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Rayburn: A Biography
Rayburn is the definitive biography of one of the most remarkable figures in American politics, Sam Rayburn. His tenure of twenty-one years as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives has never been equaled. He guided the most important legislation of the twentieth century through Congress--from the New Deal to the New Frontier--and served under eight presidents during his 49 year congressional career.
Rayburn was a legend in Washington due to his integrity, tough-mindedness, and loyalty. A modest man with uncluttered rural values, he once said, "It is a wise man who realizes that the church is bigger than its pastor." Thirty years in the making, Rayburn is the result of research begun by the late D.B. Hardeman, a former state representative and journalist who first met Rayburn during the 1952 fight to rally Texas Democrats for Adlai Stevenson. This comprehensive biography begins with Rayburn's early life in Texas, follows his rise to power in Congress over five decades, and ends with his death in 1961. Compelling political history textured with rich personal detail, Rayburn is the story of one of America's greatest political heroes.
His lifelong conviction was that the rich and powerful are entitled to justice but that the less fortunate are entitled to a helping hand from their government. He strove to make the system work--to advance the poor, restrain the greedy, reach toward that day when none would have too little or too much. He symbolized the House of Representatives at its best. To some he was the House--the embodiment of its history, traditions, simplicity, and closeness to the people.
Rayburn was a legend in Washington due to his integrity, tough-mindedness, and loyalty. A modest man with uncluttered rural values, he once said, "It is a wise man who realizes that the church is bigger than its pastor." Thirty years in the making, Rayburn is the result of research begun by the late D.B. Hardeman, a former state representative and journalist who first met Rayburn during the 1952 fight to rally Texas Democrats for Adlai Stevenson. This comprehensive biography begins with Rayburn's early life in Texas, follows his rise to power in Congress over five decades, and ends with his death in 1961. Compelling political history textured with rich personal detail, Rayburn is the story of one of America's greatest political heroes.
His lifelong conviction was that the rich and powerful are entitled to justice but that the less fortunate are entitled to a helping hand from their government. He strove to make the system work--to advance the poor, restrain the greedy, reach toward that day when none would have too little or too much. He symbolized the House of Representatives at its best. To some he was the House--the embodiment of its history, traditions, simplicity, and closeness to the people.
554 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 4, 2009
I wanted to read about Sam Rayburn ever since Robert Caro's The Path to Power, in which I was introduced to the great Speaker of the House. I got this book back in December of '07 and started reading it immediately. It's approximately 500 pages, but I just finished it today, on the 4th day of March, 2009.
Yeah, it's that kind of book.
There's nothing wrong with this biography, per se. Indeed, it's just about the only Rayburn bio you're going to get. It's problem, simply, is that it lacks the essential spark that animated the life of its subject. Caro, in a single chapter, managed to make "Mr. Sam" come alive as a towering figure - a Colussus of the poor and downtrodden; a champion of the New Deal; an iron-fisted leader; a tragic loner.
I was fascinated by Rayburn, by the imprimatur he left on American history. I was also taken in by his essential and obvious humanity: a child of poverty, educated in back-country schools, who strode to the heights of power, becoming, for a time, the second most powerful man in the country (and thus the world), behind only the president of the United States. Despite this great authority, he lived alone, and always regretted his loneliness. He had a brief, ill-fated marriage, one that failed so quickly that no one ever learned what happened (and Rayburn certainly wasn't telling). He was a man who'd always wanted children, yet despite achieving so many lofty, national goals, he never became a father. It's the story of a man who's grasping for the stars was fueled by a sad, unspoken discontent.
Unfortunately, none of this really comes through in this book. The telling is dry and factual. There is no verve. There is no analysis. It's a this-happened-then-this-then-this kind of biography. We never learn what makes Rayburn tick (obviously, doing so would be hard, because he was an intensely private man, but Caro brought him to life). There is also the typical biographical-tic of soft-peddling the main subject. Rayburn's segregationist views (later tempered) are brushed aside with the hoary old excuse: "He was a man of his times."
I didn't learn anything in this book I didn't already learn in the Rayburn chapter in The Path to Power. I was especially disappointed with the cursory examination of Rayburn's failed marriage, which to my mind, set him on his narrow-minded quest to reign as Speaker.
At the very end of the book, however, namely the final two chapters, things started to come alive. There's a great chapter on Rayburn's fight with old Judge Smith to enlargen the House Rules Committee. The horse-trading and vote-counting in this section harkens back to Caro's lively accounts of LBJ's Senate fights. It was the last chapter, though, that finally gave Rayburn his elusive humanity, which had been misssing from the previous 450 pages. There's a great portion on Rayburn fighting for life, after it's been discovered he has pancreating cancer.
"This man is not easy to give to Him who has sent for him," Rayburn's doctor wrote on the chart.
There is a touching eulogy, given by a country preacher, in which Rayburn is compared to the Apostle Paul, who famously fought the good fight, stayed the course, and kept the faith.
The final paragraph is a fitting tribute to a forgotten titan of American politics:
"A long acquaintance, H.W. Stevenson, dug [Rayburn's:] grave. 'This is my last chance to do anything for Mr. Rayburn,' Stevenson said, as he turned the waxy black earth. 'Did he do me any favors? Lots of 'em. I guess the best thing he did was - what I like the most - was just being recognized by the man when he'd see me. And when I used to drive a truck on the Red River project, and they owed me $600, he saw to it I got it. A poor man don't forget a thing like that...' The words of the world's mighty, whose tributes flowed in from around the globe, had been topped by the simple eloquence of an old country preacher, whose congregation never exceeded forty-five members, and a lonely gravedigger. Rayburn would have been pleased."
Yeah, it's that kind of book.
There's nothing wrong with this biography, per se. Indeed, it's just about the only Rayburn bio you're going to get. It's problem, simply, is that it lacks the essential spark that animated the life of its subject. Caro, in a single chapter, managed to make "Mr. Sam" come alive as a towering figure - a Colussus of the poor and downtrodden; a champion of the New Deal; an iron-fisted leader; a tragic loner.
I was fascinated by Rayburn, by the imprimatur he left on American history. I was also taken in by his essential and obvious humanity: a child of poverty, educated in back-country schools, who strode to the heights of power, becoming, for a time, the second most powerful man in the country (and thus the world), behind only the president of the United States. Despite this great authority, he lived alone, and always regretted his loneliness. He had a brief, ill-fated marriage, one that failed so quickly that no one ever learned what happened (and Rayburn certainly wasn't telling). He was a man who'd always wanted children, yet despite achieving so many lofty, national goals, he never became a father. It's the story of a man who's grasping for the stars was fueled by a sad, unspoken discontent.
Unfortunately, none of this really comes through in this book. The telling is dry and factual. There is no verve. There is no analysis. It's a this-happened-then-this-then-this kind of biography. We never learn what makes Rayburn tick (obviously, doing so would be hard, because he was an intensely private man, but Caro brought him to life). There is also the typical biographical-tic of soft-peddling the main subject. Rayburn's segregationist views (later tempered) are brushed aside with the hoary old excuse: "He was a man of his times."
I didn't learn anything in this book I didn't already learn in the Rayburn chapter in The Path to Power. I was especially disappointed with the cursory examination of Rayburn's failed marriage, which to my mind, set him on his narrow-minded quest to reign as Speaker.
At the very end of the book, however, namely the final two chapters, things started to come alive. There's a great chapter on Rayburn's fight with old Judge Smith to enlargen the House Rules Committee. The horse-trading and vote-counting in this section harkens back to Caro's lively accounts of LBJ's Senate fights. It was the last chapter, though, that finally gave Rayburn his elusive humanity, which had been misssing from the previous 450 pages. There's a great portion on Rayburn fighting for life, after it's been discovered he has pancreating cancer.
"This man is not easy to give to Him who has sent for him," Rayburn's doctor wrote on the chart.
There is a touching eulogy, given by a country preacher, in which Rayburn is compared to the Apostle Paul, who famously fought the good fight, stayed the course, and kept the faith.
The final paragraph is a fitting tribute to a forgotten titan of American politics:
"A long acquaintance, H.W. Stevenson, dug [Rayburn's:] grave. 'This is my last chance to do anything for Mr. Rayburn,' Stevenson said, as he turned the waxy black earth. 'Did he do me any favors? Lots of 'em. I guess the best thing he did was - what I like the most - was just being recognized by the man when he'd see me. And when I used to drive a truck on the Red River project, and they owed me $600, he saw to it I got it. A poor man don't forget a thing like that...' The words of the world's mighty, whose tributes flowed in from around the globe, had been topped by the simple eloquence of an old country preacher, whose congregation never exceeded forty-five members, and a lonely gravedigger. Rayburn would have been pleased."
November 30, 2022
This is a deeply research biography of former Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn. It’s a two-person effort: one author is a former Rayburn staffer, and the other is a writer/journalist who was brought in to finish the job.
Rayburn’s career spanned Woodrow Wilson to JFK, and everything inbetween. Often, when you read about the big legislative events of WWI, the New Deal, WWII, or the post-war period, historians just remark about Congress did generally.
This biography goes through how Sam Rayburn got the congressional sausage made. The committee and floor fights that made the legislation tick. Also, every major Democratic Convention gets deeply discussed.
It’s a deep look at the politics of Rayburn’s era and how is power and prestige grew with each passing generation. I disagree with other reviews that say this was boring. I enjoyed the political analysis and calculation of Rayburn.
Rayburn’s career spanned Woodrow Wilson to JFK, and everything inbetween. Often, when you read about the big legislative events of WWI, the New Deal, WWII, or the post-war period, historians just remark about Congress did generally.
This biography goes through how Sam Rayburn got the congressional sausage made. The committee and floor fights that made the legislation tick. Also, every major Democratic Convention gets deeply discussed.
It’s a deep look at the politics of Rayburn’s era and how is power and prestige grew with each passing generation. I disagree with other reviews that say this was boring. I enjoyed the political analysis and calculation of Rayburn.
October 28, 2019
When I was a lad I watched both the major party conventions in 1956 and seeing them one might have
concluded that the heads of the Democrats and the Republicans were Sam Rayburn and Joe Martin. In
the case of Rayburn it looked like everyone of the men seeking the White House was most deferential
to him.
Rayburn earned that. At that time he put in more time as Speaker of the House of Representatives
than anyone else, before or since. Rayburn was born in 1882 in East Tennessee and his family moved
to North Texas. Rayburn first in the Texas State Legislature and later the US House of Representatives represented Bonham and Fannin Counties in North Texas just above Dallas. In
Congress first being elected in 1912.
Being from Texas Rayburn came to the notice of John Nance Garner who had 10 years on him in the
House and was considered a rising star. Garner was not one for speeches, but in caucus and committee there wasn't much he didn't know about the bills and the members who introduced them. Rayburn who was on the progressive side of most issues came into power first during
Garner's term as Speaker 1931-1933 and then during the New Deal. Rayburn who learned from
Garner the way Yogi Berra learned from Bill Dickey added a few touches of his own. There wasn't
a New Deal piece of legislation that Rayburn was not helping to push through. In 1939 the Speaker
William Bankhead died and Rayburn who was Majority Leader moved up the ladder.
Except for the 80th and 83rd Congresses when the Republicans were in control Rayburn was Speaker. In the GOP Congresses he was Minority Leader. In either job to the general public he was
Mr. Sam.
Rayburn worked well with Democrats Roosevelt and Truman. With Eisenhower he and Senate
Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson also of Texas he had a working relationship also as Ike wasn't
exactly enamored of some of the mastodons of the GOP right since Bob Taft died.
Came 1960 and Rayburn backed his protege Johnson for president, but the machine of the Kennedy
family rolled over all and Rayburn who was first dismissive of John F. Kennedy grew to like him.
Rayburn would have been a big supporter of the New Frontier legislative program, but a swift and
sudden cancer took Mr. Sam in late 1961.
I'm not sure a beloved figure the likes of Sam Rayburn could make it in today's world. The decency
and respect he stood for seem old fashioned. Would they were not.
concluded that the heads of the Democrats and the Republicans were Sam Rayburn and Joe Martin. In
the case of Rayburn it looked like everyone of the men seeking the White House was most deferential
to him.
Rayburn earned that. At that time he put in more time as Speaker of the House of Representatives
than anyone else, before or since. Rayburn was born in 1882 in East Tennessee and his family moved
to North Texas. Rayburn first in the Texas State Legislature and later the US House of Representatives represented Bonham and Fannin Counties in North Texas just above Dallas. In
Congress first being elected in 1912.
Being from Texas Rayburn came to the notice of John Nance Garner who had 10 years on him in the
House and was considered a rising star. Garner was not one for speeches, but in caucus and committee there wasn't much he didn't know about the bills and the members who introduced them. Rayburn who was on the progressive side of most issues came into power first during
Garner's term as Speaker 1931-1933 and then during the New Deal. Rayburn who learned from
Garner the way Yogi Berra learned from Bill Dickey added a few touches of his own. There wasn't
a New Deal piece of legislation that Rayburn was not helping to push through. In 1939 the Speaker
William Bankhead died and Rayburn who was Majority Leader moved up the ladder.
Except for the 80th and 83rd Congresses when the Republicans were in control Rayburn was Speaker. In the GOP Congresses he was Minority Leader. In either job to the general public he was
Mr. Sam.
Rayburn worked well with Democrats Roosevelt and Truman. With Eisenhower he and Senate
Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson also of Texas he had a working relationship also as Ike wasn't
exactly enamored of some of the mastodons of the GOP right since Bob Taft died.
Came 1960 and Rayburn backed his protege Johnson for president, but the machine of the Kennedy
family rolled over all and Rayburn who was first dismissive of John F. Kennedy grew to like him.
Rayburn would have been a big supporter of the New Frontier legislative program, but a swift and
sudden cancer took Mr. Sam in late 1961.
I'm not sure a beloved figure the likes of Sam Rayburn could make it in today's world. The decency
and respect he stood for seem old fashioned. Would they were not.
June 17, 2020
I'm not sure if this book was genuinely that boring or if a character introduced to me through the brilliant prose of Caro looks much duller in this thick academic book but this was painful to get through. It took me about 6 months and I enjoyed maybe 4 chapters. Unfortunately, I can't recommend
March 1, 2025
Very well written biography.
February 15, 2013
A good, basic biography of the man who was Speaker of the House for longer than anyone else.
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Full review: http://voices.yahoo.com/book-review-r...
November 6, 2013
One of the great statesmen and representatives of the 20th century. Anyone interested in a giant of the House of Representatives and a giant in Texas politics this a must read.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews