
The Triumph and Tragedy of Lyndon Johnson
The White House Years
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Narrated by:
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Norman Dietz
About this listen
President Lyndon Johnson was bigger than life - and no one who worked for him or was subjected to the "Johnson treatment" ever forgot it. As Johnson's "Deputy President of Domestic Affairs", Joseph A. Califano's unique relationship with the president greatly enriches our understanding of our 36th president. Califano shows listeners LBJ's commitment to economic and social revolution, and his willingness to do whatever it took to achieve his goals. He uncorks LBJ's legislative genius and reveals the political guile it took to pass laws in civil rights, poverty, immigration reform, health, education, environmental protection, consumer protection, the arts, and communications.
A no-holds-barred account of Johnson's presidency, The Triumph and Tragedy of Lyndon Johnson is an intimate portrait of a president whose towering ambition for his country and himself reshaped America - and ultimately led to his decision to withdraw from the political arena in which he fought so hard.
©1991 Joseph A. Califano, Jr. Introduction copyright 2015 by Joseph A. Califano, Jr. (P)2015 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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Learn the inside scoop on Watergate, the Ford Pardon, and the 18-minute Gap. Roger Stone, The New York Times best-selling author of The Man Who Killed Kennedy: The Case Against LBJ, gives the inside scoop on Nixon’s rise and fall in Watergate in his new book Nixon’s Secrets. Stone charts Nixon’s rise from election to Congress in 1946 to the White House in 1968 after his razor-thin loss to John Kennedy in 1960, his disastrous campaign for Governor of California in 1962, and the greatest comeback in American Presidential history.
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Great book but....
- By Alan on 11-20-14
By: Roger Stone, and others
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LBJ: The Mastermind of the JFK Assassination
- By: Phillip F. Nelson
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 27 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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The case against Lyndon B. Johnson and his role in Kennedy's assassination has never been sounder. LBJ aims to prove that Vice President Johnson played an active role in the assassination of President Kennedy and that he began planning his takeover of the U.S. presidency even before being named the vice presidential nominee in 1960. Nelson's careful and meticulous research has led him to uncover secrets from one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in our country's history.
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LBJ plotted to kill JFK? Makes you think...
- By Karen on 04-03-13
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Grover Cleveland
- The Last Conservative Democratic President
- By: Jeffrey Smith
- Narrated by: Virtual Voice
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Since 1897, when Grover Cleveland left office after his second term as President of the United States, eight other Democrats have been elected to the nation's highest office. What differentiates Cleveland from his Democratic successors? He was a "true Conservative." Cleveland advocated limited government, states' rights, frugal economic principles, strict interpretation of the Constitution, sound currency, low taxes, tariff reduction, a balanced budget, the absence of national debt, and a non-interventionist foreign policy. A self-made man, Cleveland believed that if the federal government ...
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I learned a lot about Grover Cleveland.
- By Anonymous User on 03-03-25
By: Jeffrey Smith
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Inside the Clinton White House
- An Oral History
- By: Russell L. Riley
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 18 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Inside the Clinton White House offers an intimate perspective on these questions and many more, granting listeners unprecedented access to the sensitive Oval Office banter that changed the course of history. Bringing together material from 400 hours of candid conversations with over 60 individuals, respected oral historian Russell L. Riley weaves this illuminating testimony with important contextual information to form an irresistible narrative, taking the listener from Clinton's first potential White House bid in 1988 to the final days of his controversial public career.
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Fanboy book. Very strongly biased and shallow observations
- By Placeholder on 12-07-24
By: Russell L. Riley
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Betrayal in Dallas
- LBJ, the Pearl Street Mafia, and the Murder of President Kennedy
- By: Mark North
- Narrated by: Erik Davies
- Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Here's what we now know: John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas by Mafia contract killers hired by Louisiana mob boss Carlos Marcello. Kennedy was killed in that city because it was the only place in the country where a crime of that magnitude could be committed without fear of punishment. Long-time local district attorney Henry Wade, an LBJ crony who would have sole jurisdiction over the prosecution of those responsible, had been corrupted by the local Civello crime family. Lyndon B. Johnson, while a U.S. senator during the 1950s, had accepted bribes from the same mobsters so that they could avoid deportation.
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The Gangland Point of View
- By margot on 10-20-13
By: Mark North
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The Road to Camelot
- Inside JFK's Five-Year Campaign
- By: Thomas Oliphant, Curtis Wilkie
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 14 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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A behind-the-scenes, revelatory account of John F. Kennedy's wily campaign for the White House, beginning with his bold failed attempt to win the vice presidential nomination in 1956. A young and undistinguished junior plots his way to the presidency and changes the way we nominate and elect presidents. John F. Kennedy and his young warriors invented modern presidential politics.
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Absolutely excellent
- By T-Ward on 08-22-20
By: Thomas Oliphant, and others
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John Tyler, the Accidental President
- By: Edward P. Crapol
- Narrated by: Michael Butler Murray
- Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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The first vice president to become president on the death of the incumbent, John Tyler (1790-1862) was derided by critics as "His Accidency." In this biography of the 10th president, Edward P. Crapol challenges depictions of Tyler as a die-hard advocate of states' rights, limited government, and a strict interpretation of the Constitution. Instead, he argues, Tyler manipulated the Constitution to increase the executive power of the presidency. Crapol also highlights Tyler's faith in America's national destiny and his belief in boundless territorial expansion.
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Terrible book :( Incredibly TEDIOUS.
- By Mike on 10-02-19
By: Edward P. Crapol
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The Kennedy Brothers
- The Rise and Fall of Jack and Bobby
- By: Richard D. Mahoney
- Narrated by: Peter Altschuler
- Length: 15 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Books about the Kennedys are legion. Yet missing until now has been the exploration of the bond between Jack and Bobby, and the part that it played in their rise and fall. Richard D. Mahoney gives us Jack and Bobby in all their hubris and humanity, youthfulness and fatalism. Here is American history as it unfolds. The Kennedy Brothers is a fresh and masterful account of the men whose legacy continues to hold the American imagination.
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A different view of Camelot
- By Mike From Mesa on 04-12-13
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American Emperor
- Aaron Burr's Challenge to Jefferson's America
- By: David O. Stewart
- Narrated by: Andrew Garman
- Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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A spellbinding storyteller, historian David O. Stewart traces the canny and charismatic Aaron Burr from the threshold of the presidency in 1800 to his duel with Alexander Hamilton. Stewart recounts Burr’s efforts to carve out an empire, taking listeners across the American West as the renegade vice president schemes with foreign ambassadors, the U.S. general-in-chief, and future presidents.
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Aaron Burr history
- By Gerald on 01-06-13
By: David O. Stewart
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The Woman Behind the New Deal
- The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR'S Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience
- By: Kirstin Downey
- Narrated by: Susan Ericksen
- Length: 19 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Frances Perkins is no longer a household name, yet she was one of the most influential women of the 20th century. Based on extensive archival materials, new documents, and exclusive access to Perkins' family members and friends, this biography is the first complete portrait of a devoted public servant with a passionate personal life, a mother who changed the landscape of American business and society.
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An Absorbing Biography
- By Jean on 08-16-17
By: Kirstin Downey
What listeners say about The Triumph and Tragedy of Lyndon Johnson
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- Amazon Customer
- 06-02-16
powerful book! narrative slurred...
great story well told,,,the narrative could have been much better....in parts it had overtones of a drunken slurr....
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- Amazonian Shopper
- 07-13-16
Simply an outstanding reflection of LBJ.
This is an astonishing account the time LBJ during his presidency. Very accurate, we'll narrated, and offers first-hand accounts of how history unfolded during Johnson's term in the White House.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Don Rerick
- 06-06-23
A complex story about a complex man.
The story was well written and the narration very well done. I felt the narrator had the voice mannerisms of LBJ and you could hear LBJ doing the speaking.
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- Daniel
- 05-09-15
Great story but mediocre reading
Any additional comments?
Califano has a unique insight into one of the less understood but more important presidents of our era. Johnson was a political master and Obama could learn a bit from him. The reading of the book detracted from the material, it just was not very engaging for the listener.
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- Jenny Muehlhausen
- 05-14-23
Great 1st-hand account of LBJ
Great review of his time as an elected president. A complex President with a heart of gold and the head hitman.
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- David W. Goldstein
- 07-28-15
LBJ The Greatest President of 20th century
Before reading this I knew lbj as a student worrying about the draft after I understand how much more he was. He will never be just the evil Vietnam president. To say I love this account is an understatement Thanks for the moving history lesson
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6 people found this helpful
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- amanda
- 05-13-21
Nice summary of presidential years
I am doing a lengthy study of presidents- a biography on each and made it to Johnson #36. This era is fascinating so I started my Johnson journey with the 4 epic volumes by Robert Caro, only to discover after 100+ hours of audio that the final volume 5 had yet to be completed! Triumph and Tragedy by Robert Califano picked up nicely where Carl’s volume 4 concluded and did a stellar job of detailing the White House years.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Stella
- 07-20-22
One term president.
Review of history that I lived, but didn’t remember well. I would recommend this book. Author had first hand knowledge of Johnson.
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- Jim G
- 12-21-17
A poor excuse for a biography
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
I would not recommend this book to a friend or an enemy. I found it a poor excuse for a biography. It was more like a Joe Califano memoir, centered around Johnson. Sorry, but you don't write a biography in the first person, unless you're trying to draw attention to yourself. And while he described both Johnson's strengths and weaknesses, he seemed to make excuses for every shortcoming. It was completely biased and self-centered. To put it in context, I have been listening to audiobook biographies of every President, starting with Washington, over the past two years. This was the WORST. (And the one that follows, Nixonland, is about to tie it, but I'll save that for my next review).
What do you think your next listen will be?
Nixonland, followed by Write It When I'm Dona, a biography of Gerald Ford. Following that, I'm a bit stuck. Really hard to find anything about Jimmy Carter not written by Jimmy Carter.
Did Norman Dietz do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?
Yes - the narration was fine.
What else would you have wanted to know about Joseph A. Califano Jr.’s life?
I would love to have known that he was an unabashed Johnson-lover who was simply writing a book to justify the horror perpetrated during their time in the White House.
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- Paula Lynch
- 06-15-22
Voice of narrator deadly- Loved content but
The content of book fascinating but narration killed it. The voice was deadly dull and slow and I quit listening would rather read the rest
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