series needs a colorful supporting cast. The first book introduced us to the irascible Sam Rayburn and the clownish “Pappy” O’Daniel, and this book introduces us to Lyndon Johnson’s opponent in the 1948 Senate race, Coke Stevenson.

Think of the term “self-made man” taken to such an extreme it seems cartoonish. His successes and principled honesty made him so respected that they practically threw leadership positions at him: County Attorney, Judge, State Representative, and then Governor. When he threw his hat in the ring for the 1948 Senate race, Lyndon Johnson had the odds stacked against him.

To heighten the drama, Johnson could not run for re-election to his Congressional seat while also running for the Senate seat. His political career would be over if he lost. Johnson ran for this election like his life depended upon it, driving himself and his team to the limits of their capacity.

Johnson developed a kidney stone that made him seriously ill. He willed himself through speeches and travel while in immense pain until he had to be hospitalized. Some of the stories of him pulling himself together for speeches brings to mind the “Michael Jordan flu game” (if you don’t know anything about basketball, it was also mentioned in the Parks and Recreation episode where Leslie gives a great speech while sick). Against doctor’s orders, he refused the doctor’s recommendation of a surgical procedure (which would have had such a long recovery period he would have to withdraw) and waited, hoping he would pass the stone. He did – in the nick of time. Not before telling his aide to make an announcement that he is withdrawing from the race (an order that his aide didn’t obey even though Johnson was adamant!).

How do you defeat someone so popular? Johnson kept trying different lines of attack until he found one that worked: that Stevenson is a fence-straddling coward with no principles, who is a stooge for “racketeering labor leaders” and is also possibly a secret communist. Never mind that these charges are false - laughably so (Stevenson was an Ultra Conservative with a rigid set of principles) - and not even internally consistent. It worked, especially when backed by the financial advantage Johnson had, which enabled him to repeat his message relentlessly in print and radio advertisements. Johnson was the first politician to use a helicopter, which not only enabled him to quickly travel around the state but also generated a huge amount of buzz from the novelty of it.

And in true Johnson style, he cheated and stole the election. I’m going on too long so I won’t expand, except to say that the story of the steal, and the ensuing legal battle where a clever strategy from the brilliant Abe Fortas enabled Johnson to secure his victory (by the skin of their teeth with the key ruling coming moments before the cheating would have been exposed. Again, how is this real? It’s so bizarre and unbelievable.) that it seems made to be captured on film.

Other Notes

The core of the book is the 1948 Senate race, but a couple other things are worth mentioning.

Caro details Johnson’s accumulation of incredible wealth. Johnson bought a radio station after strong-arming the owner to sell. As he used his political power to gain favors for the station, it became immensely profitable. The details got a little tedious but it is good information. Caro claims that Johnson was the wealthiest president ever, measured at the time of their inauguration. Though I’m not sure if that’s true of you adjust for inflation. Some of our founding fathers were ridiculously wealthy for their time. But let’s not get too nitpicky – he was incredibly wealthy. Though it was really a consolation prize in Johnson’s eyes. His real goal was political advancement, which wasn’t happening.

Also covered is his World War 2 service. Johnson’s opponents say he used his privilege to avoid going to combat areas. Johnson describes himself as being on board multiple bomber missions with lots of harrowing experiences. As is usually this case with this sort of thing, the truth is in the middle. After some stalling, Johnson did go to a war zone. He was on board a bomber flight that was attacked and had engine trouble. He received a Silver Star for his “coolness” and “gallantry”.

I’ve spent so much time reading this series that I might sometimes forget that Caro’s construction of the history is just one attempt at this. I think some of the above would be disputed by other experts. I’ll try to read some other works to get a broader perspective.

[James Thane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second volume (of four thus far) in Robert Caro's magisterial biography of former president Lyndon B. Johnson. It treats the period from mid-1941, when Johnson lost a special election for the U.S. Senate, through 1948, when Johnson won election to the Senate in a hotly contested and heatedly disputed primary election. Johnson was crushed by his loss in 1941, and believed that the election had been stolen from him by an opponent who was more clever than he. He vowed it would never happen again.

Months after that defeat, Johnson was still a sitting congressmen when World War II began with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. In campaigning for the Senate in 1941, Johnson had promised Texas voters that if he voted to send their sons to war, he would leave the Senate and be out in the trenches with them. Once war was declared, Johnson thus found himself in a bind because he had absolutely no interest in being in the trenches or anywhere else, other than in the Congress.

As means of finessing the situation, Johnson requested a leave from the Congress. He had earlier enrolled as a Lieutenant Commander in the Naval Reserve and now left the Congress to go on "active" duty in California and elsewhere, far from any fighting.

Johnson knew, though, that his political career would be imperiled if he did not see some action, especially in light of the promise he had made. Thus he ultimately arranged to get to Australia and then to go on a single combat mission as an observer, not as a combatant, flying on a B-26 bomber. The bomber came under enemy fire from Japanese Zeros, but returned safely to its base. Another bomber in the flight was shot down.

Having seen this action, Johnson returned home and fairly quickly thereafter, to his duties in the House of Representatives. But in the years following, he continued to embellish the story of his combat experience until it bore no resemblance whatsoever to the action that had actually occurred. Johnson also managed to win a Silver Cross, simply for being a passenger on a plane that had come under enemy fire, and he wore it proudly for years thereafter as he boasted of his heroic wartime actions.

Having disposed of Johnson's war "record," Caro then goes on to recount how Johnson established the foundation of the fortune he would accumulate in the coming years by taking over a small, struggling radio station. The station, and the others to follow, were technically owned by Johnson's wife, Lady Bird, and Johnson always insisted that the radio empire was hers alone and that he had nothing to do with it. Caro quickly demolishes that story as well and demonstrates that Johnson was actively involved in the radio business from the start and strongly suggests that Johnson, perhaps improperly, used his political influence to grow his fortune in this regard.

Caro devotes the bulk of the book, though, to Johnson's second effort to win election to the Senate, this in 1948. It's not a pretty picture and resembles nothing remotely approaching the innocent picture of democracy in action that we all learned in grade school civics classes.

In a nutshell, Caro believes that this election was make-or-break for Lyndon Johnson. He had to give up his congressional seat in order to run for the Senate, and Caro argues that if Johnson had lost the election, his career in politics would have been finished. That point is arguable, though. Johnson was still a relatively young man in 1948, and certainly, had he wanted to, he could have pursued other political options.

Caro is also convinced that Johnson blatantly stole the election and does everything he can to marshal the evidence in favor of his case while ignoring anything that might argue against it. Caro says that he initially intended to cover the election in only a single chapter, but he was apparently so incensed by the story that, instead, he devoted three-quarters of this volume to it.

As is the case with his other books, Caro has done prodigious research into the topic. The problem, it seems to me, lies in the way he has used that research. For example, much of the book rests on oral interviews. One gets the impression that Caro must have talked to anyone who ever even passed Johnson on the street from the time Johnson was born until the day he died.

The problem, though, is that Caro seems all too willing to take at face value any criticism that anyone has to offer of Johnson. If, on the other hand, someone might say something nice about the man, Caro often stops to present a counter-argument, suggesting that the compliment perhaps was not deserved.

The over-arching problem of Caro's treatment of the election, though, is that he sees this as a contest of black and white, good versus evil, virtue against vice, with no middle ground apparently possible. Johnson is clearly the guy in the black hat and his principal opponent, Coke Stevenson, is crowned with the white hat.

Given the nature of Texas politics in the late 1940s, winning the Democratic primary was tantamount to winning the election. Several candidates ran for the Senate seat in the primary with Stevenson leading the pack and Johnson coming in second. But Stevenson did not win a majority of the vote and so had to face Johnson in a runoff election. In the second election, Johnson emerged the winner by a scant total of eighty-seven votes. Caro argues that the outcome was the result of unprecedented electoral fraud never before seen, even in Texas.

In order to make Johnson appear as crooked as possible, Caro resorts to turning his opponent, Coke Stevenson, into a sainted hero of the Old West--a man of the people, humble, wise, simple and honest beyond reproach. He waxes on at length about Stevenson's virtues, noting at one point that, "He loved the law that he had taught himself on the ranch, loved it as he loved his land, loved it with an intensity so deep it was almost religious, believed in its majesty, its power to right a wrong."

The only problem with Caro's depiction of Stevenson is that few, if any, other historians would recognize it. The Coke Stevenson described by many other observers was a small-minded reactionary, an advocate of states' rights who distrusted government, the federal government in particular, an isolationist and a racist as well.

As governor of Texas, Stevenson had slashed spending for social services. He was very critical of a Supreme Court decision in 1944 that expanded black voting rights in Texas, and said regarding a lynching in Texarkana that "certain members of the Negro race from time to time furnish the setting for mob violence by the outrageous crimes which they commit." Ol' Coke was a bit more generous toward Mexicans noting that "Meskins is pretty good folks. If it was niggers, it'd be different."

But this is a far cry from the Stevenson that Caro portrays, and when challenged on this score, Caro insists that the portrait of Stevenson that others now take as gospel results from the fact that they are perpetuating the lies that Johnson and his supporters spread about Stevenson during the election. But these kinds of criticisms had been made of Stevenson long before 1948, as had allegations that he was in bed with the oil interests, though this is hardly a unique charge in Texas politics. Well before 1948, Stevenson had earned the nickname "Calculatin' Coke," which was not always intended as a compliment.

Caro does admit, almost grudgingly, that Johnson displayed great leadership skills as he marshaled his forces during the election contest, that he raised huge sums of money to finance his campaign, that he worked himself to the bone, and that he conducted what would become the first modern political campaign in Texas history.

Stevenson, campaigned in the old-fashioned way, driving around Texas, talking to voters wherever he could find them in a very low-keyed effort. Johnson, on the other hand, barnstormed the state in helicopters, using advance me to line up crowds and making heavy use of radio, newspapers and other media. Irrespective of who should have won the election, even Caro is forced to admit that Johnson out-worked, out-thought, and ultimately out-maneuvered Stevenson. But it's almost as if Caro thinks that Johnson wasn't being fair to the old boy; that instead of flying around the state meeting as many voters as he possibly could, Johnson should have been knocking around Texas in an old beater pickup, talking to people one at a time as a show of deference to his older opponent.

In the end, in Caro's view, the runoff election was decided by several thousand votes that were manipulated in Johnson's favor in a few south Texas counties, principally Duval, which was under the firm control of political boss, George Parr, the "Duke" of Duval.

A common tactic in Texas elections at the time was for candidates to withhold votes from counties they controlled and then report them as needed, "correcting" and "updating" the totals often for several days after the election was supposedly over, as they watched the votes reported from areas that favored their opponents. Parr was a master at this tactic, and the precincts under his thumb very often produced huge, lopsided vote totals for the candidates that Parr favored.

In this case, Parr favored Johnson and, at the very last moment, when the election seemed clearly decided in Stevenson's favor, Duval County reported 202 new votes--200 for Johnson and 2 for Stevenson. This flipped the election in Johnson's favor by 87 votes, a total that withstood challenges in several arenas and which earned Johnson the nickname, "Landslide Lyndon."

Naturally, Stevenson--and Caro--screamed "Fraud!!!" Both claim that the election was stolen from the rightful winner. One would expect this from Stevenson, but one would also expect a more dispassionate argument from an allegedly neutral historian. The problem with Caro's account is that he focuses exclusively on the electoral manipulations perpetrated by the Johnson camp and totally ignores the claims of fraud that were made against Stevenson by Johnson and others. Certainly, Stevenson's supporters were manipulating votes as well, correcting and updating their totals for several days, just as the Johnson camp was doing.

Moreover, Caro leaves the reader with the impression that Parr, the "Duke of Duval," was clearly in Johnson's pocket. Others, though, have argued that the only political fortunes that Parr was concerned with were his own. He backed the candidate that he though would most benefit his own interests and in this case, that candidate was Johnson.

Caro also neglects to mention that, previously, the "Duke's" candidate had been Coke Stevenson. In the three elections prior to 1948, Parr had furnished votes out of Duval County favoring Stevenson over his opponents by 3,643 to 141, 2,936 to 77, and 3,310 to 17. Ironically, Stevenson did not consider these returns to be suspicious and not surprisingly, he did not challenge them.

But in his last term as governor, Stevenson took actions that angered Parr, and the "Duke" took his revenge in 1948 by delivering similarly lopsided margins to Johnson. Suddenly now, the vote totals out of Duval County did seem suspect to Stevenson and he screamed bloody murder, but to no avail. Robert Caro continues to scream bloody murder on Stevenson's behalf, but his argument rings a bit false because of the way in which Caro has chosen to use the evidence he has collected. I've never been a fan of Lyndon Johnson, but you hardly have to love the guy to think that he deserved more even-handed treatment than he gets from Caro on this subject.

Ultimately, the only thing that seems perfectly clear in all of this is that politics in Texas in the late 1940s was a cesspool, and that anyone who wanted to play the game had to dive into it. As Caro makes very clear, certainly fraudulent votes were added to Johnson's total. As he is less willing to admit, fraudulent votes also inflated Stevenson's totals and it's impossible to know which of the candidates might have won an election conducted along the lines of the aforementioned civics lesson.

Perhaps the last word in all of this might best go to former Austin mayor and Johnson supporter, Tom Miller, who later said, "They were stealin' votes in east Texas. . . . We were stealin' votes in south Texas. Only Jesus Christ could say who actually won it."

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Used government office to enrich himself.  Lied about military service.  Corrupt election officials.  Supreme Court stops election inquiry.  Are these contemporary news headlines?  No, these are major themes from Means of Ascent.  This second installment in Caro's LBJ biography chronicles a particularly dark period in Johnson's life.  During these years, LBJ nominally served in the House of Representatives, but did very little other than enrich himself and seek a Senate seat.  Caro masterfully recounts these events.  His telling of LBJ's 1948 Senate race is particularly impressive, reminding one of a virtuoso sportscaster describing an epic prize-fight.  Anyone interested not only in Johnson, but in American democracy, will find this a compelling read.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

How Democracy Works.

This book is the second volume Robert A. Caro’s monumental series The Years of Lyndon Johnson. Some consider it is a tour de force of investigative journalism, storytelling, and historical analysis. For me it was dry, way too detailed and not as engaging as ‘The Path to Power.’ ‘The Means of Ascent’ covers a relatively narrow slice of Johnson’s life, from 1941 to 1948 but within this period, Caro paints an extraordinarily vivid portrait of the man and the forces that shaped him.

The narrative is focused primarily on Johnson’s infamous 1948 Senate race in Texas, a contest that exemplifies the raw ambition, cunning, and ethical compromises that characterised Johnson’s rise to power. Caro meticulously examines Johnson’s tactics, including the use of political influence, money, and manipulation of election results. The centerpiece of the book is the highly controversial Democratic primary runoff between Johnson and Coke Stevenson, a dramatic and often shocking case study in political ruthlessness.

Caro is unflinching in his portrayal of Johnson’s darker qualities, his willingness to bend rules, exploit vulnerabilities, and engage in morally questionable behavior to achieve his goals. At the same time, Caro avoids reducing Johnson to a caricature. He recognises the complexity of Johnson’s character: his drive, intelligence, and ability to connect with people, which would later define his presidency.

One of Caro’s great strengths is his ability to contextualise Johnson’s actions within the broader social, political, and economic landscape. Whether describing the harsh realities of life in rural Texas or the mechanics of political machines, Caro gives readers a deep understanding of the environment in which Johnson operated. Caro’s prose is always a highlight, blending the precision of an academic historian with the drama of a novelist. His storytelling is gripping in places, making even the most detailed accounts of electoral procedures or campaign finance riveting. The book is also a testament to Caro’s exhaustive research, this is expert knowledge from a passionate author, with every detail seemingly unearthed through years of painstaking investigation.

Apart from the book being very heavy, another criticism, it is that Caro’s portrait of Johnson can feel overwhelmingly negative at times. Critics have noted that this volume emphasises Johnson’s flaws to a degree that risks overshadowing his later achievements. However, this is a deliberate choice by Caro, as the series as a whole seeks to provide a balanced view of Johnson’s life and legacy.

Ultimately, ‘The Means of Ascent’ is not just a biography; it is a meditation on power—how it is acquired, wielded, and what it reveals about those who seek it. However, I felt pushed to finished this, only on the premise I want to finish the entire series. This is serious political detail and hot for the casual reader. The book has a lot to offer, American politics, history, and the complexities of human ambition. As I have mentioned above the controversy over his 1948 election to the Senate is fascinating and surprise over what someone could get away with, however I feel this could have been dealt with more efficiently.

[Mehrsa · Rating 5 out of 5]

What was I thinking? I have read every word Caro has written, but I had imagined I could skip this one because nothing really happened and I'd already read the over 200o pages of the Johnson series. But I had forgotten why I had been reading them in the first place. It wasn't about plot or to find out what happened or didn't happen to Johnson. It was to read Caro write! Duh. The man is the best writer I've ever read and I have fully atoned for my error in believing that it was a good idea to skip a book. In fact, I was so parched for Caro that I read the introduction to this book 3 times just to relish the brilliance of the master. It is an utter delight to read about Johnson's corruption in this narrative. It is not just about the man, but it is about politics, human nature, and American history. Bravo. May he live to finish the series....

[Michael Finocchiaro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a shorter book than The Path to Power, but only covered the years between LBJ's loss of a Senate seat in 1941 and the aftermath of his stealing of one in 1948. He is revealed again to be a calculating egoist with no regard for anyone else around him in his pursuit of power. Although I had little in common politically with his adversary Coke Stevenson, he did get completely ripped off by LBJ's antics which were recounted in breathtaking details. His victory was sealed by cheating in the southern districts of Texas, the famous Box 13, and was contested up to Justice Black, but upheld. It was a travesty. I was shocked by how LBJ refused to condemn lynching in his state. It will be fascinating to see how he evolves as a Senator Master of the Senate and as a President The Passage of Power.

[Brett C · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a solid continuation from the first volume. Here was presented LBJ's time from 1941 to him becoming a US Senator in 1948. Basically the narrative covered two main points (his time in service in WWII and his running for Senator) and explained a lot of the workings and "inner circle" mindset of Congress, the Senate, and the Democratic Party of the time. As with the last volume, Caro setting the stage for LBJ's path to come

Within just two years, in January 1951, Lyndon Johnsonwouldbe a leader, his party's whip...Just two years later, in January 1953, he would become the Leader of his pary. And within weeks of his election as Leader, he would begin to revolutionize some of the Senate's most sacrosanct traditions in order to concentrate the barons' prerogativesin his own hands. By 1955, with the barons' power broken and the Democrats back in the majority, Lyndon Johnson was the most powerful Majority Leader in history. pg 412

Robert Caro did a great job of telling the narrative with good detail without being boring. One thing I learned was LBJ's peculiar behavior of repetitive presentation of his Silver Star (pg 51-2) and over embellishing his role during WWII in the Pacific Theater.

Overall having read the first two volumes I am enjoying them and I feel I'm learning a tremendous deal of detailed information. I would recommend this series of books to anyone interested in LBJ and US politics of the 20th century. Thanks!

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Focused almost exclusively on the now infamous 1948 Senate primary, which LBJ stole from conservative former governor of Texas, Coke Stevenson, this is the shortest of the four volumes but likely the most riveting. This reads like a political thriller that won't let you put it down.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know perfectly well how Lyndon Johnson’s life turned out, yet I was urgently turning the pages as his 1948 run for the Senate played out its sordid finish in this second volume of Robert Caro’s monumental biography. A biography researched and documented, yes; but a narrative stranger than fiction.

“Means of Ascent” covers seven years of Johnson’s life, comprising his brief (and greatly aggrandized) career in the Navy in World War II and the beginnings of his considerable fortune through ownership of Austin radio station KTBC, which was held in his wife’s name but closely monitored by Johnson and benefitting from his useful contacts in and out of government.

But the second half of the book is the dramatic heart of this book, which is considerably shorter than his other volumes (just over 400 pages). Caro wisely chose to end the installment with Johnson’s accession to the Senate, and future volumes will turn to his powerful Washington career.

But how he got there! The mendacity of the 1948 Johnson effort is the story of vote buying, ballot box stuffing, and courtroom theatrics. But the campaign was also a study in electioneering styles. LBJ needled and goaded, but his opponent, the popular former governor Coke Stevenson, never revealed a platform nor responded to the obvious lies LBJ was telling. He simply said he’d keep taxes down and uphold the constitution; he refused to dignify the charges Johnson was bringing by responding to them. It was a mistake, and his old-fashioned campaign style allowed Johnson to make dramatic inroads into Stevenson’s considerable lead with voters.

The final gap in votes was covered by the people who controlled the voting in the valley south of San Antonio. The Mexican-American residents in Duval and Jim Wells counties rarely cast their own votes, but this time their votes were cast overwhelmingly for Johnson – and reported six days after the election. The resulting challenges and courtroom dramas finally put Johnson into his Senate seat with a margin of 87 votes. The infamous ballot box 13 from Jim Wells County went missing, and poll results went missing.

Caro’s preface to “Means of Ascent” makes reference to the extraordinary civil rights triumphs of the 1960s, surely to acknowledge what many people believe to be Johnson’s most important legacy. But that is in the future, and how Johnson achieved his toehold is a story for the ages. Caro the historian digs and unearths, then Caro the storyteller grabs the reader and won't let go.

[Kurt · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second volume of The Years of Lyndon Johnson tells the story of LBJ's rise from a mere Congressman – with little hope for significant advancement – to his unlikely election to the U.S. Senate. The majority of the pages describe Johnson's relentless, ruthless, expensive, and dishonest campaign against former Texas Governor Coke Stevenson for the 1948 Democratic nomination, which Johnson officially (but far from legitimately) won by 87 votes.

Texas at the time was a one-party state – with the one party being the Democratic party – so, in statewide races, the winner of the Democratic party nomination was all but guaranteed to win the general election (exactly like my home state, except with the single party being the Republican party). When the popular, honest, and honorable Governor Stevenson entered the race for the open Texas Senate seat it was presumed by most all Texans that he would be the nominee and the next Senator from Texas.

But Lyndon Johnson, a man to whom winning meant everything, had other ideas. With a near unlimited amount of campaign money at his disposal and connections to some of the most powerful (and often corrupt) local leaders, Johnson was able to very literally steal the election for himself.

The story of how this was done is absolutely fascinating. The ability of Pulitzer Prize winning author Robert Caro to describe in such amazing detail the political maneuverings and the interwoven lives and activities of all the players kept me enthralled from start to finish.

The Years of Lyndon Johnson is so much more than just a biography. As the author explains:

From the first time I thought of becoming a biographer, I never conceived of my biographies as merely telling the lives of famous men but rather as a means of illuminating their times and the great forces that shaped their times – particularly political power, since in a democracy political power has so great a role in shaping the lives of the citizens of that democracy. What I set out to try to do was to examine the way power works in America in the middle of the twentieth century.

Mr. Caro fully achieved his goal with this book.

[Max · Rating 5 out of 5]

With the exception of Johnson’s brief but dangerous war time episode, this second volume of The Years of Lyndon Johnson gets off to a slow start as his political prospects wallow in the 1940’s. However, the pace quickly picks up with the Texas senatorial primary election of 1948. Describing elections, Caro never fails to create excitement and suspense even if we know the outcome. In the first volume, The Path to Power, he gave us riveting accounts of Johnson’s failed senatorial run in 1941, his first congressional victory in 1937 and even his masterminding of the elections of college schoolmates. But Caro is at his absolute best in his mesmerizing account of Johnson’s 1948 Senatorial primary run, gifting us with writing of the highest order.

And of course Johnson offers plenty of fascinating material, particularly in the ’48 campaign. He is a straight “A” candidate: Aggressive, Astute, Assiduous, Amoral and an Asshole. He masters innovation in his use of the media, in-depth private polling and even the helicopter, never before seen by many Texans in 1948. And while many of his other tactics were not new, the massive amount of money and important connections at his disposal enabled him to employ them on an unprecedented scale including the methodical use of duplicity, deceit, bribery, quid pro quo’s and every other illicit activity imaginable. Johnson makes Richard Nixon look like a rank amateur, even Jimmy Walker and Boss Tweed could have learned a few tricks from Johnson.

In fact, I am not sure even Tammany Hall exceeded the scope and scale of Johnson’s election rigging. Caro exposes the vast corruption of New York politics in his first book, The Power Broker. When Johnson lost his first senatorial bid in ‘41 to an opponent who stole more votes than he did, FDR told Johnson that he gathered Texans didn’t know how to sit on ballot boxes the way New Yorkers did. This is of course to ensure votes are not changed after the fact which apparently happens frequently. In essence FDR was chiding Johnson for losing to corruption he should have anticipated because it is to be expected. They may talk very differently in Texas than New York but the politics is amazingly similar and one has to suspect in many other states too. I will never view an election the same way again.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Means of Ascent" wasn't quite the classic that it's precursor was but that's hardly a burn. It feels more like 1.5 than a full second volume. This one deals almost exclusively with Johnson's run for the Senate. Caro goes into great detail on that election and Johnson's opponent, Coke Stevenson. My one minor quibble is the angelic light in which Stevenson is painted. I can understand why: Stevenson was truly a self-made man and Johnson really did steal the election from him. But Stevenson was a virulent racist with shady business practices as well. To leave this out of the otherwise extensive biography unnecessarily sands down the mans edges. It's an especially odd choice because Caro leaves in all of Johnson's faults. Caro was clearly trying to shape the narrative and I believe he went too far.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pamela Paul editor of the NYT Book review gave me the idea to completely read The Years of Lyndon Johnson. I am reading them slowly, mostly at night (or in the morning after night shift) before I go to sleep. This shortish volume took 4 months and I have the next one ready to go. I am loving them, not only for the deep dive into the life of this morally challenged small town Texan who became President, but for the explanation of the machinations that guided mid 20th century politics. Robert Caro is an amazing researcher and writer, who makes you want to read his detailed, lengthy volumes, even knowing how they end.

[Rick Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just an incredible book and work of scholarship. Caro has multiple deathbed confessions of people unburdening themselves for what they did for Lyndon Johnson during his 1948 campaign.

This is easily the finest biography I’ve ever read and up there with some of the finest books I’ve ever read

can’t believe there are more

[Jonathan Mckay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Johnson is the villain, Stevenson is the hero, and it's not a happy ending.

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Caro again! Back at it (for me, anyway) with this second volume, which spans the years between Johnson's 1941 senatorial loss and his highly-dubious, highly-unethical 1948 senatorial victory.

As with his first volume, Caro glues it all together with his themes, chief among them this time being the Old Politics embodied by Coke Stevenson versus the New Politics pioneered by Johnson. Caro states his themes often (e.g., Johnson's "morality which is amorality"), and in a lot of books that sort of thing can be irritating. But he knows how to do it well, and for me it helped to ground the story, which like any biography can wander all over. And Caro knows how to add color and lifelike detail to so many scenes: for example, Johnson's workers racing tirelessly, endlessly after his helicopter to the next campaign stop, with one of them, a lady, reading the same page of the same whodunit novel every night she crawled into bed, unable to make it past that page because she was too exhausted.

A fine book, and I am elated that I still have two to go!

[carl theaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scurrilous, scandalous, shady, slippery, seamy, sordid, sly, slanderous, surreptitious, sneaky….

Sure you thought politicians were all these things, but you’re not quite correct, they’re much worse !

At least Lyndon Baines Johnson, LBJ, was … in this book 2 of 4 volumes, over 3000 pages total, sometimes I wonder if any of us could withstand such an examination of our lives without at least some of these adjectives being used?

‘Means of Ascent’ describes his ‘middle years’, starting in 1941, when as a congressman, he was road blocked career-wise as politics in the US Congress was dictated by seniority, and you needed someone to retire, or die, in front of you to get ahead. Not to mention he bragged so much about defending the US in the event of war, that he had to join up despite every effort to avoid it.

So he concentrated on ‘Means’ which involved acquiring wealth, which he did one way by strong-arming the purchase of an Austin, Texas radio station then using his political power to make it a profitable enterprise.

All the while telling the media, who actually believed him with no investigation, that it belonged to his wife and he had nothing to do with it.

The primary way to gain influence to LBJ was to buy advertising time on that radio station, thus laundering the intent.

Since I live in LBJ-land, central Texas, it’s of extra interest to me that local towns and business are part of the story, the radio station is now call KLBJ-AM & FM, and there are many other tributes such as Lady Bird Lake and references to a popular grocery chain, HEB, which bought time on the station to gain access to hard to get food supplies during WW2.

After securing finances, LBJ gets the opportunity to run for a senate seat. It’s quite a battle and a great look at politics of the era, and how methods were changing from down-home speeches in county courtyards to TV, helicopters and other forms of media.

Author Caro has a great summation of the man:

“ His morality was the morality of the ballet box, a morality in which nothing matters but victory and any other maneuver that leads to victory is justified, a morality that was an amorality. “

It’s a fantastic tale, a good read and I can’t wait to get on to book 3.

[Emmet Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

You really come out of this book absolutely hating LBJ.

It’s a great book, but the reasons it is great (namely the astonishing and often absurd level of detail) often makes it a little difficult to get through. There are chapters upon chapters within this book (and the series more generally) where the story seems to just stand still. The writing is great, but some of the stylistic elements do get a bit repetitive at times. It’s really shocking to me that the 1948 Senate primary in Texas (which this book covers) isn’t more widely discussed in election histories and the context of LBJ more broadly. It’s a huge stain on his reputation (despite never having been definitively proven, as this book lays out). How different history may have been…..

Definitely taking a break after this one though. Even given how slowly I read this, no part of me is eager to jump into the third.

[Tommy Ritter · Rating 5 out of 5]

ROBERT CARO!! BANG!!!

One of the best biographers of all time with another absolute banger

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://bestpresidentialbios.com/2017...

“Means of Ascent: The Years of Lyndon Johnson” is the second volume in Robert Caro’s series covering the life of Lyndon B. Johnson. Caro is a former investigative reporter and the author of two Pulitzer Prize-winning biographies: “Master of the Senate” (the third volume in this series) and “The Power Broker” about the life of Robert Moses. Caro is currently working on the fifth (and, presumably, final) volume in his LBJ series.

Published in 1990, “Means of Ascent” covers seven difficult years of LBJ’s life – from shortly after his 1941 loss in a special election for the U.S. Senate (while a congressman) to his controversial 1948 Senate victory over former Texas governor Coke Stevenson. This 412-page volume is the shortest in Caro’s series but again demonstrates the author’s tenacious research habits and willingness to dive deeply into a subject.

Caro’s writing style in this volume is strikingly similar to his prose of the first volume: it is neither elegant nor flowery, but is packed with intensity and a clever, if slightly unwieldy, bent. Individual sentences often read as though they were authored by Charles Dickens…but with even more punch. The third sentence in this book, for instance, contains 124 words and more than a dozen commas, colons and semicolons.

Despite being an integral part of a much larger series, “Means of Ascent” is designed to be a standalone volume. Caro repeats enough of the first volume’s highlights in early chapters that a reader could begin the series here without missing important themes. And in this book’s final chapters Caro foreshadows where the next volumes will take LBJ and his insatiable thirst for power.

Volume 2 begins in earnest with Johnson’s brief service in World War II (the subject of significant embellishment by the future president). This is followed by LBJ’s purchase of a Texas radio station which eventually proved no less contentious. But the book’s primary focus is LBJ’s election to the U.S. Senate in a fascinating and well-told story of intrigue, corruption and rural Texas politics. The book could easily have been titled “The Stolen Senate Election of 1948.”

Readers familiar with Caro will recognize the meticulously thorough research which underpins this biography; he seems to have interviewed everyone who knew LBJ…as well as everyone who knew someone who knew LBJ. Also familiar: his use of captivating mini-biographies to introduce important supporting characters.

The most important of these introductions is aimed at Coke Stevenson (Johnson’s primary opponent in his 1948 Senate bid) who receives an entire chapter – much like Sam Rayburn in the previous volume. But there are others who also receive interesting, if less extensive, treatment such as George Parr and Frank Hamer.

Caro also continuously provides the reader with enough context, perspective and imagery that it is difficult to read this text and not imagine being at the scene of nearly every moment he describes.

But this biography also possesses its share of blemishes. It often resembles a skilled prosecutor’s most zealous and unrelenting case against LBJ’s (admittedly numerous and disturbing) personality defects. Where the first volume systematically develops a case against LBJ, this volume feels like a blistering, non-stop critique of nearly every aspect of his character.

Caro often (but not always) provides convincing evidence to support his portrayal of LBJ, but he frequently fails to include evidence that could soften the sharp edges of that portrait. Oral testimony solicited decades after an event is regularly used to condemn Johnson, but I cannot remember a single instance of testimony being used in his defense.

And in the process of highlighting the darkest threads of Johnson’s character during his 1948 Senate bid, Caro elevates Coke Stevenson to lofty heights which most Texas historians probably wouldn’t recognize. Every villain, it seems, requires a hero. And if Johnson is – in the eyes of some – this volume’s controversial antagonist, Stevenson is its strangely flawless luminary.

Overall, “Means of Ascent” is a commendable successor to “The Path to Power” though not quite its equal. Due to its relatively narrow scope it offers fewer piercing revelations about Johnson than the first volume, but does an admirable job bridging two extremely consequential periods in his life. Most importantly, however, “Means of Ascent” leaves the reader deeply embedded in Johnson’s life, fully engrossed in Caro’s series and eager to tackle the next volume.

Overall rating: 4¼ stars

[Sarthak Bhatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too good!! Just too good!! By the end of the book, you already know what's going to happen but caro somehow still kept the suspense palpable. The wilderness years are now over and Johnson has completed his second step to power.

[alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

This second volume starts on a bit of a rocky road. The first 100 pages are almost entirely a recap of volume one. After that, ironically we land on an LBJ who's stuck in his career and not doing much worth noting. So much of Means of Ascent is not about what's happening, but what is not happening. The irony of this of course is that it is all taking place during World War II and the high tide of FDR's presidency. For LBJ the peak of American success is his own fallow period. This theme of a personal low point in epic times reaches its omega point with Johnson's WWII heroics that seemingly did and did not happen.

But as soon as the table is set, Caro unveils dizzying new heights for both his complementary talents. The majority of the book is dedicated to LBJ's 1948 election to the Senate. The election his entire career, the likely the entire future history of the US government's role in Civil Rights hinged on, and it was brought to fruition by double-dealing, lies, and fraud.

Caro's first talent is his industrious, uncompromising pursuit of the truth through research. In his own words, Caro has said he never wants to write a book with the line “The truth may never be known” on an aspect of his subject’s life. In particular, he was talking about the contested 1948 election that sent Johnson to the Senate. Caro masterfully lays out a case that Johnson did actually steal his senate seat, with a well-ordered, almost day-by-day explication of events. And in this sea of ballot boxes and court minutes, the narrative is his most thrilling work to date.

His second talent is his well-tempered romanticism. It’s not a talent usually ascribed to Caro. Caro has relied on the chapter-sized mini-biographies of side characters since The Power Broker. But for Means of Ascent, this skill rises to the point of the near eclipse of Johnson with his chronicle of Coke Stevenson. Caro paints in vivid color a man known by many as Mr Texas, and Caro uses that moniker to condense the romantic ideal of Texas into a single man. We feel the mist of the bubbling spring that inspired Coke to build his ranch. The warmth of the fire he read by on the trails as a boy. The wind of the plains carrying the sound of the sledgehammer in Coke’s hands as he worked and reworked his fenceposts.

Coke’s communion with nature is in stark contrast with Johnson’s natural state; glad-handing in a hotel room.

The battle between Stevenson and Johnson is the battle between the past and the future, poetry and prose, honesty and subterfuge. In the end the future wins with the power of deceit. That's something that is not just true of this election but might just be one of those truths that’s good for all time.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second volume of Caro's biography of Lyndon B Johnson is the sordid tale of how he stole his election to the US Senate. That is right. He did! At the time, he was accused of doing so but not busted for it. It was 1948, he lawyered up and escaped justice in the courts. Caro did the research and uncovered facts that had been buried for decades.

Coming in at 412 actual reading pages (not counting notes and index) this volume is approximately half the length of Volume 1, The Path to Power. It covers just seven years. The sense of a man who would do anything and everything to reach his goal of being President of the United States with the underlying thirst for power and the determination to "be somebody" continues. This is Caro's thesis about the man.

I have been discussing POTUS 35 with various friends and acquaintances ever since I finished the first volume in August. Many of them feel he was a great and important Commander-In-Chief. I began reading the series with the negative bias I formed against the man in the late 1960s when I was an anti-war hippy. Nothing I have read so far has disabused me of that bias. I will keep going and attempt to maintain an open mind.

Was his Great Society really great? Was his Civil Rights bill actually effective? Did he know what he was doing in Vietnam? Most important for me is to discover if he ever became a true statesman and leader with the good of our country as his prime motivation, or at least part of it. I get it that being President is a hard job and they all make mistakes.

The next volume, Master of the Senate, should be another eye-opener regarding how our upper legislative body works. It will be the longest volume yet at about 1100 pages. Am I up for the challenge? You bet.

[Marc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book.
The author chronicles the life of LBJ from 1941 to 1948 in 3 acts:

- His record as a naval officer in the Pacific (where Johnson spent a total of 13 minutes in combat zone despite all the fake stories he made up to appeal to Texas voters)

- His acquisition of a radio station to make some money outside of politics

- the 1948 democratic senate race against Coke Stevenson

I enjoy reading Caro for his taste of details and description of Texas politics. Only minor critic is that Stevenson is depicted as a quasi holy honest figure who was wronged in all ways omitting the fact that he also teamed up with the racist wing of the party to win the senate seat.

[Stewart Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Caro's massive, unending biography of Lyndon Johnson's life continues in spectacular fashion in this book, the second volume in his Years of Lyndon Johnson series.

This volume covers the years in between Johnson's first (failed) attempt at a Senate position and his eventual victory over Coke Stevenson to earn one in 1949. As Caro describes in the immersive introductory chapter, these were Johnson's "dark years". These were the years in which he took a backseat to politics and built up a fortune, strengthened his political ties, and prepared himself for his diabolical return to the campaign trail.

As the first volume in this series hinted at, Johnson's story is a tale of manipulation, vigilance, ingenuity, political brilliance, insecurity, power, and absolute control. Caro has proven that it is a story that only he is worthy to tell, and his writing (much improved since even the previous volume) speaks for itself in its grandiosity, compelling readers to keep turning the pages and at the same time capturing an entire era in its complexity. What started as a fascinating look at a remarkable man's early life has become an epic, told by an epic historian.

Lovers of history, biography, politics, human psychology, character studies- read this series. It deserves the highest praise.