Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

A behind-the-scenes study of Lyndon Baines Johnson's presidency."He was a crass political operator and liberal idealist," Politico contributing editor Zeitz (Lincoln's Boys: John Hay, John Nicolay, and the War for Lincoln's Image, 2014, etc.) says about his complex subject, "an unbridled opportunist and steadfast champion of the poor, a southern temporizer and civil rights trailblazer, a progressive hero and bte noire of the antiwar Left." Beginning with John F. Kennedy's final days and ending with Richard Nixon's rise to power, the author embarks on a fine-grained exploration of LBJ's Great Society. More specifically, Zeitz zeroes in on the many players in LBJ's administration, including, among many others, Jack Valenti, Horace Busby, Bill Moyers, Walter Heller, Richard Goodwin, and Abe Fortas. The author walks readers through the difficulties Johnson encountered passing the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1966, his notorious "War on Poverty," the implementation of life-changing initiatives such as Medicare, and the relentless situation in Vietnam. Though it's easy to remember Johnson as the president who led the war in Vietnam, Zeitz reminds us of many other elements of his presidency, especially his efforts to integrate and end race disputes. In what is an extremely detailed account of a highly controversial presidencyone that attempted to address and resolve issues that are, unfortunately, still around todaythe author offers his readers a red flag: we must wake up to the fact that many of today's significant issues are not new, and we must look to the lessons of the past to continue in the footsteps of all those who have tried so hard to build a better society. "Even as this book goes to print," writes the author, "the enduring value of the Great Society is no longer an academic question or political talking point but instead a real-world concern." Refreshingly, the only real change today is that women have come to occupy increasingly influential roles in the administrations that followed.An enlightening look at the political foundations of 20th-century hope. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

The ongoing publication of Robert Caro's monumental, multivolume biography of LBJ has prompted a flurry of other books focusing on Johnson's accomplishments in office, rather than on his role in the fiasco of Vietnam. This volume looks at Johnson's closest advisors Joseph Califano, Jack Valenti, and Bill Moyers and the important roles they played in implementing Johnson's far-reaching domestic programs, including civil rights, the War on Poverty, and the Great Society. Zeitz argues convincingly that Johnson's team, all New Deal liberals committed to social justice, quickly became a smoothly running and effective machine, accomplishing a great amount in a relatively short time: the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and Medicare all bore the stamp of LBJ, with his advisors doing much of the heavy lifting in the background. The newly formed Office of Economic Opportunity with its director, Sargent Shriver had its successes, too, including the Head Start program. Zeitz also details the unfortunate denouement, with some programs the victims of inevitable backlash and others buried under the skyrocketing costs of Vietnam. A timely reconsideration of the Johnson years.--Levine, Mark Copyright 2017 Booklist

Library Journal
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Zeitz (history, politics; Lincoln's Boys) presents accessible, nuanced portraits of the men behind Lyndon B. Johnson's domestic programs; advisors such as Sargent Shriver, Walter Jenkins, Frank Mankiewicz, and Clark Clifford. The author also sheds light on lesser-known advisors such as Horace Busby, Harry McPherson, and White House Press Secretary George Reedy. Although largely a narrative rather than an analytical work, this compendium assesses the War on Poverty and the larger Great Society program as logical continuations of the New Deal. Johnson's policies also involved increasing access to education and health care, establishing civil rights, and maintaining a cleaner environment. Zeitz recognizes that the succeeding Nixon staff often followed up and strengthened Johnson's efforts to reduce institutional racism and modify capitalism through bold policy experiments, to the initial surprise of members of the previous administration. Many initiatives, such as immigration policy reform, did not begin to show results until the next president's term. VERDICT Zeitz effectively demonstrates how Johnson assembled one of history's most productive White House staffs: an amalgam of committed John F. Kennedy holdovers along with new talents from academia, the newspaper world, and think tanks. For all history readers.-Frederick J. Augustyn Jr., Lib. of Congress, Washington, DC © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.