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jonwood's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
A very intimate portrait of President Johnson, from childhood to presidency. Praises his accomplishments while showcasing his flaws, with deep insight from an author who knew him and had countless personal dialogues with Johnson in his later life. The long quotations from Johnson probably make this as close to an autobiography an biography can be. Highly recommend for anyone interested in politics and American history,
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Death, and War
Minor: Cursing
kyne_'s review
informative
slow-paced
4.5
If I had known asking my history professor for recommendations of presidential biographies would lead me to seventeen hours of LBJ psychoanalysis, I wouldn’t have asked. This author is very talented tho
krobart's review against another edition
3.0
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2021/09/09/review-1720-lyndon-johnson-and-the-american-dream/
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2021/09/09/review-1720-lyndon-johnson-and-the-american-dream/
mnstucki's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 Stars
Such an interesting person. I appreciate learning about public figures in this way—it reenforces for me the truth that they are all just human, like anybody else. Not all good, nor all evil, but a complex amalgamation of vices, virtues, and quirks.
Such an interesting person. I appreciate learning about public figures in this way—it reenforces for me the truth that they are all just human, like anybody else. Not all good, nor all evil, but a complex amalgamation of vices, virtues, and quirks.
callieisreading's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't know much about LBJ going into this, and really enjoyed Kearns Goodwin's writing. My one criticism is that while this kept me interested and very rarely let my attention wander, I actually found it to be too brief. Events flew by so quickly, and I feel like some opportunity to provide even more historical context was lost. Overall, it was still a 4 star read. The audiobook was excellent as well!
noellita234's review against another edition
3.0
Very, very favorable towards LBJ. After reading a few conservative’s biographies, you can definitely see the bias toward the left. Good biography overall. I wish more biographies were written positively about people. No one is perfect, let’s remember the best about people.
statman's review against another edition
3.0
I like Doris Goodwin's books. My favorite is "Team of Rivals" that she wrote. This is one of her earlier books and is more of an "official biography". She was asked to write this and had a lot of time with Lyndon Johnson during the last few years of his life. He is a tough subject to write about, because of his tendency to exaggerate and tell stories he absolutely believed in, but weren't true. So the bulk of the book focuses on his career in the Senate and as President, with very little about his earlier life and his life after being President.
jbelang85's review against another edition
4.0
I love Doris Kearns Goodwin and this was a very good book. However, I would have given it 3.5 stars if I could. I love Mrs. Goodwin's narrative histories/biographies. But this seemed less story and more deconstruction. Overall it was a good book, but not as good as Team of Rivals or The Bully Pulpit.