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Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973

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27:40

Journalist, Press Secretary, Activist, and Wife

Feminist activist and writer Liz Carpenter and her husband started their own news organization. Later, she worked in President Johnson's administration as a speechwriter and first lady Lady Bird Johnson's press secretary. Her memoir, about aging and widowhood, is called Getting Better all the Time.

Interview
22:36

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.

Interview
09:44

Dallek on Lyndon B. Johnson as a "Political Visionary."

Historian Robert Dallek. Dallek's new biography of President Lyndon Johnson, "Lone Star Rising," has been praised for its scholarship, and for painting a more balanced portrait of LBJ than some other recent biographies. Dallek was nominated for an American Book award for an earlier biography, "Franklin D. Roosevelt and American Foreign Policy." ("Lone Star Rising" is published by Oxford University Press).

Interview
21:36

The History of "America's War on Poverty"

Tonight, PBS debuts the documentary series, "America's War on Poverty: Untold Stories from the Front Line." The five-part series examines President Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty, which he declared during his State of the Union Address in January 1964. It included programs like Head Start, and Job Corps. Terry will talk with Executive Producer Henry Hampton and journalist and consultant Nicholas Lemann.

52:29

L. B. J.'s Secret Whitehouse Tapes.

Presidential historian Michael Beschloss. He transcribed tapes, edited and provided commentary for the new book "Taking Charge: The Johnson White House Tapes, 1963-1964" (Simon & Schuster). When Johnson took office, he began recording his daily private conversations. This book is the first volume of transcripts and covers the aftermath of the Kennedy Assassination, the creation of the Warren Commission, the civil rights bill, and the Tonkin Gulf attack, and his thoughts about the Vietnam war. Beschloss has written three other books.

51:02

Presidential Historian Michael Beschloss

Presidential historian Michael Beschloss' second volume on the LBJ tapes is called Reaching for Glory: The Secret Lyndon Johnson Tapes, 1964-1965. Beschloss talks about the tapes and we hear excerpts — including recordings of conversations about Vietnam and the Civil Rights movement. We also hear Johnson speaking with Jackie Kennedy. Beschloss has written five previous books on American presidents and is a regular contributor to The News Hour with Jim Lehrer.

42:32

Presidential Historian Michael Beschloss

His book Reaching for Glory: The Secret Lyndon Johnson Tapes, 1964-1965 (Simon & Schuster) is now out in paperback. It is Beschloss’s second volume on the LBJ tapes. Beschloss will talk about the tapes, and we will hear excerpts, including some recordings of conversations about Vietnam, Civil Rights, and with Jackie Kennedy. Beschloss has written 5 previous books on American presidents. He is also a regular contributor to The News Hour with Jim Lehrer.

43:47

Journalist Bill Moyers

His new book, Moyers on America (The New Press) is a first-ever collection of his essays and speeches. Moyers is the host of Now with Bill Moyers on PBS. He was one of the organizers of the Peace Corps, spokesperson for President Lyndon Johnson, a senior correspondent for CBS News, and producer of many public TV series. Moyers has won 30 Emmy Awards.

Interview
07:54

Liz Carpenter, Feisty LBJ Aide, Dies at 89

A fiery feminist, former political reporter and founder of the National Women's Political Caucus, Carpenter was the person who wrote the 58-word text that newly sworn-in President Lyndon B. Johnson read when he returned to Washington after President Kennedy's assassination. LBJ's onetime executive assistant was also press secretary to Lady Bird Johnson; Fresh Air remembers her with excerpts from a 1987 interview.

Obituary
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

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