ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

THIS BOOK HAS BEEN TEN YEARS IN THE MAKING,A monumental, exhausting, and infinitely rewarding undertaking. The mass of documentation involved in presidential biographies is always imposing, but this was particularly true of Lyndon Johnson because of the scope and complexity of the person and of the many events and initiatives of his administration—civil rights, Vietnam, and the Great Society. Without the skillful and patient guidance of the staffs of the Johnson, Kennedy, Eisenhower, Truman, and Roosevelt Libraries, as well as of the National Archives, the Center for American History at the University of Texas, and the National Park Service in Johnson City, Texas, I could never have completed the task.

Obviously, I am most indebted to the staff of the Johnson Library. Michael Parrish, though a civil war historian by trade, knew the Vietnam records intimately and generously shared his knowledge. Our long conversations concerning LBJ and his impact proved invaluable. Claudia Anderson and Linda Seelke were tireless in helping me through the finding aids and in seeing that previously unrequested material was reviewed and opened expeditiously. We became and remain friends. Regina Greenwell and Shannon Jarett spent endless hours helping me get previously closed national security documents declassified. Bob Tissing, John Wilson, and Allen Fisher were superb in handling various specialty areas of Johnson’s life and presidency. Phillip Scott and Margaret Harman guided me through the 300,000 photographs in the audio-visual archives. Thanks to Betty Sue Flowers, director of the LBJ Library, for assembling and supervising this marvelous team.

During their graduate school days, Jeff Woods and Charles Argo did a prodigious amount of research. My agent, Gerry McCauley, helped me conceive and market the project. Bruce Nichols, my editor at Free Press, and the distinguished historian Lewis Gould read every word and provided invaluable advice. Also helpful at Free Press were Kadzi Mutizwa and Phil Metcalf. Finally, without my wife, Rhoda, who served as editor, research assistant, and soul mate, this project could never have been finished. All errors of fact, judgment, and style are, of course, entirely my own.