Lyndon B. Johnson

The life and presidency of Lyndon Baines Johnson could never be summed up in a word, a phrase or a sentence. Even hundreds of pages seem too few to capture the years of Johnson. Both books present Johnson as a political figure as powerful and memorable as Lincoln or FDR, each trying to show a complete picture of this huge man. History books will forever be puzzled by this enigma of a man, just as readers and students are. The biggest struggle is determining how one feels about the actions and effects of Johnson. Many presidents can be seen as almost completely "good" or "bad" depending on one's political ideology and opinions, however, when one looks at Johnson, it is easier, almost inevitable, to find nuances and contradictions which make forming straightforward and binary opinions difficult, if not impossible. Accomplishments are followed by nagging failures and triumphs are shadowed by relentless criticism. These two books (Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream by Doris Kearns Goodwin and A Life: LBJ by Irwin and Debi Unger) try to present a story of a figure that was larger-than-life, yet just a regular man underneath. Both books tell the story, but leave it up to the reader to decide how to feel, to decide if the good outweighs the bad and vice versa. They have to decide what to make of this man who, in his life, ranged from a confident young senator, a triumphant president, a defeated, tired leader, to ultimately just an old man hoping his story will live on.

In 6 short years, Johnson evolved from a newly elected senator to the most powerful man in the Senate. (Unger, 180) This swift ascension was unprecedented and mesmerizing and Johnson's path there is arguable as important as his presidency. Both books use Johnson's qu...

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...uotes. (Goodwin, 280) Looking at the Vietnam War section, one can see a trend that applies to the whole of both books: Goodwin's book is more of a look at Johnson as a man himself, the book completely resolves around him. On the other hand, Unger does, of course, focuses on Johnson, but it is more of an account of the time period and how Johnson affected it.

You must always take bias and point of view into account when reading a book, and Goodwin and Unger’s account of Lyndon B. Johnson’s life have both. However, as long as you understand this, you will be able to create your own opinion of Johnson. This opinion is bound to never be complete, for making an opinion about a man as complicated and nuanced as Johnson will never be possible. But, as long as you learn the facts and read the history, you will be able to decide what to think of this larger-than-life man.