LBJ's 1968: Power, Politics, and the Presidency in America's Year of Upheaval

by Kyle Longley

1968 was an unprecedented year in terms of upheaval on numerous scales: political, military, economic, social, cultural. In the United States, perhaps no one was more undone by the events of 1968 than President Lyndon Baines Johnson. Kyle Longley leads his readers on a behind-the-scenes tour of what Johnson characterized as the 'year of a continuous nightmare'. Longley explores how LBJ perceived the most significant events of 1968, including the Vietnam War, the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr and Robert Kennedy, and the violent Democratic National Convention in Chicago. His responses to the crises were sometimes effective but often tragic, and LBJ's refusal to seek re-election underscores his recognition of the challenges facing the country in 1968. As much a biography of a single year as it is of LBJ, LBJ's 1968 vividly captures the tumult that dominated the headlines on a local and global level.

Genres: History, Politics, Biography, American History, Presidents, Nonfiction, American

361 pages, Hardcover

First published March 31, 2018

About the author

The author of nearly a dozen books, Kyle Longley is widely considered an expert in the field of U.S. foreign relations. Consulted by The New York Times, The Washington Post, and MSNBC among others, he has taught in the field of modern U.S. history for more than 25 years.

Reviews

[Brett C · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The story of Lyndon Johnson's Presidency is a story of tragedy in the ancient haunting sense of the word, the strong man overwhelmed by forces, from within and without." pg 281

Kyle Longley did an excellent job of dissecting the last year of the LBJ and his administration. The narrative began in January and each chapter was dedicated to a particular event (or crisis) as the year progressed. The State of The Union (the corrosive topic of Vietnam, domestic matters, pending roll-outs of the Great Society) was the opening stage of 1968.


The next two chapters addressed military and diplomatic affairs. On January 23 the U.S.S. Pueblo, a US Navy intelligence ship working off the North Korean coast was seized and taken into North Koreancustody. Retaliatory or diplomacy were disputed for the safe return of the ship and her crew that were overshadowed by "You remember how much trouble we got into on the Tonkin Gulf incident...( pg 39). Then the Tet Offensive shattered hopes and proved a lose of military objectives in Vietnam.

[Vietnam] brought out the worst in him...soon, he would give people whiplash as his swings between despondency and optimism exceeded normal standards, partly a reflection on the split between his closest advisors on the outcome of the offensive. pg 57

Division grew even further out of Tet as General Westmoreland and Pentagon reports conflicted with media reports, another $2.5 billion of military expenditures mounted, and highlighted how isolated the President had become because of Vietnam. (pg 83)

The next chapters were dedicated to his As a result, I will not seek Reelection speech on March 31, 1968. Longley addressed the civil unrest as a result of Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination, RFK's assassination, the questionable ethical dilemma of Fortas and Thornberry for Supreme Court, how to respond to the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, and the then riots in Chicago at the Democratic National Convention.

Overall the narrative did a great job of showing the behind the scenes of 1968 to January 1969 with the entrance of the Nixon administration. I enjoyed this and I would recommend Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Thanks!

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

LBJ's 1968 by Kyle Longley caught my interest right away. I have been reading about President Johnson ever since Doris Kearns Goodwin's book LBJ and the American Dream came out.

LBJ has fascinated me for the complexity of his character. He was a truly empathetic man who strove to better the lives of Americans. He understood power and how to use it. He could be cruel and undignified. And he was blind to his own flaws.

While contending with one crisis after another, Longley shows how President Johnson's strength under pressure and thoughtful consideration helped him deal successfully with the U.S.S. Pueblo while his fatal flaw, a prideful lack of self-examination and denial of error, led to his failure to end the war in Vietnam.

LBJ abused his power regarding Supreme Court nominations, which the Republicans would not approve, setting a dangerous precedent. Johnson was unwilling to give over party leadership, negatively impacting the Democratic platform and Vice President Humphrey's campaign.

But he also responded to the death of Rev. King and the resulting rioting across the nation with empathy and understanding, pushing the 1968 Fair Housing Act.

LBJ had supported gun control ever since the assassination of President Kennedy. In February 1968 he submitted the Safe Streets and Crime Control Bill. He wanted to ban mail order sales, interstate sales, sales to prison inmates, and sales to minors--but the NRA opposition squashed the bills. And a few weeks later, RFK was shot. The president proposed a commission on violence.

"My fellow citizens, we cannot, we just must not, tolerate the sway of violent men among us. We must not permit those who are filled with hatred...to dominate our streets and fill our homes with fear...Let us put an end to violence and to the preaching of violence. Let the Congress pass laws to bring the insane traffic in guns to a halt, as I have appealed to them time and time again to do. That will not, in itself, end the violence, but reason and experience tell us that it will slow it down; that it will spare many innocent lives."

The Gun Control Act of 1968 did end mail order sales, sales to minors, and importation of guns but failed on licensing and registration.

When the Nixon camp secretly worked to stall Johnson's peace talks, Johnson elected to suppress the evidence rather than create a crisis if the president-elect was outed as treasonous. As Longly points out, that crisis was only delayed until the Watergate break-in was discovered.

As if the Vietnam war and problems of Communist China were not enough, LBJ had to respond to the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.

Every issue we deal with today can find its twin in 1968. I enjoyed both the in-depth story of 1968 both as history and as a revelation of how we "got to here."

The Republican response to Civil Rights, Environmentalism, and the Great Society was immediate; the dismantling Johnson's legacy, even the publicly popular programs, continues to this day. We have a renewal of racial tension and hate groups. We still struggle with Southeast Asia, China, and the Soviets.

I found LBJ's 1968 to be an emotional as well as intellectual read, as both a snapshot in time and informing today's political scene. I would recommend it to those interested in American history, presidential history, and also to those of us who grew up during this time period.

I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

[Aaron Million · Rating 3 out of 5]

1968 was one of the most tumultuous years in American history (sadly joined recently by 2020). The country was coming apart at the seams thanks to the Vietnam War, race riots, assassinations, and a bitterly fought Presidential election. Some eerie echoes of that year seemed to swing through the country again last year. Kyle Longley takes a look at 1968 by focusing solely on Lyndon Johnson, who faced continual crises all year long, culminating in the end of his political career.

Longley manages to structure the book both topically and more or less chronologically, although there are obviously some overlaps. The focus on each chapter is Johnson, and his reactions to that particular issue. But the issues themselves were often widely different: two presidential speeches, the violent Democratic convention in Chicago, two assassinations, Supreme Court nominations, disputes with North Korea and the Soviet Union, the presidential election, and Johnson's final day in office. Some of these chapters are better than others, with the chapter on the State of the Union speech being the least interesting as the speech itself was not widely regarded either then or now, and not particularly memorable.

Longley succeeds in showing Johnson attempting to navigate a never-ending sea of mines, with each one having the potential to derail his presidency (they all pretty much did). Johnson was under pressure from all sides: hawks and doves, pro-war and anti-war, Southern Democrats, and Republicans. He could please no one, lease of all himself. And Johnson had primarily himself to blame: he massively escalated the Vietnam War and refused to admit any error. He mistreated many of his aides, and was especially cutting and cruel towards Vice-President Hubert Humphrey. In fact, Longley makes a well-reasoned argument that Johnson's treatment of Humphrey significantly contributed to the latter losing a razor-close election to Richard Nixon. I tend to agree with Longley. The race was very close, and any number of different decisions by Johnson or others could easily have flipped the outcome.

This is not the most well-written book. Longley is more workman-like with his prose, but writing about someone with such an outsized personality as LBJ makes up for any lackluster writing. There are a number of typos in the book. One that is notable is that of Nixon's aide "John Haldeman", which is a mixture of Nixon's two top assistants: H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman. Interestingly, "John Haldeman" also appears in the index. I would have thought that was a pretty obvious one to not make in the first place, let alone allow into the index.

Longley is generally on-point with his analysis about LBJ. I also like that he ends the book with a few thoughts in relation to modern (2018) America and how many of the issues that Johnson fought are still alive in some fashion. I do not agree with his analysis that Nixon did not commit treason during the 1968 campaign when he ran backchannel negotiations to South Vietnam in an effort to scuttle Johnson's genuine peace attempts. How many people died who may not have died otherwise, only for Nixon to become President? One has to wonder. Johnson knew it was treason but refused to expose Nixon for fear of the damage it would do to the office of the president, and to his own sources and methods (which were also not above-board). Longley astutely notes that Johnson's failure to hold Nixon accountable for this major transgression later paved the way for Watergate to occur. Given how Nixon ended up, it is hard not to concede his point, although Johnson surely did not think anything like that would ever occur, even under Nixon.

Overall a nice look at an embittered man, steadily losing power as his term in office wound down, desperately searching for a way out of Vietnam while trying to keep the country from completely falling apart.

Grade: B-

[Dennis McCrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two thoughts at this time. I might add some more as I further meditate upon the period covered by this book.

1) My, how history does repeat itself. Here we are in 2024, approximately 6 weeks before a presidential election. And we still have many of the problems of 1968. Racial, society and economic inequality. The WASP or better said, the White Christian Nationalist portion of our population who strives to hold on to their societal inheritance and privilege. A populist presidential candidate who thinks he can mislead enough of the electorate to return to the White House. It’s like nothing really has changed from 1968. As has it? We just had an African American President of the United States and we are currently considering an African American woman President of the United States. There are several generations in this country who do not wish a return to before. There is so much change but so much is just below the surface. But 1968 was the apex of so much change and awareness that we tend to concentrate on the upheaval that change back then wrought. This is now the 5th or so book I’ve read about LBJ and with each my admiration grows. Oh that there were politicians like him today.

The second point I want to make is this: LBJ’s announcement on March 31, 1968 that he would not run again for president is eerily similar to what President Biden just announced recently when he stepped down from running this year. And the why’s were eerily similar: for the sake of the country. Both set aside their personal ambitions for the benefit of the country.

PS- why can’t we see a Republican do something similar?

[Neal Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kyle Longley narrates the year 1968 through eyes of LBJ. And what a year it was! A year which included the assassination of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy as well as the Tet offensive in Vietnam and culminated in the disastrous Democratic National Convention in Chicago. In most of these crises Johnson provided the nation with calm, steady leadership. After MLK's assassination he reluctantly called out the military to assist local law enforcement to quell the rioting. But He was very clear regarding the role of de-escalation and emphasized no shots should be fired. He empathized with many of the root causes of the unrest, particularly among African Americans.

LBJ also used the tragedy to lobby Congress to pass the Fair Housing Act which made housing discrimination illegal. Once again after the death of Robert Kennedy, Johnson pressured Congress to pass a gun control bill (even though watered down). It's important to remember that LBJ was a lame duck president at this point, already having announced his decision to not run for reelection, which makes these accomplishments that much more impressive.

But there was also another side to LBJ on display in 68. Vietnam was Johnson's Achilles' heal. He just couldn't let it go. When Humbert Humphrey devised a Vietnam strategy for his campaign that was a comprise between Johnson's hardline approach and the anti-war faction, LBJ pressured him to abandon it. Johnson also had a heavy hand in planning the Democratic Convention all the way from the choice of the city to whether or not he might actually be drafted to run as the party's nominee. The constant interference with the Humphrey campaign did nothing but create discord and sink the vice president's chance of winning in November.

It's hard to not read LBJ's 1968 and not think of current events, especially since the year I'm writing this, 2020, bears a striking semblance to the tumultous year. Certain events also remind us of the worn out cliche, 'history repeats itself.' As a lame duck president, LBJ also had an opportunity to replace a Supreme Court Justice in an election year. Sound familiar? Chief Justice Earl Warren annouced his retirement mid way through the year. LBJ's choice, Abe Fortas, created a controversial firestorm for his cozy relationship with Johnson and his liberal attitudes and rulings on Civil Rights. Ultimately, the nomination didn't have enough votes to overcome the filibuster (remember those?) and Johnson didn't put forward another candidate. According to Longley, it was only the 3rd time in US history that the Senate refused to confirm a president's Supreme Court choice and presaged the future politicization of the Court.

A couple of months before the election Nixon's campaign was discovered to be 'colluding' with both the South and North Vietnamese government in an effort to deny Johnson a peace deal that could help Humphrey. Both governments were promised a better deal if they held out for a Nixon win. The administration had secret wiretaps that confirmed their fears but lacked a smoking gun that implicated Nixon directly. I couldn't help thinking of 2016 and the subsequent Mueller investigation. Much like Obama, LBJ was presented with a dilemna a few weeks before the election. Should he go public? Ultimately, Johnson worried about appearing too partisan and potentially damaging the office of the Presidency. Instead, all of the papers related to Nixon's 'collusion' were placed in a file, referred to as the X-files and brought to Johnson's library. The files were finally opened in 1994.

I'm giving Longley's book 4 stars. He's a capable writer and the book held my attention.

[Patrick Etheridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting look at the year of 1968 from the perspective of LBJ, Ladybird Johnson, and other important figures from LBJ's circle during that time. I get the sense that the author wanted to portray Johnson in a better light during this time than some historians. I think there is some valuable insight in this book. However, if you had issues with Johnson's record on Vietnam, this will not sway you to the other direction. I do think this is a good read for interesting context to a tumultuous year.

[Jacob Doan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This engaging, lively text not only outlines each major crisis of 1968, but also the humanity of LBJ. Readers experience President Johnson's anguish, hope, egoism, and dedication as he navigates a year of international and domestic chaos. I couldn't pull myself away from the text and read nearly 75 percent of it in one day. If you want an engrossing, original take on one of the most trying years of U.S. history, read this book.

[Craig Werner · Rating 4 out of 5]

While we wait for the final volume of Robert Caro's magisterial LBJ biography, Longley provides a decent outline of how 1968 will look. Not really a book about the year--very little mention of the counterculture, none at all on pop culture, only passing glances at the complications of African American politics. But if what you want is a close look at the political dynamics of what LBJ called the continuing nightmare of the year, it does a solid job. A stark reminder of how quickly things changed--LBJ had a breath of hopefulness following his withdrawal from the race, but a few days later, Martin Luther King was killed. The capture of the Pueblo by North Korea blurred with Tet. Very good section on LBJ's mismanagement of the Supreme Court nomination after Earl Warren announced his intention to resign.

[David Corleto-Bales · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kyle Longley relies heavily on White House logs and the LBJ papers in Austin for his retelling of the "nightmare year" of 1968. Each chapter covers one of the various "crises" of that year, from the seizing of the Pueblo by the North Koreans in January, to the Tet Offensive and the internal debate at the White House of whether Johnson should or shouldn't seek reelection. Other major events covered are the inclusion of Robert Kennedy into the presidential race, the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., the disastrous 1968 convention in Chicago, the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, (that derailed a potentially historic summit with the Soviets) two failed nominations to the Supreme Court and the election and his dealings with Richard Nixon over the Nixon's campaigns secret efforts to prevent the South Vietnamese from going to peace talks. This is not really an overall history of the era, but a deeply personal book that details a lot of the day to day meetings and strategies that went into that year from Johnson's perspective.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

[Joseph Spuckler · Rating 5 out of 5]

LBJ's 1968: Power, Politics, and the Presidency in America's Year of Upheaval by Kyle Longley is a detailed history of one year of the presidency of a longtime politician. Longley is the Snell Family Dean's Distinguished Professor of History and Political Science at Arizona State University and author of Grunts: The American Combat Soldier in Vietnam and In the Eagle's Shadow: The United States and Latin America.

Lyndon Baines Johnson was a complex person. He was fifty-five when he found himself thrust into the presidency. It was rumored that he would be dropped from the Kennedy ticket in 1964. For a Texas Democrat at the time, Johnson was unusual. He worked as a day laborer and taught at a segregated Mexican-American school in Cotulla, Texas. Under his gruff exterior and mannerisms was someone who wanted to end poverty, but ended up having his presidency defined by war.

There is no lack of biographies on Johnson.  Caro's The Years of Lyndon Johnson is probably best known for its great detail.  Rather than focus on the entire life of the former president Longley concentrates on the final full year of the Johnson presidency.  1968, the final full year, was a year unlike any other in history.  Vietnam was distracting the public, before and continued to do so but now other events seemed to even overwhelm the war.  

Longley starts with the 1968 State of the Union Address and follows along with events of the year.  The State of the Union Address may have shocked the nation but Johnson decided to hold off on his announcement not to seek another term.  The US was deficit spending with Vietnam and The Great Society competing for funds.  Johnson originally saw the prosperity of the US as a time to help eliminate poverty and expand on civil rights.  He felt the fruits of the country's prosperity should be enjoyed by all.  Just six days after the State of the Union Address North Korea seized the USS Pueblo and its crew.  This event would drag on until December 1968.  A small nation was able to cripple any response from a superpower.  It became a deep embarrassment to US power and prestige. 

In March, LBJ announced his intention not to seek reelection.  That announcement was quickly followed by the assassination of both Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy.  King's assassination brought violence to many cities as people reacted and rioted.  Gun violence killed JFK, MLK, and Robert Kennedy.  Johnson worked to restrict gun sales, particularly through mail order. Guns were a source of great violence in the US including the University of Texas Tower shooting in 1966.  Johnson's role in restricting gun violence as well as the Great Society program was stifled by his self-inflicted lame duck presidency.  

Johnson's foreign policy also suffered.  The US stood by helplessly as Soviet troops moved into Czechoslovakia.  Attempts to make peace in Vietnam were also hindered when it appeared that Nixon persuaded South Vietnam to wait until his election rather than make a deal with LBJ.  Johnson had evidence of Nixon's meddling but did not pursue it preferring not to sully the office of the president or appear to be playing in dirty politics.  

As the election approached, the Democrats were in disarray.  Their convention was a scene of violence.  Hawks and doves splintered the party as well as the deep south that did not support the civil rights movement.  Johnson did not attend the convention and was barely mentioned. Humphrey lost a close popular vote to Nixon.  Wallace took the deep south from the Democrats allowing an easy electoral college victory for Nixon.  Johnson again was helpless.  He wanted to be known for the Great Society and for creating peace.  Instead, he is remembered by most for the Vietnam War and the national guard in American streets in Selma, Chicago, Detriot, Washington, DC, and Baltimore -- the most deployments of any president since the Armed Forces Reserve Act. 

Johnson served in troubled times and the times took a toll on the man.  Longley shows that despite the troubles Johnson was a man who deeply cared.  He was pained by American losses in Vietnam.  He cared about the poor and ending poverty.  He wanted to project America's power and democracy around the world.  He met adversity in almost everything he attempted.  It took a toll on the man and was probably responsible for his early death.  Johnson died of a heart attack at the age of 64, almost exactly four years after handing over the presidency to Richard Nixon.  An excellent snapshot of a great American politician. 

[Matt Jadro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty powerful read. Johnson said “history does not repeat itself but it does rhyme,” and this could not be more true with America’s current division along party lines. Often touted as the greatest division since the Civil War, comparing 1968 against the current day landscape of the US political scene inclusive of social justice marches, domestic gun violence, civil unrest, an RFK, US involvement in foreign wars, and a battle for the presidency replete with a literal Republican criminal candidate within the fray of it all, history is showing us that it’s rhyming “president” with “precedent”. Recommend purely to prove that we are the same and nothing ever changes.

[F.R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Johnson's 1968 was of course not a relaxed time. This isn't an account of a President ticking down the clock on a hammock with some jellybeans.

There are two LBJs almost warring here. There's the arch strategist, the one who wants to see all the angles, who - when the various crises of the year erupt - insists to his aides that they think of a way out of any plan they come up with. And then the hawkish President who has no such restraint when it comes to Vietnam; who loses all caution and is willing to upset all apple carts regardless of the consequences.

Listening to this in the context of February 2025 is a sobering affair. Of course LBJ is a flawed man and a flawed leader. But it would be good to have someone who thought through the consequences at least half the time; and who at least knew the meaning to the word 'restraint'.

[Claw Machine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, the highly unpopular president screws over his veep and prolongs an unpopular war. Craaaaaaaaaaaazy.

Anyhow, pretty solid book, gives you a nice idea of where LBJ was coming from approaching the last year of his presidency, seems to have a good grip on both his strengths and his weaknesses. It's a little surface level I guess, felt more like a brief survey of each crisis, but it's well organized and I imagine he hit all the important bits. You'd do well to read other books on each individual crisis I bet though, but it's an admirable project at least to trace Johnson through it. Overall, yeah, it was pretty solid.

[Owen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent and focused account of Landslide Lyndon’s “continuous nightmare of a year”. LBJ’s annus horribilis calls to mind Trump’s 2020 and 2023, Biden’s 2024, Hillary’s 2016, Bill’s 1998, Nixon’s 1973-74, etc. This is a great book. I really enjoyed it completely on its own terms. I also bonus-enjoyed it as a sequel* to Stone’s The Man Who Killed Kennedy and Donaldson’s The Secret Coalition. All said, great book. RIP Robert F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., as well as John F. Kennedy and Malcolm X. Lyndon Johnson, I see you sir.

[Daphne · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I started this book because it was required reading in my Cold War Foreign Policy class, but I put it down at some point and never picked it back up (sorry professor!). Started reading it again during my flight (the things you do when you don't have WiFi). Interesting recounting of a critical year -- the use of LBJ & Lady Bird's personal papers really allowed the reader to understand how each event affected Johnson's psyche, as well as how he balanced competing priorities.

[Jared Goerke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was easily one of the best books on a former president that I have ever read. The way Longley details the craziness that was the year 1968 through the eyes of LBJ gives a whole new perspective and humanizes Johnson in a way that I believe Doris Kearns Goodwin attempted, but didn't necessarily succeed in doing. I highly recommend this for any history lovers.

[AC · Rating 2 out of 5]

Incredibly mediocre (as a work of scholarship) -- it feels like it was dashed off on deadline -- poorly written and awful editing (whole paragraphs are repeated in different parts of the book) -- and essentially short on analysis and...actual thought. A huge disappointment, esp. given the rankings this book had on various sites.

[Dan Cotter · Rating 5 out of 5]

The year 1968 was tumultuous for the nation and for LBJ. This book reflects His last year in office and some of the events affecting him and the nation, including his decision to not run for re-election. For SCOTUS fans, good chapter about the nomination of Abe Fortas as Chief Justice.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

the stuff that i liked, i REALLY like. But there was a lot of skippage in the first 25-30%. This was mostly due to repetition.
Overall, this is very good- lots of different sources, not a lot of new information, but definitely a fascinating insight into a fascinating dude

[Howard Sundwall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book -- but the many typos and errors were distracting!

[Jeff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Johnson fan

There seems to be a lot of sympathy for the Johnson administration. Could have done without the ding at trump at the End of the book.

[Ricky Balas · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing read and insightful on a number of topics I was unfamiliar with. A great glimpse into a short period of an interesting person living in an interesting time.

[Nick Harriss · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting book, which is essentially a top-class political biography, restricted in length by being limited to a single, event-filled year.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good listen. It was a good introduction to LBJ, but I don't felt like I got a full picture of him. It skipped around a little.

[SundayAtDusk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looking back, it's hard to believe Lyndon Johnson was only 59 years old when 1968 began, and 60 when he left office. These days, he would have been considered a middle-aged man with many, many years of life left. But back in 1968, he was considered an old man, considerably worn down by the events of that year. While he certainly was crude at times, author Kyle Longley shows in this book what an eloquent speaker and thinker Lyndon Johnson could be, as well as how eloquent Lady Bird Johnson was in her thoughts and words.

In addition, Mr. Longley conveyed again and again how important it is for a president to know how government worked, how politics worked. No one knew government or politics better than Lyndon Johnson. Few presidents accomplished all that he did in the five years he was in office. Of course, Vietnam was not one of his accomplishments, but a terrible war, where terrible decisions were made, that many understandably would never forgive or forget. Yet to only view his presidency through the lens of Vietnam is wrong, as wrong as LBJ's bullheadedness about that war.

President Johnson was a fighter who often fought for others. He learned as a young teacher how poverty and discrimination could doom a child for life; and how one needed power, knowledge and undying determination to change a system; to change a society that was dooming both children and adults generation after generation. He learned as an older man how obligated an elected official was to do something about poverty and discrimination and ignorance. The year of 1968 may have tired Lyndon Johnson to the bone, may have forced him to announce an early retirement from public office, but it did not bury his astounding legacy of public service, and political policies that provided hope and favorably altered the lives of so many Americans.

(Note: I received a free e-copy of this book from NetGalley and the author or publisher.)

[Sandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was born in 1969, during the time that LBJ's Presidency. I thought I had learned everything there was to know about My birth President. I didn't. 1968 was a perilous time in our history. LBJ was pushed into situations that he didn't plan on handling and yet, could do so with a whisper in the right person's ear. He had J. Edgar Hoover to help him along the way. I sigh everytime someone says that life now in 2019 is the worst time in history because they never researched the history before they were born, or have forgotten what they went through, or what the Newspaper headlines screamed once a day at the new trauma that was happening. 1968 was that record year of everything that could go wrong and was wrong battling against the threads of societies humanity structure.

Author Kyle Longley does a thorough job of researching LBJ. I appreciate his work and approach to this book.

If you enjoy history, social concepts and just learning about facts that make our world today what it is, read this book.

[Paul Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Longley presents a detailed look at the daily life of a controversial president. What he shows us is a man who deeply cares about his country and its citizens. Johnson has an ability to be nuanced despite his strong arm reputation, to build agreement between factions, and to elevate humanity above politics.
All this stands in contrast to his inability to recognize his own blind spots, particularly his views on Vietnam. His unwillingness to consider any outcome other than victory (and apparently, a willingness to accept sugarcoated assessments from his generals) causes the war to drag on beyond his presidency and makes Vietnam the salient failure of his administration.
All this combines to show LBJ for what he was; dedicated, driven, and most importantly, human.

[Michael D Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

Terrific read about one of the tumultuous years in modern history,a behind the scenes look at how LBJ and his advisors
Dealt with each tragedy.

Definitely recommend this book!

[Dawn Wells · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written documentary style book.