I wanted to read this book to understand how it was possible, politically, to achieve the massive social and economic justice gains of the first half of the 20th century, especially now that we're seeing them undermined and attacked on every front. Whatever LBJ did to make the Great Society happen, he would certainly not be able to do it now. Fox News and its deranged fans would compare him to Hitler, Stalin, and Castro, and he'd go down in flames.

LBJ was everything I thought he was in the 60's and 70's - ruthless, crude, bigoted...but he was also a man who knew when the tide was turning and wanted, more than anything, to be on the right side of history. Vietnam derailed all that, but still, what he managed to achieve is staggering. This biography (and I've only read book 3 of a 3-part opus, a thousand sweeping pages that stands on its own) follows LBJ's career from a young Congressional aide in Texas's hill country through his years as the majority leader in the Senate until his election as JFK's Vice President -- but mainly, it's a fascinating history of the Senate. And from the perspective of the legislative branch of government, it's a compelling story of the tensions between North and South, labor and capital, immigrants and native-born, and how those conflicts shaped America and the modern world. It does get bogged down in parts with minute-by-minute accounts of LBJ's machinations in getting certain pieces of legislation passed or killed, but overall its giant scope combined with Robert Caro's ability to describe the personalities and and political struggles of the time makes it readable and hugely enjoyable. I'm taking a break before I read parts 1 and 2, but I do intend to follow up with those.