And we watch as his political genius enables him to grasp the reins of the presidency with total command and, within weeks, make it wholly his own, surmounting unprecedented obstacles in order to fulfill the highest purpose of the office. In Caros description of the Kennedy assassination, which The New York Times called the most riveting ever, we see the events of November 22, 1963, for the first time through Lyndon Johnsons eyes. Pulitzer Prize in Biography Los Angeles Times Book Award in Biography National Book Award in Nonfiction The Passage of Power is an unparalleled account of the battle between Johnson and John Kennedy for the 1960 presidential nomination, of the machinations behind Kennedys decision to offer Johnson the vice presidency, of Johnsons powerlessness and humiliation in that role, and of the savage animosity between Johnson and Robert Kennedy. In a breathtaking tour de force, Caro details Johnsons amazing triumph in maneuvering to passage the first civil rights legislation since 1875. It is an unprecedented revelation of how legislative power works in America, how the Senate works, and how Johnson, in his ascent to the presidency, mastered the Senate as no political leader before him had ever done.

National Book Critics Circle Award in Biography Master of the Senate carries Johnsons story through his twelve remarkable years in the Senate. Caro makes us witness to a momentous turning point in American politics the tragic last stand of the old politics versus the new politics of issue versus the politics of image, mass manipulation, money and electronic dazzle.

The explosive heart of the book is Caros revelation of the true story of the fiercely contested 1948 senatorial election, which Johnson had to win or face certain political death, and which he did win-by 87 votes that changed history. National Book Critics Circle Award in Nonfiction Means of Ascent follows Johnson through his service in World War II to the foundation of his long-concealed fortune and the facts behind the myth he created about it. Chronicling the startling early emergence of Johnsons political genius, it follows him from his Texas boyhood through the years of the Depression in the Texas Hill Country to the triumph of his congressional debut in New Deal Washington, to his heartbreaking defeat in his first race for the Senate, and his attainment, nonetheless of the national power for which he hungered. The Path to Power reveals the genesis of the almost superhuman drive, energy, and urge to power that set LBJ apart.

The Path to Power by Robert A. Caro