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Some of It Was Fun: Working with RFK and LBJ
A lively, intimate memoir that vividly recalls the idealism of the Kennedy administration. As deputy attorney general under Bobby Kennedy and then attorney general and under secretary of state for Lyndon Johnson, Nicholas deB. Katzenbach offers a unique perspective on the civil rights movement, Vietnam, and other issues of the day. In this engaging memoir, by turns intensely dramatic and charmingly matter-of-fact, we are treated to a ringside seat for Katzenbach's confrontation with segregationist governor George C. Wallace over the integration of the University of Alabama, his efforts to steer the Civil Rights Act of 1964 through Congress, and then his transition to the State Department, where he served at the center of the storm over Vietnam. In the political climate of this election season, Some of It Was Fun provides a refreshing reminder of the hopes and struggles of an earlier era, speaking both to readers who came of age in the 1960s and to a generation of young people looking to that period for political inspiration. 16 pages of photographs
320 pages, Hardcover
First published October 6, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 15, 2017
Katzenbough worked in the Justice Department for Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. Under President Johnson, he was made acting Attorney General and after Johnson took office in 1965, he was officially appointed to the position. This is an autobiography, so it has that to watch out for. This book covers the eight years of the Kennedy – Johnson presidencies. Historically, these were extremely important years for the United States. The United States was embarrassed at the Bay of Pigs, but won an incredible victory in the Cuban missile confrontation. The country passed the first meaningful civil rights legislation but was mired in the Vietnam war. President Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King, and Presidential candidate Robert Kennedy were all assassinated. These were my coming of age years; a time when I considered myself a democrat.
Katzenbaugh was fairly modest in describing the parts he played in that historical time period. I found his description of the what was going on behind the scenes informative. He claims he wrote this book mostly from memory as opposed to having a journal or doing outside research. This leaves him guessing as to when things happened, details of various meetings, and the order in which critical things happened. Research – even if he had to hire someone to do it – would have enhanced the book significantly.
Sometimes I sit in a theater after a movie to wait until the crowds leave. At those times, I watch the credits, noticing the screen is constantly filled with names scrolling up, sometimes as many as three columns at a time. I begin to feel that if I pay attention my name would probably be there. If you like watching movie credits, you will probably like this book. The only difference is Katzenbaugh scrolls the names up throughout the book rather than waiting until the end. For someone who didn’t do any research and was relying almost entirely on his memory, he has an incredible memory for names and their spelling.
Katzenbaugh was mostly involved with the Civil Rights movement and legislation, though he was involved enough in the Vietnam War to shed a good deal of light on that other major historical event of the time. There is so much more going on behind the scenes than the public is aware of. Living through those years, my political interest was most focused on the progress of Civil Rights, so his subject matter fit my interests. Civil rights legislation was never a slam dunk. I am proud of those who fought the battles, from the demonstrators to the politicians.
While it seemed he was pretty straight forward in describing his part in all those events, he was pretty expansive in his praise of President Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and President Johnson. Though Robert Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson couldn’t stand each other, Katzenbaugh thought they were both extremely great men. He spends pages trying to spin the fact that, though Johnson was demonstrably and chronically a liar, he in fact was never actually lying – Johnson mentally arranged things so that he always thought the lies he told were the truth. I reread the pages several times – I didn’t get it. After the Tonkin Resolution in 1964, Johnson had complete control of America's commitment to Vietnam. Katzenbaugh puts a lot of effort into cover for Johnson and his expansion of America's roll into all out war.
Along with spinning great men into incredibly great, superior men, he told his story with a decided left spin. He blatantly shows the reader where he is coming from near the end. In November 2001, the Justice Department building was going to be named after Robert F. Kennedy. But because it was the Bush Administration that was naming the building, Katzenbaugh didn’t want to go. RFK was his hero, one of his all-time favorite people, and he didn’t want to attend the ceremony because a republican was honoring RFK! He did go, but only because it would hurt Ethel’s feelings if he didn’t. Generally, the book spins hard left and his proposed solutions to the problems the country faced in 2008 come entirely from the left playbook.
Spin aside, I enjoyed the book, and learned a lot about how the government worked.
Katzenbaugh was fairly modest in describing the parts he played in that historical time period. I found his description of the what was going on behind the scenes informative. He claims he wrote this book mostly from memory as opposed to having a journal or doing outside research. This leaves him guessing as to when things happened, details of various meetings, and the order in which critical things happened. Research – even if he had to hire someone to do it – would have enhanced the book significantly.
Sometimes I sit in a theater after a movie to wait until the crowds leave. At those times, I watch the credits, noticing the screen is constantly filled with names scrolling up, sometimes as many as three columns at a time. I begin to feel that if I pay attention my name would probably be there. If you like watching movie credits, you will probably like this book. The only difference is Katzenbaugh scrolls the names up throughout the book rather than waiting until the end. For someone who didn’t do any research and was relying almost entirely on his memory, he has an incredible memory for names and their spelling.
Katzenbaugh was mostly involved with the Civil Rights movement and legislation, though he was involved enough in the Vietnam War to shed a good deal of light on that other major historical event of the time. There is so much more going on behind the scenes than the public is aware of. Living through those years, my political interest was most focused on the progress of Civil Rights, so his subject matter fit my interests. Civil rights legislation was never a slam dunk. I am proud of those who fought the battles, from the demonstrators to the politicians.
While it seemed he was pretty straight forward in describing his part in all those events, he was pretty expansive in his praise of President Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and President Johnson. Though Robert Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson couldn’t stand each other, Katzenbaugh thought they were both extremely great men. He spends pages trying to spin the fact that, though Johnson was demonstrably and chronically a liar, he in fact was never actually lying – Johnson mentally arranged things so that he always thought the lies he told were the truth. I reread the pages several times – I didn’t get it. After the Tonkin Resolution in 1964, Johnson had complete control of America's commitment to Vietnam. Katzenbaugh puts a lot of effort into cover for Johnson and his expansion of America's roll into all out war.
Along with spinning great men into incredibly great, superior men, he told his story with a decided left spin. He blatantly shows the reader where he is coming from near the end. In November 2001, the Justice Department building was going to be named after Robert F. Kennedy. But because it was the Bush Administration that was naming the building, Katzenbaugh didn’t want to go. RFK was his hero, one of his all-time favorite people, and he didn’t want to attend the ceremony because a republican was honoring RFK! He did go, but only because it would hurt Ethel’s feelings if he didn’t. Generally, the book spins hard left and his proposed solutions to the problems the country faced in 2008 come entirely from the left playbook.
Spin aside, I enjoyed the book, and learned a lot about how the government worked.
July 5, 2025
This was a pretty decent read, though Katzenbach did give us a disclaimer that this is not "everything" and was not written in chronological order. If he had not written that disclaimer early on, this book might have been a mess.
He tells us the stuff that he wants to tell us, especially as it pertains to Civil Rights in the 1960s, which gives the book its strength.
However, he is extremely selective in what he tells. There is just as much omission in what he doesn't say, as there is commission in what he tells us. Take, for instance, the JFK Assassination. He admits that the Warren Commission was his suggestion, and that he gave the idea to LBJ and J. Edgar Hoover. Then we never hear anymore about it ever again.
He also tries hard to give himself too much credit in certain areas. He claims that the reason Byron White was nominated for the Supreme Court was because he made the suggestion to JFK. Yet there is ample evidence that shows how Byron White knew both JFK and his father, Joseph P. Kennedy, and that it was White who wrote the investigation report of the PT-109 incident back when he and JFK were both in the Navy. Was it really Katzenbach's suggestion to nominate White or was it a repayment of a debt from twenty years earlier, with a little influence from JFKs old man? While that certainly is a book for someone else to write, it does seriously question Katzenbach's claim. In event that he's not truthful about this, what else is he selectively remembering? He mentions the USS Liberty in just a few paragraphs. What exactly was his involvement in this? Other than a two paragraph explanation regarding negotiations for compensation, he skips over the matter very quickly. We know there's a story there (like the Warren Commission) and he chooses not to tell us.
Lastly, his writing style is difficult to grasp. In one paragraph he's relating a conversation that he is having with someone, and in the next paragraph, he's lecturing us on some arcane view of a policy that we aren't really interested in, but would like to read more of his story. That got frustrating.
This book is useful only for an insiders viewpoint of the stuff he wants to tell us, when he is interacting with others. We don't really know much more about some of the stuff we want to know about. He could also spare us some of the lecturing. The stuff that's wrong with this book offsets the stuff that this book excels at, making this an average three star read. Not a bad book, but could definitely have been improved.
He tells us the stuff that he wants to tell us, especially as it pertains to Civil Rights in the 1960s, which gives the book its strength.
However, he is extremely selective in what he tells. There is just as much omission in what he doesn't say, as there is commission in what he tells us. Take, for instance, the JFK Assassination. He admits that the Warren Commission was his suggestion, and that he gave the idea to LBJ and J. Edgar Hoover. Then we never hear anymore about it ever again.
He also tries hard to give himself too much credit in certain areas. He claims that the reason Byron White was nominated for the Supreme Court was because he made the suggestion to JFK. Yet there is ample evidence that shows how Byron White knew both JFK and his father, Joseph P. Kennedy, and that it was White who wrote the investigation report of the PT-109 incident back when he and JFK were both in the Navy. Was it really Katzenbach's suggestion to nominate White or was it a repayment of a debt from twenty years earlier, with a little influence from JFKs old man? While that certainly is a book for someone else to write, it does seriously question Katzenbach's claim. In event that he's not truthful about this, what else is he selectively remembering? He mentions the USS Liberty in just a few paragraphs. What exactly was his involvement in this? Other than a two paragraph explanation regarding negotiations for compensation, he skips over the matter very quickly. We know there's a story there (like the Warren Commission) and he chooses not to tell us.
Lastly, his writing style is difficult to grasp. In one paragraph he's relating a conversation that he is having with someone, and in the next paragraph, he's lecturing us on some arcane view of a policy that we aren't really interested in, but would like to read more of his story. That got frustrating.
This book is useful only for an insiders viewpoint of the stuff he wants to tell us, when he is interacting with others. We don't really know much more about some of the stuff we want to know about. He could also spare us some of the lecturing. The stuff that's wrong with this book offsets the stuff that this book excels at, making this an average three star read. Not a bad book, but could definitely have been improved.
August 22, 2020
The title of the book had me going into this book thinking there would be some funny anecdotes or would be a more humorous book. That was not to be. At the beginning of the book the author states that if you are familiar with the history behind RFK and LBJ you won't find anything new here. It is more about his perspective from working behind the scenes as a deputy attorney general. That said, I was in grade school when two men were in office, so I remember some things but I also learned some things. What would have made it more interesting for me was if the author had made the book more about him and his personal life, but instead it reads more like a history book.
November 29, 2017
Excellent inside information on the politics of policy implementation
I found this book fascinating. It gives detailed background on the efforts to pass the 1964 civil rights bill and other civil rights issues. It thoroughly discusses Pres. Johnson 's quandary with the Vietnamese conflict and the problems with The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. I lived through these times, but gleaned invaluable historical information from this book!
I found this book fascinating. It gives detailed background on the efforts to pass the 1964 civil rights bill and other civil rights issues. It thoroughly discusses Pres. Johnson 's quandary with the Vietnamese conflict and the problems with The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. I lived through these times, but gleaned invaluable historical information from this book!
July 20, 2021
Some insider info which was nice. Really shows how tough it was making policy during Vietnam.
July 27, 2021
What would Katzenbach say about our present situation? He's be horrified of course.
Well written and revealing. A good read.
Well written and revealing. A good read.
January 9, 2009
Before reading: Katzenbach was one of the few aides who allowed himself to be a bridge between Robert Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, and he must have taken a beating for it. I love the humor in the book's title and cover and look forward to reading it.
After reading: If NdeBK wrote this book recently, it's amazing -- he must be as sharp as a tack. Here are behind the scenes discussions in the making of a few pivotal events in the 1960s described with great detail. While Katzenbach talks about his involvement and thoughts, the way he writes about it almost makes you feel like it's a historian's account. Not that he argues others' points for them or isn't clear on where he stood, but his descriptions of the debates are very balanced. This is a book for those who are familiar with civil rights, Vietnam and 1960s politics. Katzenbach doesn't deliver much background. He tells you what you need to know and dives right in.
After reading: If NdeBK wrote this book recently, it's amazing -- he must be as sharp as a tack. Here are behind the scenes discussions in the making of a few pivotal events in the 1960s described with great detail. While Katzenbach talks about his involvement and thoughts, the way he writes about it almost makes you feel like it's a historian's account. Not that he argues others' points for them or isn't clear on where he stood, but his descriptions of the debates are very balanced. This is a book for those who are familiar with civil rights, Vietnam and 1960s politics. Katzenbach doesn't deliver much background. He tells you what you need to know and dives right in.
July 27, 2016
I really enjoyed this. I am familiar with Katzenbach from the Eyes on the Prize civil rights series. When he died earlier this year, I picked up his book. Katzenbach was in the middle of so much of the history of the 1960s. I liked reading his recollections of integrating Ole Miss and the University of Alabama, of working on the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the voting Rights Act, of his State Dept. trip to Africa and his role in the Vietnam War. Fascinating.
If you are interested in JFK or LBJ or in the civil rights movement, I highly suggest this.
Also, how cool of a guy do I think he was? Look at the picture on the book's cover and its title. Katzenbach seemed to be the real deal.
If you are interested in JFK or LBJ or in the civil rights movement, I highly suggest this.
Also, how cool of a guy do I think he was? Look at the picture on the book's cover and its title. Katzenbach seemed to be the real deal.
December 24, 2008
My father also worked for RFK, albeit more removed than Katzenbach, specifically on Mississippi voter registration, and I am told that my first sentence was, "Daddy go bye bye plane." I was too young to realize, as my mother certainly did, how dangerous his work was. Some of his colleagues in the Justice Department were even authorized to carry guns.
November 26, 2012
Great book, liked the honest balance in his appraisal of his relationships with JFK, LBJ and RFK. When he was AG his office had sign that said "Our office wins win justice is done" Isn't that true for all prosecutors?
May 3, 2013
Interesting history. Very idealistic.
November 20, 2016
I loved this. How politics should be.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews