Search the Fresh Air Archive

Close Search

Volume 2 of Robert Caro's L. B. J. Biography.

Pulitzer prize winning biographer Robert A. Caro on Lyndon Baines Johnson. The book focused on Johnson's early years. The Boston Sunday Globe called it, "a powerful, absorbing, at times awe-inspiring, and often deeply alarming story." In the just-published second volume, "Means of Ascent," Caro examines seven years of Johnson's life, from 1941 to 1948. "Time" magazine calls the book, a "white-knuckle, hair raising tale." The book begins with Johnson's election defeat for the Senate and concludes with his successful race for the Senate seat in 1948, an election Johnson was purported to have "stolen." ("The Path to Power," and "Means of Ascent" are published by Knopf).

22:36
Queue

Guest

Host

Related Topics

Other segments from the episode on March 20, 1990

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, March 20, 1990: Interview with Robert A. Caro; Commentary on Vietnam protest songs; Interview with Vitaly Komar and Aleksandr Melamid; Review of David McLellan's biography…
Queue
06:54

Lesser Known Vietnam Protest Songs.

Rock historian Ed Ward plays some of the lessor known, but more effecting, protest songs about the Vietnam War. Artists include: Charlie and Inez Foxx, Jimmy Cliff, Freda Payne, and Grand Funk Railroad.

Commentary
Queue
11:19

Creating Art in the Soviet Union and New York.

Soviet-born artists Vitaly Komar and Aleksandr Melamid. The pair are the creators of two huge, multi-paneled works called "Yalta 1945" and "Winter in Moscow 1977." Both works are being shown in America for the first time at the Brooklyn Museum. "Yalta 1945" is made of 31 4x4 foot panels depicting Lenin and the four leaders from the Yalta Conference. "Winter in Moscow 1977" uses 26 panels to show Komar and Melamid's home town shortly before they fled to the West. (The exhibit runs until June 4th).

Interview
Queue
04:01

Simone Weil Tried to Save Us All.

Book critic John Leonard reviews the new biography of French philosopher and mystic Simone Weil (pronounced "vile"). It's called "Utopian Pessimist," and it's by David McLellan.

Review

Transcript

Transcript currently not available.

Transcripts are created on a rush deadline, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of Fresh Air interviews and reviews are the audio recordings of each segment.

You May Also like

Queue
42:35

In 'Passage,' Caro Mines LBJ's Changing Political Roles.

The fourth volume in Robert Caro's monumental biography of Lyndon Johnson is The Passage of Power; it explores the period between 1958 and 1964 during which Johnson went from powerful Senate majority leader to powerless vice president to — suddenly — president of the United States.

Interview
Queue
21:19

New York's Centennial and Robert Moses.

New York City is celebrating its centennial this year. Perhaps the man most responsible for the shape of the city and for its parks, expressways, and bridges is Robert Moses. Moses held 14 state, regional, and city offices ranging from city parks commissioner to construction coordinator. Our guest, Robert Caro, won a 1975 Pulitzer Prize for his book about Moses called "The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York." In the January 5th edition of the New Yorker, Caro wrote about Moses' impact on New York City.

Interview

Did you know you can create a shareable playlist?

Learn How
Advertisement

Recently on Fresh Air Available to Play on NPR

52:30

Lone star ticks are covering much of the U.S. Here's what you need to know

(1.) Journalist BURKARD BILGER is a staff writer for The New Yorker. In a new article titled The Tick That Hunts Down its Hosts, Including Us, he reports on what we know about how the tick operates, how it has multiplied and vastly extended its territory and how it affects the people it feeds on, and the latest ideas about how to limit the infestation and treat people with alpha gal syndrome which the tick causes. BILGER is also the author of the 2023 book Fatherland, about his German grandfather, who joined the Nazi Party, but worked with the French resistance.

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

52:30

The Perfect Moment' makes the case that culture wars have 'completely eaten America'

ISAAC BUTLER is the author of The Perfect Moment: God, Sex, Art, and the Birth of America's Culture Wars. It focuses on the religious right attacks on certain books, art and film of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. His previous books The World Only Spins Forward - about the play Angels in America. And The Method, about the history of the acting technique known as the method. We recorded the interview last Thursday. (THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES INTO THE SECOND HALF OF THE SHOW).

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

See All Recent Segments

There are more than 22,000 Fresh Air segments.

Let us help you find exactly what you want to hear.
Just play me something
Your Queue

Would you like to make a playlist based on your queue?

Generate & Share View/Edit Your Queue