From Library Journal
These secretly recorded conversations between President Lyndon Johnson and members of his family, his staff, and the troubled nation he was governing constitute one of the most exciting audio programs of the decade, invaluable to anyone who is interested in history, politics, or the workings of human nature. Johnson was the only man to tape his entire term in the Oval Office, enabling us to overhear conversations with Lady Bird, Jacqueline Kennedy, President Truman, President Eisenhower, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, J. Edgar Hoover, Hubert Humphrey, members of the press, and key advisers on the issues of Civil Rights and the Vietnam War. Although this debut of a series covers only the first year of his presidency, the brevity dictated by marketing consultants is its one great flaw: many conversations are faded or cut short, and at times the Johnson excerpts are briefer than the Beschloss narrative connecting them. The inestimable advantage of this program over the unabridged text is that the listener is made truly present while the events of American history are decided. An invaluable study in the psychology of power and as a unique historical document; essential for every collection.?Peter Josyph, New York
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Presidential historian Beschloss has performed a great service for those interested in politics and/or the 1960's by identifying important selections from the recently released tapes of phone calls made during the Johnson Administration. Recordings from Johnson's first year in the White House include talks with Martin Luther King, Jr., Bobby Kennedy, Harry Truman, Hubert Humphrey, Barry Goldwater and others. The Vietnam War, the Civil Rights movement and the 1964 presidential campaign are among the topics of discussion. The recording quality of these conversations is uneven, and those speaking with Johnson don't know they're being recorded. Beschloss provides useful commentary in an economical fashion, but sometimes his aristocratic voice seems stilted. M.L.C. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine
