Perspective

Doris Kearns Goodwin came to know Lyndon Johnson during the last two years of his presidency, as she served in the White House as an intern. She was in the process of completing her Ph.D. in history at Harvard University when she assumed this temporary position in order to experience the American political process first-hand. Upon his decision to retire, Johnson requested of Goodwin that she accompany him to Texas to oversee and participate in the writing of his memoirs. Although a reluctant participant in this process, she nevertheless agreed to spend her weekends and vacations at the LBJ ranch on this doomed project. The memoirs were never completed; however, Goodwin spent a significant amount of time with Johnson, recording and writing his life story, his aspirations, fears, successes, and failures from his personal perspective. Goodwin supplemented her material with historical references to classical and modern political...