James Hepburn - Farewell America (1968)

[Iconoclast]

today i finished 'James Hepburn - Farewell America' and i have to say i found it to be excellent.

the thorough description of the status-quo in america at the time plus the incredible corruption in texas alone are worth spending the time to read the book.


the only thing that didn't gel with me was the description of LBJ at the end of the book:

It took the disappearance of two Kennedys to bring to the foreground two Vice-Presidents who had never been more than the shadows of other shadows.

For four years, Lyndon Johnson ran the country as his background and his obligations required, concealing his conservatism beneath minor racial and social reforms. John Kennedy had willed him a country that was almost ready to take the lead of the universe. Because he admired President Kennedy and because he was aware of his own limitations, few men were as badly shaken by the assassination as President Johnson. He understood who was behind it, and he knew that, his personal ambitions notwithstanding, he would always be the hostage of those to whom he owed his political career, of the men who had gone so far as to open that last door. He also knew how much separated him from John Kennedy.

The rich fragrances of four years in the White House were probably not enough to enable him to forget the odors of the back rooms where he had grown up. There is little doubt that he was weary when, on March 31, he handed in his final report.

Robert Kennedy's assassination pushed him down a little more. One June 6 he told his wife and a group of friends who urged him to return to the lead of the Democratic Party, "No, this is the end . . . the end . . . the end."

i went WTF?!? as far as i know, LBJ was a prime specimen of a psychopath who throughout his life had done whatever it took to get himself more power.

it is also my understanding that he absolutely LOATHED the kennedys and that they in turn never missed an opportunity to embarass him.

am i misinformed?
or is there a specific reason why the authors chose to describe LBJ this kindly?


here is the book for anyone who wants to read it:
http://www.voxfux.com/kennedy/farewell/farewell00.html

here is some background on the book itself:
http://www.voxfux.com/kennedy/farewell/farewellhinckle.html