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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A sweeping, magisterial biography of the man generally considered the greatest president of the 20th century, admired by Democrats and Republicans alike. Traitor to His Class sheds new light on FDR's formative years; his remarkable willingness to champion the concerns of the poor and disenfranchised; and his combination of political genius, firm leadership, and matchless diplomacy in saving democracy during the Great Depression and the American cause of freedom in World War II.
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Talented writer and narrator, but too biased/long
- By todd on 01-24-20
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Bush
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- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 25 hrs and 2 mins
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Performance
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Story
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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JFK's Last Hundred Days
- The Transformation of a Man and the Emergence of a Great President
- By: Thurston Clarke
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 14 hrs and 48 mins
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Performance
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A revelatory, minute-by-minute account of JFK’s final days that asks what might have been. Fifty years after his assassination, President John F. Kennedy’s legend endures. Noted author and historian Thurston Clarke reexamines the last months of the president’s life to show a man in the midst of great change, both in his family and in the key issues of his day: The Cold War, Civil Rights, and Vietnam, finally on the cusp of making good on his extraordinary promise.
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In Depth and Beautifully Written
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
After suffering stinging defeats in the 1960 presidential election against John F. Kennedy, and in the 1962 California gubernatorial election, Nixon's career was declared dead by Washington press and politicians alike. Yet on January 20, 1969, just six years after he had said his political life was over, Nixon would stand taking the oath of office as 37th President of the United States. How did Richard Nixon resurrect a ruined career and reunite a shattered and fractured Republican Party to capture the White House?
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The comeback kid
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The Presidents Club
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The Presidents Club was born at Eisenhower’s inauguration when Harry Truman and Herbert Hoover first conceived the idea. Over the years that followed - and to this day - the presidents relied on, misunderstood, sabotaged, and formed alliances with one another that changed history. The world’s most exclusive fraternity is a complicated place: its members are bound forever because they sat in the Oval Office and know its secrets, yet they are immortal rivals for history’s favor.
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Engaging subject, but fact-checking needed
- By loix on 04-25-12
By: Nancy Gibbs, and others
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Counselor
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Ted Sorensen, John F. Kennedy's closest advisor, recounts in full, for the first time, his experience counseling Kennedy through some of the most dramatic moments in American history. Rising from legislative assistant to speechwriter and advisor, the young lawyer from Nebraska worked closely with JFK on his most important speeches, as well as his book Profiles in Courage. Sorensen encouraged the junior senator's political ambitions and was later named special counsel to the president.
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Rare Insight
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In this unique insider account, John H. Sununu pays tribute to his former boss - an intelligent, thoughtful, modest leader - and his overlooked accomplishments. Though George H. W. Bush is remembered for orchestrating one of the largest and most successful military campaigns in history - the Gulf War - Sununu argues that conventional wisdom misses many of Bush's other great achievements.
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Outstanding Biograpy
- By Warren Brookes on 07-25-15
By: John H. Sununu
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Tip and the Gipper
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They were the political odd couple - the two most powerful men in the country, a pair who "couldn't be more different or more the same." For six years, Matthews was on the inside, watching the evolving relationship between President Reagan and Speaker of the House O’Neill. Drawing not only on his own remarkable knowledge but on extensive interviews with those closest to his subjects, Matthews brings this unlikely friendship to life in his unique voice.
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I didn't want it to end
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The Woman Behind the New Deal
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- By: Kirstin Downey
- Narrated by: Susan Ericksen
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Overall
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Performance
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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
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Camelot's End
- Kennedy vs. Carter and the Fight That Broke the Democratic Party
- By: Jon Ward
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Overall
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Performance
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The Carter presidency was on life support. The Democrats, desperate to keep power and yearning to resurrect former glory, turned to Ted Kennedy. Camelot's End details the incredible drama of Kennedy's challenge - what led to it, how it unfolded, and its lasting effects - with cinematic sweep. It is a story about what happened to the Democratic Party when the country's long string of successes, luck, and global dominance following World War II ran its course, and how, on a quest to recapture the magic of JFK, Democrats plunged themselves into an intra-party civil war.
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Does character count in political office?
- By marwalk on 07-29-19
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Supreme Power
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Beginning in 1935, in a series of devastating decisions, the Supreme Court's conservative majority left much of Franklin Roosevelt's agenda in ruins. The pillars of the New Deal fell in short succession. It was not just the New Deal but democracy itself that stood on trial. In February 1937, Roosevelt struck back with an audacious plan to expand the Court to fifteen justices - and to "pack" the new seats with liberals who shared his belief in a "living" Constitution.
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Excellent Book and Naration
- By Nostromo on 07-04-10
By: Jeff Shesol
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Excellent story, the narration ruined it for me
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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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1 person found this helpful
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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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- 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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