J. Evetts Haley (1901–1995)

This strange little book, published when I was 14 years old, brings back so many memories: here in the South, we were not far removed from the "White/Colored Only" signs, and one couldn't drive very far without seeing a billboard reading "Impeach Earl Warren!" Mr. Haley's book is very much in the spirit of those billboards. It has been described as a "right-wing screed" against LBJ, and indeed it was written from, and embraced by, the right. But Mr. Haley got his facts straight. Johnson's pre-VP years were full of shady deals, hilarious missteps, and many occasions of what Southerners call "acting ugly." In this, he was not so different from most politicians, but this was an election year, and this is a fine example of an "unauthorized" campaign book by the loyal (if not desperate) opposition.… (altro)

Being a right-wing screed directed at President Lyndon Johnson, clearly something of an election-year tract, as evidenced by its admonition to read and circulate it. I'm sure that some of his accusations have considerable truth, but many, principally the number of murders, including that of the President of the United States, which LBJ was supposedly responsible for, would need a lot more evidence than he presents to be at all credible. He also is not above hypocrisy to score debater's points; after going on at considerable length about the virtuous necessity of racial segregation, he excoriates Johnson for buying a house with a racial covenant attached. Stylistically, this is an annoying mess; he usually, and dismissively, (but, even more annoyingly, not always) refers to Johnson as "Lyndon"
Even if one stipulates that every word in this book is true, though, it would still commit the sin of being largely boring. He spends far too much time on the important but abstruse Bobby Baker and Billie Sol Estes scandals. In most books, tangents are unwelcome, but this book had better tangents than main thrust; he recounts, largely interestingly, nearly every statewide election in Texas during the 1940's and '50's, and I loved the gossipy final chapter with its illustrations of Johnson's explosive temper and offputting hauteur.
I consider LBJ a poor president, and this book is in some ways a valuable corrective to the LBJ-mania which has afflicted American publishing this decade, but the author's heavyhanded preaching and fringe conspiracy theories make this is a pretty marginal use of a reader's time.… (altro)