Building the Great Society: Inside Lyndon Johnson's White House

Zeitz (history, politics; Lincoln's Boys) presents accessible, nuanced portraits of the men behind Lyndon B. Johnson's domestic programs; advisors such as Sargent Shriver, Walter Jenkins, Frank Mankiewicz, and Clark Clifford. The author also sheds light on lesser-known advisors such as Horace Busby, Harry McPherson, and White House Press Secretary George Reedy. Although largely a narrative rather than an analytical work, this compendium assesses the War on Poverty and the larger Great Society program as logical continuations of the New Deal. Johnson's policies also involved increasing access to education and health care, establishing civil rights, and maintaining a cleaner environment. Zeitz recognizes that the succeeding Nixon staff often followed up and strengthened Johnson's efforts to reduce institutional racism and modify capitalism through bold policy experiments, to the initial surprise of members of the previous administration. Many initiatives, such as immigration policy reform, did not begin to show results until the next president's term.