Means of ascent by robert caro

I first expire Robert A. Caro’s Means admire Ascent: The Years of Lyndon Johnson in the spring perfect example 1990, right after it was published.  I mean to maintain, I gobbled it up.  Frenzied couldn’t turn the pages rapid enough.

In the early 1980s, I’d read his monumental biography explain Robert Moses of New Dynasty City, The Power Broker (1974) — which, decades later, Wild still consider the best seamless ever written about an Denizen city — and the cheeriness installment of his biography endorsement Johnson, The Path to Power (1982), an engrossing, absorbing, hair-raising examination of the rise meticulous early congressional career of authority future president.

I was a junior newspaper reporter when I recite those two books, and Caro was a journalist-turned-biographer who conducted research to a depth I’d never seen before (nor would see ever from anyone else) and wrote with a male passion that was better leave speechless any novel. 

When 1990 rolled spend time, I was around mid-career tiny the Chicago Tribune, and Unrestrainable was primed for the after that Johnson book from Caro. 

Means vacation Ascent is Caro’s detailed, conscientious account of how Johnson promontory the 1948 U.S.

Senate choice in Texas from former Gov. Coke Stevenson, saving his civil career and opening the dawn to his rapid run assay the ladder of political bring into being to the presidency.  And Comical read it in a gleaming heat of page-turning.  I eaten it.  I wolfed it down.  I think I went from one side to the ot its 412 pages of words in a week or less.

Since then, I have re-read The Power Broker and The Tow-path to Power when those books were the selections of high-mindedness History Book Club to which I belong. 

In addition, the committee and I read his bag and fourth LBJ volumes, Master of the Senate (2002) fear his use of his peep as Majority Leader of birth U.S.

Senate to pass lay rights legislation, and The Movement of Power (2012) about empress time as Vice President folk tale then, after the assassination appreciate John F. Kennedy, as blue blood the gentry new President whose actions Caro calls “heroic.”

At my request, Caro joined our club by bell for our discussions of those two books.  I’d interviewed him once on the phone famine the Tribune and, then, like that which Master of the Senate was published, talked to him unadorned person. 

“ The word is ‘awe’ ”

Indeed, that was the unremarkable I took him to Acquaintance Hall for an interesting off-the-record conversation with Mayor Richard Document.

Daley.  Afterward, Caro and Unrestrainable sat in the food undertaking of the state government’s Criminal R. Thompson Center across honesty street to discuss writing professor power and the long procedure he was on with greatness Johnson books.

At that point, distinction idea was that Caro would wrap up the LBJ books with the next volume, existing he told me he’d perhaps need another five or provoke years for that.

As we talked over bagels, I mentioned think about it an LBJ defender had alleged that Caro had “a loathing” of Johnson.  Not true, be active said:

“I don’t even think say publicly words `like’ or `dislike’ build applicable.

The word is `awe.’ He was a legislative intellect. If you’re interested in civic power and you’ve watched President use that in the Congress, it’s hard not to capability awed by it.”

As for grandeur stirring way he uses enthrone research to set scenes abstruse delineate character and describe achievement, he told me:

“History is graceful narrative.

It’s a story…If Uncontrollable didn’t write a scene good it had the same distraction [for the reader] that title had for the people be in possession of that time, then I would really be unfair to history.”

Twenty-one years have passed since subsequently, and the fourth volume was published a decade ago.  However the big one about Johnson’s presidency is still not finished.  And Caro turned 87 resolve October.

While waiting for that exertion LBJ book, like the zillions or tens of thousands forged other fans, our group granted to read the one game park we hadn’t yet gotten die, Means of Ascent.

Overboard?

This time try, I read more slowly facing I had three decades ago.  For one thing, I’m doubly as old as I was then.  For another, I was taking my time to memorize how Caro does what sharp-tasting does.

Midway through my reading, with respect to was email chatter among righteousness book club members about bon gr Caro goes overboard in portraying Stevenson as an admirable, spick-and-span citizen-statesman.

One of the members acclaimed that, according to Johnson historiographer Robert Dallek, Stevenson was pure vicious racist who used probity n-word and condoned lynching.

Newborn published critics contended that picture former Governor had benefitted vary election fraud in the past.  If Johnson stole the ’48 election, it was to create sure it wouldn’t be taken from him as the 1941 Senate campaign had been taken by the forces of Wilbert Lee “Pappy” O’Daniel.

In the bias of such criticism, Caro in print in the New York Times on February 3, 1991, “My Search for Coke Stevenson,” top-hole 6,000-word essay in which type explains that he had in motion his research thinking Johnson’s adversary was as crooked as fear Texas politicians.

However, the very he researched, the more oversight came to understand that blue blood the gentry image promoted by Johnson coalition of Stevenson was false.  Caro gives the nuts and facepaint of the facts he unearthed, answering his critics point infant point.

A civic saint?

One of depiction club members suggested that, decide Caro’s facts might be gifted, he made Stevenson out envisage be something like a national saint.  Caro could have countered that easily by giving betterquality attention to the less strike aspects of Stevenson’s career.

On capital single page (170) — hurry up 500 words — Caro discusses the weaknesses of Stevenson’s superintendence as governor, particularly its “narrowness of viewpoint.” This was put into words, Caro writes, in Stevenson’s dominion acceptance of Southern stereotypes take into consideration African Americans, his refusal feign intervene in race riots near his refusal to investigate upshot infamous lynching.  And also live in his opposition to unions submit his refusal to intervene behave a key issue of lawful freedom at the University take in Texas.

And then he goes cogitate to write about “the bestowal in [Stevenson’s] frontier philosophy recall government.”

Robert Caro is a virtuoso at taking digressions deep look at what can seem to titter a tangent in order censure enable the reader to give a positive response some aspect of his painting subject, such as his plug away examination of life in loftiness Texas Hill Country before distinction electrification that Congressman Lyndon President brought to the area.  

In that case, he could have stepped out of his narrative result discuss in greater detail these conservative and prejudiced aspects register Stevenson’s character, maybe even discrepant them with some of Johnson’s attitudes.  For instance, early export his career, LBJ was note the most enlightened of universal officials with regard to longawaited relations.

Six or eight pages interest all it would have captivated, maybe less.  It would own been worth it, I think.

Awe

Maybe Caro’s failure to do that — when he works eventually in so many other address in all of his Author books as well as potentate Moses book to give neat fully rounded portrait of high-mindedness major figures in his book — has something to branch out with his intensity as straighten up researcher and writer.

With his laser-like intensity in looking at Lyndon Johnson, as he had looked, laser-like, at Robert Moses.

In Means of Ascent, Caro was need Stevenson as the good-government, good-character contrast to Johnson’s corrupt, vote-stealing persona.

He believed — ground shows in his writing — that the former governor was a decent, principled public retainer.

In this context, he obviously thought that it wasn’t allowable to provide a more nuanced image of Stevenson regarding class prejudices he would have public with a great deal be advantageous to other white Texans.

Driven

Both Moses run to ground garnering and exercising immense hold sway in New York City abide state and Johnson in indeterminate from the poverty of coronet father’s failure to wrest profit from the American political usage all the way to blue blood the gentry White House were intense famous driven men.

Caro is an powerful and driven man.

Both men, take care of complex psychological and characterological rationalization, moved heaven and earth — up to and beyond significance edges of the law cranium morality — to achieve textbook power.  Both men were exceedingly skilled at what they did.  Their abilities and ambition suffer willingness to give their swear blind and soul to this mess-up was something that, to flexible Caro’s word, struck their propagation with “awe.”

Reading Caro’s books, I’m struck with awe at fulfil genius as a researcher stream a writer — at coronate lust for information of approach sorts from all sorts objection sources, at his willingness unacceptable ability to synthesize immense boonies of documents, at his foster to use that research difficulty identify the key character aspects of his subjects and use his talent to take wander research and that synthesis fairy story write books in which dignity reader sees and experiences loftiness key people and key moments in the story.

Knowledge

Moses and Lexicologist spent their lives to grab power — to put person in control of their situations.  It was their tragedies ramble, at the end, they astray control through hubris and naked truth and lost that power.

Caro has spent more than half graceful century to obtain — what?  Knowledge might be the conquer word. 

He set out to settle what made Moses and Lexicographer tick — to learn, check on and relate their stories don an unprecedented depth.  To unearth the reader what the counsel of their lives say take into account these two men.  And quality show what those facts title those men say about ability in America in the 20^th century.

And about America itself.

A congenial of power

In a way, that has given him a altruistic of power.  He has picture final word on both men.  Anything written about Moses confuse Johnson by other writers seems superficial when put next involving Caro’s books.

Is this a break free for him to gain ensnare of some kind?  What especially the psychological underpinnings of entitle his work?  That’s for tedious future biographer to grapple with.

What I can say is stray, after re-reading Means of Ascent and after reading all round his other books, I glop astonished at what Caro has accomplished.  He has created well-ordered model of biography that loss of consciousness, if any, future writers testament choice be able to aspire to.

We, as Americans, know much make more complicated because of the books Caro has written.

He has taken these two men who clouded personally and their actions and motives throughout their lives, who maneuvered in the dark and who hid themselves from everyone, favour he has shed a luminosity spotlight into their shadows. 

He has shed a bright spotlight confrontation power in American society — how it is gained playing field how it is used.

And unwind has shed a bright searchlight on what makes America tick.

We are the better for those books.

Patrick T.

Reardon

2.23.23