A great book. A deceptive pricing policy

Any additional comments?

Be careful. Audible has separated this *single* book into three "volumes" so that you must spend three credits if you want to listen to the entire thing. Had I realized this, I probably would not have purchased it.

52 people found this helpful

Splitting up into 3 audio books is a rip off

Splitting up into 3 audio books is a rip off. There is no way this one part could stand alone in terms of substance

34 people found this helpful

GREAT BOOK, BAD MANAGEMENT ON THIS BOOK

What did you love best about Master of the Senate?

Great book, so much information to gain.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Master of the Senate?

The Leland Olds witch hunt is particularly memorably, though not for good reasons.

What does Grover Gardner bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Ability to consume the entire book in a timely manner.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Leland Olds nomination fight, it turned my stomach something awful to hear how LBJ ruined a good man.

Any additional comments?

I'm really disappointed this book was not only broken into three volumes on Audible (two understandable, but three defies logic given how first two volumes were presented as one single volume), but also that the chapters aren't lined up with the chapter breaks on the recording. This was highly disappointing given how well the first two books in this series were arranged and aligned by chapter.

34 people found this helpful

combine these into one book

Any additional comments?

Needless to say - a masterpiece. But this book is inexplicably broken into three purchases (well, I can think of an explanation). The first two equally long volumes were one audiobook per. I wish they would do the same for Master of the Senate.

72 people found this helpful

1 book shouldn't require 3 purchases

I loved this book, like I love all of the books in the series. And the narration is excellent. But it is outrageous that Audible makes you purchase three different downloads to get this one book. On top of that, it isn't even clear, at least on the mobile site, that there are three different parts. I accidentally bought the second part first.

18 people found this helpful

Junior Senator from Texas Learns the Ropes

The first 1/3 examines the history of the Senate and the rise of the seniority system and the South's dominance in the Senate leadership. It examines LBJ's entrance into the Senate and his struggles to fit in and find his place. It then examines Richard Russell (the guy they named the Russell Senate building after) and his family's history and his history and rise to power in the US Senate. Why? Because Senator Russell was to become the key to LBJ's success in the Senate. The first 1/3 of the book examines how LBJ used many of the same techniques to develop a relationship with Russell that in his House years he used with Sam Rayburn (LBJ had a way with older men with power: Rayburn, Russell, LBJ). The first 1/3 ends with LBJ destroying the career and reputation of Leland Olds when he was re-appointed to head the FPC (Federal Power Commission) in 1949. In doing so, LBJ was able to gain some more cred with Texas' oil industry and with his Southern fellow senators. The last bit of the first section also details Johnson's use of his "Preparedness Investigating" subcommittee (similar to the one used by Truman during WWII) in order to raise his name recognition during the beginning of the Korean War. Caro contrasts the way that LBJ ran the committee with the way that Truman ran his.

Quick note - my two star review for performance has nothing to do with Grover Gardner's read. He did a fantastic job. I'm just pissed at Audible or the producers for dividing this book into 3 sections. Instead of one book that is 54 hrs and 50 minutes long, they divided it into three books (thus three credits). They did this with Michael Burlingame's Lincoln too (but to be fair Burlingame's Lincoln = 109 hrs and 9 minutes). They didn't do it for any of Caro's other LBJ books. They didn't do it with Caro's The Power Broker (66 hrs and 11 mins). I get it that they need to pay for a huge book to get recorded and produced. So? Charge me 2 credits, but breaking it into 18 and 16 hours segments to extract 3 credits seems obnoxious. It isn't as bad as what they originally did with Burlingame's Lincoln. I think that book was originally broken down into 12 (TWELVE!!!) audiobooks with some being only 4 hrs and 34 minutes. That's my only beef really with this book. Brilliant. Well-read. One of the best biographies EVER written.

35 people found this helpful

DROP JAW AMAZING!!

This is the most popular book of the multi book johnson bio. Unfortunately many of the other books have yet to come to audible which is kind of unbelievable to me !! I cant rate this book highly enough. Its content is so incendiary and insightful, and the outstanding quality of the writing will spoil you. You will surly want to check out Caro's other masterpiece after this called THE POWER BROKER . These 2 books are truly must reads .
There is one thing that is very wrong with this book and it bothers me greatly. it's that your paying 3 credits in the end for 1 book. This dividing books into volumes is a sneaky and unfortunately encroaching method of drawing out more of your credits than you may be fully aware of. This book isn't THAT long to fairly divide it up into ``volumes`` nor are many of the other books this has been increasingly done to.
So lets call a spade a spade, Its a three credit book o.k.` I see Mcculloughs latest unabridged offerings are offered as 3 credit books with no shell game. those of us that spend freakishly long hours on this site have noticed this recent move to increase the credits for books in the above manners and more. email them and tell them this 3 credit crap is to much!! Thats at least $30 for 1 book! When it comes to that, its worth getting them from the library for free. I love this site, I have over 900 titles, The reason I keep spending all this money is because it has been good value. Theres no longer any point in continuing when so many of the titles double or triple in price.If their testing the waters to see what they can get away with,,the result will be the permanent loss of their most ardent subscribers.

56 people found this helpful

Caro deliver's again

Robert Caro's "The Power Broker" was one of my favorite books. In spite of that, I was always hesitant to read Master of the Senate because of its sheer volume. "And who cares that much about Lyndon Johnson", I thought. Well, it was my loss. This is a spectacular book with a truly insightful reading by Grover Gardner. This is not just the story of Lyndon Johnson, it is the story of the Senate, and some gems of history, like the story of Leland Olds and Lyndon Johnson, that are as gripping as a novel. There were times during this book when I wanted to reach into the page and strangle Lyndon Johnson, and times when I thought he was the best thing the Senate has ever seen. This may be a long listen, but you won't be bored for a moment. One of the best books I've ever listened to. Having read this, I'm now disappointed that the first collection, "The Rise To Power" and the last one, "The Presidential Years", are not on tape.

9 people found this helpful

Lousy Marketing Scheme

What did you love best about Master of the Senate?

I love the research put into this book and the way the story is told.

Any additional comments?

While I love the book, the fact that it is broken into three Audible recordings disgusts me so much that I am likely not to buy the remaining volumes in the set. If the first two books can be made into individual recordings, why must you make this one volume into three, except to milk the paying clients for more $$$?

8 people found this helpful

Fascinating Biography!

Of all of the audiobooks I have heard over the past five or ten years that I have been listening to them, Robert Caro's biography of Lyndon Johnson--of which 'MASTER OF THE SENATE' is the third volume--is without a doubt the most interesting and worthwhile.

Well-narrated, but above all, well researched and written so well as to command attention and create suspense better than most novels, I have never enjoyed any series of audiobooks more.

This particular volume focuses on Johnson's Senate career and in particular his passage of the Civil Rights Voting Act.

I cannot more highly recommend an audiobook than I do all of the volumes of this biography.

8 people found this helpful