Robert A. Caro’ s new Lyndon Johnson biography Passage of Power is receiving some great early praise. We are excited for this powerhouse presidential bio to come out this May and wanted to share with you the great reviews to date. I don’t know about you but I’m looking forward to getting some more LBJ history via Caro’s capitivating storytelling.
“Riveting . . . Shakespearean . . .It’s a roller-coaster narrative as Johnson plummets from the powerful Senate majority leader post to vice-presidential irrelevance, hated and humiliated by the Kennedy brothers, then surges to presidential authority with the crack of Lee Harvey Oswald’s rifle and forces a revolutionary civil rights act through a recalcitrant Congress . . .Caro’s tormented, heroic Johnson makes an apt embodiment of an America struggling toward epochal change, one with a fascinating resonance in our era of gridlocked government.”
—Publishers Weekly (Boxed, Starred)
“Brilliant . . .Riveting reading from beginning to end . . .The real tour de force in this stunning mix of political and psychological analysis comes in the account of the transition between administrations, from November 23, 1963 to January 8, 1964 . . . An utterly fascinating character study, brimming with delicious insider stories . . . Political wonks, of course, will dive into this book with unbridled passion, but its focus on a larger-than-life, flawed but fascinating individual—the kind of character who drives epic fiction—should extend its reach much, much further. Unquestionably, one of the truly big books of the year.”
—Booklist (Starred)
“The fourth volume of one of the most anticipated English-language biographies of the past 30 years . . . A compelling narrative . . . that will thrill those who care about American politics, the foundations of power, or both . . . Before beginning the Johnson biography, Caro published a life of Robert Moses, The Power Broker (1974), a book many scholars consider a watershed in contemporary biography. The Johnson project deserves equal praise.”
—Kirkus Reviews (Starred)
