Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream

Rating:
Summary: an impressive mix of reporting and scholarship
Review: this is a flowing, personal account of Lyndon Johnson, primarily centered on his sense of regret and sadness from the perspective of his retirement. It is a wistful, but enlightening look at a flawed leader and the emotional times he tried to govern in. A very profound work.

Rating:
Summary: Psycho-Biography
Review: This was the first (and as of yet, only) book by Ms. Goodwin that I have read. Having seen her many times on television, I expected a somewhat deep historical perspective. By the time I was 25% through the book, I wasn't sure if Ms. Goodwin was a professor of history or psychology. She jumped to an extreme amount of conclusions about LBJ's thoughts and motivations, all based upon her "unique" ability to delve into the deeper LBJ through her amateur psychological training. The parts of the book I found most interesting were LBJ's monologues, during which you could listen to the man's self doubt and frustration. But most of the book read like a doctoral thesis from a young psychology major. After a while, it got very boring.

Rating:
Summary: Psycho-Biography
Review: This was the first (and as of yet, only) book by Ms. Goodwin that I have read. Having seen her many times on television, I expected a somewhat deep historical perspective. By the time I was 25% through the book, I wasn't sure if Ms. Goodwin was a professor of history or psychology. She jumped to an extreme amount of conclusions about LBJ's thoughts and motivations, all based upon her "unique" ability to delve into the deeper LBJ through her amateur psychological training. The parts of the book I found most interesting were LBJ's monologues, during which you could listen to the man's self doubt and frustration. But most of the book read like a doctoral thesis from a young psychology major. After a while, it got very boring.

Rating:
Summary: For the Casual Reader
Review: This was the first book that I ever read on LBJ. I really enjoyed it at the time, and still do. In later readings, I found the works of Caro and Dallek to be more accurate, but Goodwin does a fair job. Particularly of interest is the time she spent with LBJ, something neither Caro nor Dallek can claim. Good if you want to read one book on Lyndon Johnson.