The Path to PowerThe Path to Power
What it's about
The first volume of Robert Caro's biography of Lyndon Johnson follows him from his impoverished childhood in the harsh Texas Hill Country through his relentless rise as a young congressman, ending with his first, failed Senate race in 1941. Along the way Caro shows how Johnson brought electricity to the Hill Country and how he learned to win and use power by any means.
Why it's worth reading
Caro is often called the greatest living biographer, and this is the start of his masterpiece: a gripping study of ambition and power. The chapter on the Hill Country women's lives before electricity is famous.
You'll love it if you liked
Parting the Waters: Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement 1954-63, King: A Life or American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
Good to know
It's nearly 900 pages and the first of five volumes (the fifth isn't yet published). You can stop after any volume.
By the numbers
- Readers98 out of 100 · counts 40%+45
- Critics54 out of 100 · counts 32% (its stronger lane)+19
- Bestseller41 out of 100 · counts 14%+6
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 15%+0
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero.
NBCC Award (Nonfiction) winner (1982). #1 New York Times bestseller (3 weeks at #1). 4.44★ from 28K Goodreads ratings.
Where it ranks
- #19 of the 168 memoirs and biographies we rank
- #29 of the 154 history books we rank
- #35 of the 520 classics we rank
- #106 of the 1,405 books we rank
Won
- NBCC Award (Nonfiction) winner (1982)
Bestseller
- #1 New York Times bestseller (3 weeks at #1)
Reads as
True story
If you like this, read next
Parting the Waters: Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement 1954-63
The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York
The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Path to Power
Between the World and Me
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This
King: A Life