LBJ

Will Afghanistan make Biden's Presidency Turn Out like Truman's or LBJ's?

by Joe Cirincione

"Joe Biden can be a great president. But not if he is so afraid of attacks from the right that he repeats LBJ’s blunder and stumbles into a war we cannot win and never need fight."

The Lost Story of Lady Bird

by Julia E. Sweig

"It is perhaps ironic that so many historians, intent as they are on the president, have missed her sway in the White House, because Lyndon himself was not shy in acknowledging Lady Bird’s crucial role in his administration."

Trump’s Claim that He’s Done More for Black Americans than any President Since Lincoln (Fact Check)

Historians Michael Beschloss, David Garrow, H.W. Brands, Max J. Skidmore and David Greenberg argue that LBJ is in fact second to Lincoln in this regard.

In The Great Society, We Get a Marvelous, If Painful, Look at LBJ and the War that Won’t Go Away

by Bruce Chadwick

This powerful play is a painful reminder of history lost, of all those brave Americans who fought so gallantly for their country in that war, and came home battered and defeated.

Lyndon Johnson’s Unsung Role in Sending Americans to the Moon

As chairman of the National Aeronautics and Space Council, a White House advisory group, Johnson moved quickly to “dominate Washington space activities."

Reflecting On The Civil Rights Act’s Anniversary With James Baldwin

by Lindsey R. Swindall

Much like the time in which Baldwin wrote, we are living through a period of deep political division and social crisis framed by global discord.

Robert Caro Reflects on Robert Moses, L.B.J., and His Own Career in Nonfiction

He’s just published a book called “Working.” It’s a gift, a collection of interviews and essays that talk about the craft of what he does.

Robert Caro’s Blind Spot

Why does the exhaustive biographer overlook Lyndon Johnson’s virulent misogyny?

Biographer Robert Caro Pauses as He Prepares His Final Lyndon B. Johnson Volume

“The most comfortable position in the world is not lying in bed,” Caro says. “It’s sitting at this desk.”

Lyndon B. Johnson warned us about this

by Julian Zelizer

Less than 48 hours before the 1966 midterms, just like today, LBJ saw in the electorate a noxious mix of white anger, hatred and resentment.

Foreign powers interfered in the 1968 election. Why didn’t LBJ stop them?

by Arnold A. Offner

Was his disdain for his vice president greater than his desire for Democrats to win?

That sensational New York Times story about LBJ saving America from nuclear war in Vietnam is wrong says author Gregg Jones

by Gregg Jones

It was based on Michael Beschloss’s new book.

The Story of the 25th Amendment, According to the People Behind It

President Lyndon B. Johnson during the ceremony to ratify the 25th amendment at the White House in 1967. The amendment came about because of succession concerns if the president became incapacitated.

Conan O’Brien’s Unrequited Fanboy Love for Robert Caro

The famed biographer of LBJ keeps saying no to interviews.

What LBJ Warned Allies in the Gun Control Debate After Robert Kennedy Was Assassinated

by Kyle Longley

“We have only two weeks, maybe only 10 days before the gun lobby gets organized.”

Robert Caro Talks Lyndon Johnson, Music and the 1960s

He has been thinking a lot about the 1960s as he finishes up (hopefully) his final book on LBJ.

Lyndon Johnson left office as a deeply unpopular president

by Bruce J. Schulman

So why is he so admired today?

This Is What LBJ Did When He Heard that MLK Had Been Killed

by Kyle Longley

It shows you what a president with empathy for African Americans does.

Why Lyndon Johnson Dropped Out

by Fredrik Logevall

He had known for years that the Vietnam War would destroy him. In March 1968, it did.

Remembering 1968: How an upstart primary challenge ended a presidency

Lyndon Johnson had the power of incumbency, but his prospects fell when an upstart, Eugene McCarthy, decided to challenge him in the primaries.