Rating: 
Summary: good writing covers up bad history
Review: if only caro was as good a historian as he is a writer.... but errors of fact and interpretation mar his credibility.
couple examples. more than once he talks about how the senators debated constitutional issues "in particular," caro says, the right to unlimited debate, which is known as the filibuster. but unlimited debate is not a right, and not a constitutional issue. it's determined by the rules of the senate, which are voted on and passed by the senate at the beginning of each congress, and can also be amended during a session. so this so-called "right" can be altered or eliminated by members of the senate whenever they choose to do so. the first time caro said this i thought it was sloppy writing, that he must know the truth. the second time he said it i thought, this is inexcusable that he pretends to know the senate, yet doesn't know this.
another example, this time of twisted intepretation-- in talking about fdr's efforts to defeat senators who opposed him-- an effort in which fdr failed-- caro says but even if fdr had succeeded, even if he his supporters had won every seat in that election, he still would have faced 2/3 of the senate which had not changed, which would have been entirely unaffected by this election result.
what is he smoking? true, only 1/3 of the senate is up for election in any given cycle, with 2/3 remaining in office. BUT the reality of politics is this: had fdr been able to defeat several senators, those who remained would have been quaking in their boots and bowing their knee to fdr. had fdr succeeded, the remaining senators would have obeyed his every whim.caro's ability to craft brilliant sentences and create narrative tension covers up a lot. the reality is this is a deeply flawed and untrustworthy book.
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Historian in Search of an Editor
Review: I unhesitatingly recommend this book to anyone interested in American government, politics, or the Civil Rights movement. The book is seriously flawed, however. In 1050 pages the reader gets a wonderful history of the U.S. Senate, an insightful and exciting examination of the art of legislative leadership, and a poignant portrait of racism in America a mere fifty years ago, plus a fascinating mini-biography of Richard Russell. The book purports to cover LBJ as a Senator, but, despite its great length, the book virtually ignores the last 3 years of his 12-year Senate tenure -- incredible in a book of this length and detail (and in view of the length and detail in the previous books in this series, particularly the second book). We are given almost 100, frequently boring, pages on the Leland Olds confirmation, but almost nothing on LBJ's role in killing further civil rights legislation in 1958-60, and the effect of this on his presidential aspirations. This despite the overarching event of the book: LBJ's shepherding to passage the Civil Rights Act of 1957, a critical step on his rise to national prominence. It appears that Mr. Caro ran out of steam with the tale of the 1957 Act. With better editing, the book could (and should) have been much shorter, leaving ample space for the author to examine with equal care the vitally important years of LBJ's run-up to the 1960 presidential campaign. Nevertheless, this serious flaw left me merely disappointed; I enjoyed the book immensely.
Rating:
Summary: Well Worth the Read
Review: I must confess that I'm both a political and history junkie. This book is the perfect combination for anyone with like interests. It is superbly written. I feared arcane detail about LBJ's life. Instead it is written as a rare behind-the-scene glimpse at the detail of some of the biggest legislative and political deals of the 1950's. The book centers on LBJ, but is far more. I am so impressed, I am going to purchase Caro's first LBJ book, which I misjudged as simply the life and times of Johnson.
Rating:
Summary: Lyndon Johnson: Hero and Villain
Review: Caro's book, Lyndon Johnson: Master of the Senate, is a "must-read" for all serious students of not only the workings of the U.S. Senate, but also the true record of the drive for power that Johnson ultimately reached in the senate. At times a hero, at times a ruthless, autocratic force, he craved power. Coupled with Caro's earlier two volumes on Johnson we see a complete coverage of how the man's manipulations took form, how he brilliently nurtured associations with "key" people untimately to advance his own stature. Johnson was obsessed with power, this is vividly demonstarted in the final chapter of the book which describes his rediculous attempt to break hundreds of years of tradition by attempting to be both Vice-President and remain leader of the senate. How fortunate we are to have writers like Caro and a free press to ultimately record the true record of real master of the senate.
Rating:
Summary: The War and Peace of Political Biography
Review: Like Tolstoy, Caro creates magnificent characters that he sets against a broad sweep of history and humanity, all delineated with a detail that only the best novelists or historians can summon. For anyone who remembers the 1950s and 1960s, the result is an amazing re-creation of those decades. There is only one problem with this book, and it's not that you can't put it down (though it reads like a great novel): it's that you can hardly pick it up! It's pretty heavy to lug through an airport or on a train, and an uncomfortable companion for bedtime reading. Not that it needs shortening: there is remarkably not one wasted word, though I admit I skimmed the first section on the history of the Senate. In truth, I haven't read anything like it since A Bright Shining Lie by Neal Sheehan. Unlike some reviewers, I found the sections on Richard Russell riveting.
Rating:
Summary: A Flawed Masterpiece
Review: In each of his books, Robert Caro says he seeks to understand power, to explore it through his writing and lay it bare for his readers. The titles of all his books show his fascination with the topic: "The Power Broker", "The Path to Power", "The Means of Ascent", and, finally, this one, "Master of the Senate". No one can doubt Caro's commitment to the subject. In "Master of the Senate" -- the third volume so far in his multi-volume biography of Lyndon Baines Johnson -- Caro has written a thousand dense pages on what is really no more than ten years in the life of his subject (1948-57 -- the final three years of LBJ's Senate career, 1958-60, are dealt with perfunctorily in the book). His research is obviously very thorough, even a little awe-inspiring. The power of Caro's narrative is also compelling; he knows how to tell a story. And the story Caro tells is a fascinating one. How LBJ manages, in rather short order, to bend to his will -- by flattery and sycophancy, cajolement and threat -- the minds and votes of several dozen strong-willed men accustomed to having their own way, is nothing short of epic. How he first ingratiates himself with the southern bloc of Senators and then ultimately betrays them (but ever so subtly) to advance his personal ambition is Shakespearean in its blend of character and fate. In these particulars of research and narrative, Caro deals with the subject masterfully. It is in his judgements on power -- the main topic of the book -- that he falls somewhat short. Caro understands the hard currency of power very well. The money that flows to the politician and its hold on him is Caro's meat and potatoes. But where Caro always seems to be taken off-guard and a little too suspicious is on the softer currency of political power -- that of being liked and doing things which will make *most* people like you. Caro has heard this criticism before -- especially after volume 2 of "The Years of Lyndon Johnson", where Johnson is portrayed in an unremittingly bad light -- and seeks to disarm it in "Master of the Senate". Johnson as the good guy is more visible. His genuine compassion for the downtrodden is detailed. His growing respect for his wife, Lady Bird, is shown. In parts of the book, he appears vulnerable and even contemplative. But Caro is more comfortable with Johnson the Ogre. Plainly, any fair biography of Johnson would have to deal with that side of the man. In most ways Johnson was not a good man, cared nothing for morals or even political issues, and if Caro is convinced with the idea that money is politics' lifeblood, clearly his subject in this book is the ideal candidate to show this. Yet Johnson was a politician who also needed love and admiration, not just power and money. If money and power was LBJ's sole pursuits, he easily could have used his tremendous energy and intelligence to capture them outside the political arena. Despite several opportunities in his life to do so, he chose not to. Caro usually sees this side of Johnson, but is either dismissive of it or qualifies it as a 'lust for power' deferred. In a book less powerful than "Master of the Senate", this flaw would surely diminish the book. Here it simply reminds us that greatness is not perfection.
Rating:
Summary: Why history matters
Review: Caro provides an intimate and compelling portrait of the U.S. Senate and then shows how Johnson's particular gift for politics flourished there in the 1950s. The book reads almost like a thriller but sustains its arguments with great clarity and authority. The details of daily, sometimes hourly, swings of fortune are mustered with such a deft touch they never hold back the narrative flow. The long exposition of the battle over the 1957 civil rights bill, that is the book's climax, could not have been done better: it moved and amazed this reader, putting me right into the Senate chamber as a silent witness to extraordinary events. A supreme achievement.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing bias compromises this history
Review: Caro is a gifted writer. Having enjoyed the previous book (Means of Ascent) immensely, I was looking forward to this one. However, I was shocked to find a constant (and depressing given Caro's skill) liberal bias that was simply too thick to make it readable. One brief example is the glorification of Woodrow Wilson in one of the opening chapters -- he "democratized" (!) our financial structure with the income tax, says the author. And we see liberal opponents portrayed as backward reactionaries with bad motives, with nary a principled opponent to federal power or a constitutional guardian among them. Caro's moralizing about equality and rights reminds me of of what Bastiat wrote in 1850: "Socialism... confuses the distinction between government and society. As a result of this, every time we object to a thing being done by government, the socialists conclude that we object to its being done at all. We disapprove of state education. Then the socialists say that we are opposed to any education.... We object to a state-enforced equality. Then they say that we are against equality."
Rating: 
Summary: Master Politician
Review: Those who were fascinated by the Lyndon Johnson depicted in Robert Caro's first two books "Pathway to Power" and "Means of Ascent" will be captivated by "Master of the Senate" as well. I did note that "Master of the Senate" is the longest volume yet. Its 1040 pages of narrative. The other two books, altogether, were not much longer than this. "Master of the Senate" chronicles Lyndon Johnson's meteoric rise from freshman Senator in 1948, to Democratic Minority Leader a few years later, to Democratic Majority Leader in 1955. Of course, Linda left the Senate in 1961 to assume the post of Vice President in the Kennedy Administration. The formula for Johnson's success in such a short time included getting to know the right people such as Senator Richard Russell of Georgia. It included recognizing that there was room for a senator to act as sort of a "mediator" within the democratic party which at the time was increasingly becoming split between northern liberals and southern conservatives who each called themselves democrats. Johnson played the role of the mediator well, always having something to give each side. One interesting point Caro makes is that until Lyndon took the job, the office of Senate Majority Leader was not a desirable or powerful position. Other men who had held the job in the past had been weak and ineffectual. The reason for this is because the real "powers to be" in the senate at that time were committee chairmen who had been in office for many years and held their positions based purely on seniority. When Lyndon assumed the post of Majority Leader things began to change. He was able to depart from the rigid seniority system to make committee assignments. He skillfully used this power to ingratiate himself with both liberals and conservatives. Johnson was able to take a position that had little power and to use it to make himself into possibly the most powerful senator in Washington, D.C. The capstone of Johnson's senate career was passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957. The act itself didn't accomplish a great deal. It dealt rather ineffectually with the voting rights of African Americans. However, the mere passage of a law after years and years of successful filibustering of such legislation by southern senators was a remarkable accomplishment. Caro relates in great detail how Johnson engineered the compromises necessary to pass a law. For anyone interested in how the legislative process works its a fascinating story. The passage of the Act was the beginning of the end for segregation in the deep South. In this volume, Caro again deals with the question of whether Johnson really cared about civil rights and minorities or whether his actions in public office simply represented a naked grab for power. There is room to argue for both positions. However, when all is said and done Johnson is far more than mere talk. We can look to the enactment of not only the Civil Rights Act of 1957, but later to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Those who want to bash Johnson can hammer away, but no other living person can claim responsibility for such accomplishments. Caro's book is the third volume in what appears to be a four volume set. Its one of the best history books of the year. No one interested in history should avoid reading it.
Rating:
Summary: Naturally, it's great
Review: As have many other readers and reviewers of this book, I also waited for years and years (and years) for this volume to appear. (I've also waited for a decade for Volume 2 of Roger Morris' biography of Richard Nixon, but that's another story!) The final product is completely worth the wait. Caro is a wonderful biographer, precisely because he is a natural, instinctive story teller. He sees the big picture and knows that any great biography makes that big picture come alive. Case in point: Caro reportedly has decided to wrap up LBJ's remaining years in one final volume, precisely because John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy were "bookends" between Johnson's remaining glory, and his infamy. It's that wonderful ability to identify and accentuate the "themes of greatness" in great men's lives that makes Caro something special. He, and this book, are treasures.
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