Lyndon B. Johnson /

These transcripts, which cover the period from the Kennedy assassination in November 1963 to January 1964, are part of a larger effort to transcribe all of Johnson's White House conversations. The Johnson recordings are preceded by the garbled but still chilling record of communications between the White House and the plane carrying Kennedy cabinet members over the Pacific as the death of the president becomes clear. Once Johnson assumes command, the record, like the man himself, assumes larger-than-life proportions. As he attempts to console Kennedy loyalists, Johnson displays genuine compassion, but occasionally he seems overbearing. Although in public he spoke confidently of prevailing in Vietnam, the tapes clearly reveal his doubts about the viability of the South Vietamese government. His increasing frustration in trying to control the federal bureaucracy is evident, and his evolving commitment to both civil rights legislation and a war on poverty is both moving and, with hindsight, rather melancholy. This is a riveting and very important contribution to the historical record of the consequential 1960s. --Jay Freeman Copyright 2005 Booklist

Of the six presidents who taped their meetings and phone calls, Johnson was the only one to record them throughout his entire presidency. The Miller Center at the University of Virginia, which is producing an audio record of all six presidencies, here maintains the standard of excellence it set in the three-volume The Presidential Recordings: John F. Kennedy. This massive compilation covers the turbulent events from November 22, 1963, when Johnson assumed the presidency following the assassination of President Kennedy, until January 1964. Max Holland is the editor of Volume 1, and he and his team of transcribers and historians have produced a careful and authoritative record as he did with The Kennedy Assassination Tapes. The set provides readers with transcribed phone calls that show LBJ managing the Kennedy assassination trauma as well as civil rights and the soon-to-be-expanded Vietnam War. A DVD of the conversations is included. This is an important work for understanding the Johnson presidency, though libraries that cannot afford it are still well served by Michael Beschloss's Taking Charge and Holland's above-mentioned book. For larger libraries with strong Johnson or American presidency collections, it is highly recommended.-Karl Helicher, Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, PA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.