Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36th President of the United States, is remembered for his War Against Poverty, his struggles to both win the war in Vietnam and to end it, and for passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.   Johnson’s failures and frustrations as well as his successes are included, making this biography a lesson in living that will appeal to young readers.

His own experiences shaped many of Johnson’s political views.  As a young teacher in Cotulla, Texas, his students were the children of  poor Mexican immigrants.  “I had my first lessons in the high price we pay for poverty and prejudice right there,”  Johnson said later, when explaining his ideas for the Head Start program.

Quotations used throughout the book make historical issues understandable, and help readers to see how complex the difficulties a president faces can be.   Johnson’s sense of humor, and use of Texas “hill country” wisdom, show up in much of what he said.  Frustrated by what he considered unfair media coverage of the Vietnam War, Johnson said,  “If one morning, I walked on top of the water, across the Potomac River, the headline that afternoon would read, President Can’t Swim.”

With a timeline, glossary, and bibliography, this book is a nice addition to the Presidents and Their Times series.  It gave me a far greater appreciation of Lyndon Johnson’s dedication to what he believed was right, and of his efforts to make life better for Americans.