The Secret Coalition
Ike, LBJ, and the Search for a Middle Way in the 1950s
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Narrated by:
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Gregory St. John
About this listen
The politics of the 1950s revolved around two primary leaders, one Republican and one Democratboth moderate, and both willing to compromise to move the nation forward.
The Republican leader was President Dwight Eisenhower. His two administrations changed American politics. Ike’s desire to be president of all the people, to run his administration down the middle of the road, to be a "modern" Republican, set the stage for what the Republican Party would be for decades to come. His politics of moderation triggered a backlash from the party’s right wing that eventually grew into a conservative surge that reached fruition in the following decades.
Standing astride the opposition was the Democratic leader in the Senate, Lyndon Johnson. At age 44, Johnson was the youngest leader in Senate history. His willingness to join forces with Eisenhower in the president’s battles against isolationism and reaction in his own party, along with the willingness of both men to compromise rather than engage in a politics of search and destroy, turned the 1950s into an era of political moderation. In The Secret Coalition, Gary A. Donaldson insightfully explores a period in U.S. history that many Americans regard as an "Era of Good Feeling" when the two parties got along, and the nation achieved some sort of equilibrium and cooperation.
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- Narrated by: Steve Kornacki, Ron Butler
- Length: 17 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Red and the Blue, cable news star and acclaimed journalist Steve Kornacki follows the twin paths of Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich, two larger-than-life politicians who exploited the weakened structure of their respective parties to attain the highest offices. For Clinton, that meant contorting himself around the various factions of the Democratic party to win the presidency. Gingrich employed a scorched-earth strategy to upend the permanent Republican minority in the House, making him speaker.
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Simply marvelous
- By Hector Gonzalez on 10-04-18
By: Steve Kornacki
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The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Presidents, Part 1
- From Washington to Taft
- By: Larry Schweikart
- Narrated by: John McLain
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Back by popular demand, the bestselling Politically Incorrect Guides provide an unvarnished, unapologetic overview of the topics every American needs to know. The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Presidents, Part 1 profiles America’s early presidents, from George Washington to William Howard Taft.
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Ruining History to Own the Libs
- By Dee on 11-11-20
By: Larry Schweikart
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What It Took to Win
- A History of the Democratic Party
- By: Michael Kazin
- Narrated by: Lee Goettl
- Length: 13 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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In What It Took to Win, the eminent historian Michael Kazin identifies and assesses the Democratic Party's long-running commitment to creating "moral capitalism" - a system that mixed entrepreneurial freedom with the welfare of workers and consumers. And yet the same party that championed the rights of the white working man also vigorously protected or advanced the causes of slavery, segregation, and Indian removal.
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Timely and informative History Book
- By Asha Sceanca on 03-24-22
By: Michael Kazin
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Roosevelt's Second Act
- The Election of 1940 and the Politics of War
- By: Richard Moe
- Narrated by: Allan Robertson
- Length: 14 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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On August 31, 1939, nearing the end of his second and presumably final term in office, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was working in the Oval Office and contemplating construction of his presidential library and planning retirement. The next day German tanks had crossed the Polish border; Britain and France had declared war. Overnight the world had changed, and FDR found himself being forced to consider a dramatically different set of circumstances.
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Puts listener in the moment.
- By Jake on 05-16-14
By: Richard Moe
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Bush
- By: Jean Edward Smith
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 25 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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In Bush, Jean Edward Smith demonstrates that it was not Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, or Condoleezza Rice, but President Bush himself who took personal control of foreign policy. Bush drew on his deep religious conviction that important foreign-policy decisions were simply a matter of good versus evil. Domestically, he overreacted to 9/11 and endangered Americans' civil liberties.
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Delusions of Competence
- By Rick on 11-18-16
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Henry Clay
- The Man Who Would Be President
- By: James C. Klotter
- Narrated by: James Anderson Foster
- Length: 19 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Charismatic, charming, and one of the best orators of his era, Henry Clay seemed to have it all. He offered a comprehensive plan of change for America, and he directed national affairs as Speaker of the House, as Secretary of State to John Quincy Adams - the man he put in office - and as acknowledged leader of the Whig party. As the broker of the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850, Henry Clay fought to keep a young nation united when westward expansion and slavery threatened to tear it apart. Yet, despite his talent and achievements, Henry Clay never became president.
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Wonderful book by a talented writer and historian
- By Timothy on 08-24-18
By: James C. Klotter
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Coolidge: An American Enigma
- By: Robert Sobel
- Narrated by: Charles Bice
- Length: 16 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Sobel instead exposes the real Coolidge, whose legacy as the most Jeffersonian of all twentieth-century presidents still reverberates today. Sobel delves into the record to show how Coolidge cut taxes four times, had a budget surplus every year in office, and cut the national debt by a third in a period of unprecedented economic growth.
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A Book Exciting As It's Subject!!!
- By Ted on 08-28-12
By: Robert Sobel
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9 Presidents Who Screwed Up America
- And Four Who Tried to Save Her
- By: Brion McClanahan
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Of the 44 presidents who have led the United States, nine made mistakes that permanently scarred the nation. Which nine? Brion McClanahan, author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Founding Fathers and The Founding Fathers' Guide to the Constitution, will surprise listeners with his list, which he supports with exhaustive and entertaining evidence.
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Political opinion without substance.
- By Ella's Dad on 04-27-18
By: Brion McClanahan
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Kill Switch
- The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy
- By: Adam Jentleson
- Narrated by: P.J. Ochlan
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Every major decision governing our diverse, majority-female, and increasingly liberal country bears the stamp of the US Senate, yet the Senate allows an almost exclusively White, predominantly male, and radically conservative minority of the American electorate to impose its will on the rest of us. How did we get to this point? In Kill Switch, Adam Jentleson argues that shifting demographics alone cannot explain how Mitch McConnell harnessed the Senate and turned it into a powerful weapon of minority rule.
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Don't bother, narration intolerable!
- By Joseph on 03-08-21
By: Adam Jentleson
What listeners say about The Secret Coalition
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- NYC Reader
- 01-08-23
politics
i likrd the look at the politics of the 1950s, and the strong personalities.
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- Ann Alpine
- 11-13-21
Well written
As someone who lived through this era, I thoroughly enjoyed this analysis. It is well written, factual, and by-partisan.
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- Stephen
- 03-24-18
Good Historical Survey of the Eisenhower Era
What made the experience of listening to The Secret Coalition the most enjoyable?
Learning about how LBJ was able to control the different Northern liberal and Southern conservative factions within the Democrat Party; learning about Eisenhower maintained a coalition of moderate and conservative Republicans within his party; and learning how their abilities to forge compromise unraveled toward the end of the 1950's
What did you like best about this story?
There did not seem to be a lot of original source material presented. The author did not present new conclusions about the period. There may have been a consensus of a moderate approach in foreign and domestic policies within both parties during the period. LBJ and Eisenhower masterfully held their respective coalitions together during much of Eisenhower's presidency. But there never was a secret coalition between the two men, which makes the title and premise of the book misleading. Both men were motivated by their own political self-interest and not out of goodwill. Still it's an interesting book about this period of American political history.
Which scene was your favorite?
Coverage of the events in Little Rock in 1957
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No.
Any additional comments?
There were some sloppy errors in the narrative- Senator Mike Mansfield was from Montana not Ohio and Senator Robert Taft died in 1953 not 1958. The narrator's pronunciation was Khruschev was irritating.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Michael Corrigan
- 02-14-22
Ike & LBJ.
A fascinating history of a bygone era in American politics. Compromise was a real thing to get at least half a loaf and government got done
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- Anonymous User
- 09-26-20
Very Informative
Very detailed in content, which is a good thing. It also took you behind the scenes in terms of the relationship between Eisenhower and Johnson in developing the "middle way." How we long for those days! Bipartisan support for one another. It also details the rise of the conservative and liberal movement at the end of the 1950's.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Ben Strange
- 05-07-21
Good Exposition, Hasty Editing
It’s really a good and worthwhile listen, shining a strong light on the Johnson Eisenhower relationship, and on Johnson’s misunderstanding of hell mistakes have changed in creating a portfolio on which to run for president. Some of the editing proves loose and hasty, and there are errors which do jar anybody who knows better. For example, Robert Taft is at one point said to have died in 1958, five years after he actually died. Richard Nixon is said to have been elected to the Senate in 1948 instead of the actual 1950. Mistakes like this cast doubt on the rest of the scholarship.
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- Fall
- 04-30-21
The Secret Coalition fills in the blank
Incredible fill in the blanks story. Full of oh wow— that’s why!!??
My coming of age years now make sense, now that I have a bit of the backstory to the history I lived through.
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- Jean
- 11-20-16
Insightful
Donaldson not only discusses the working relationship between Eisenhower and Johnson but also provides a brief history of politics in the 1950s. The author provides a brief biography of FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, Johnson, General MacArthur, Senator Bird and Strom Thurmond to furnish the read with a basic understanding of the people involved and the workings of the government at the time. Donaldson’s claims that Eisenhower’s politics and moderate, middle of the road administration triggered the backlash from the right-wing Republicans that is still being felt today.
Donaldson provided some information I was totally unaware of. He claims that as the Cold War progressed the far-right wing members of the Republican Party became more upset with Eisenhower. They were isolationist and adamant against communism, and were demanding Eisenhower engaging in military action including a pre-emptive nuclear strike against the USSR. According to Donaldson they stated Eisenhower’s policy of peaceful co-existence was in fact appeasement.
Donaldson also reveals the problems that Johnson had with the left-wing Democrats with his compromises with Eisenhower to get bills passed. The Civil Rights movement was starting and the Democrats thought Johnson was giving in to the right-wing Republicans on civil rights.
Some authors claim that the period of the Eisenhower administration was a “time of good feelings” but Donaldson set out to prove it was not. I lived through this period but the book provided me with information I was not aware of and insights into the politics of the time as compared with today. If you are interested in history or politics, you will find this short book informative.
Gregory St. John did an excellent job narrating the book. St. John is an actor and audiobook narrator.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Bruce Cline
- 05-03-22
An enjoyable read
Having already read the nearly 4,000 pages of Robert Caro’s 4-volume LBJ biography, I wasn’t sure what I’d learn from this relatively short look at his and Ike’s collaborations in the 50’s. I was pleasantly surprised. The details of working with moderate Republican Eisenhower gives context to at least part of LBJ’s well recognized control of the Senate, his balance of southern (i.e., TX) roots and success at working with less conservative colleagues, and his hesitant and less-than-assured ascent to the Presidency. Just as importantly, in telling the story of these two leaders, this book describes the growing conservatism of the GOP including the flight of conservative southern Democrats to that party, and the transformational alliance of Blacks with the Democratic Party, a huge factor in its shift from away from race-based states’ rights politics and toward more progressive policies. And of course, there is much about Ike’s stutter-stepped ascension to power and his determination to chart a middle of the road course for the nation and his successful collaboration with the left. Intermingled with the Ike and LBJ working relationship are details about Vice President Nixon and his tenuous relationship with Ike, the battle between JFK and LBJ for leadership among Democrats, and lots about Ike’s rise to power following Truman. Overall a very enjoyable read.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Edward C.
- 08-21-21
Weird story about Ike and LBJ
This book has an interesting premise — impact of the working relationship between President Eisenhower and Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson. However the author’s simplistic understanding of American politics and persistent efforts to label Democrats as liberal extremists make the story as told a work of fiction. Also weird is the narrator’s inability to pronounce correctly the last name of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.
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3 people found this helpful