Upon the passing of Ted Kennedy, I read an article talking about a time he brought in author Robert A. Caro to talk to his Senate colleagues about the tradition of the Senate. The article mentioned Caro writing an "epic" biography of Lyndon B. Johnson. I enjoy political biographies, and I thought I would pick it up and see if it was truly "epic."
The biography in reference is Master of the Senate which won the Pulizer for biography in 2003. It is the 3rd and latest part of a 4 volume set Caro is planning on Johnson. The 4th and final volume is likely due in the mid 2010s.
I just today finished the 1000+ pages biography, and in conclusion, I have to say the book is worthy of its accolades. It is fascinating because Johnson is a fascinating politician and Caro did such a marvelous job in researching him that he is able to draw unique insights into Johnson's personality and his incredible political talents.
I will likley make several posts in the next week or so about this book as I have found it so fascinating. I know most people hear "1000+ page biography" and can think of nothing worse to read, but I would highly recommend this to anyone. There are ideas and concepts about interpersonal skills I have learned from this reading which I want to implement in my life. Not everything about Lyndon Johnson was good, with some personal characteristics being truly dispicable. But he displayed great people skills, which he sometimes used for wrong reasons, but other times used to accomplish much good.
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