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Book Cover for: The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress, and the Battle for the Great Society, Julian E. Zelizer

The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress, and the Battle for the Great Society

Julian E. Zelizer

A majestic, big-picture account of the Great Society and the forces that shaped it

Between November 1962, when he became president, and November 1966, when his party was routed in the midterm elections, Lyndon Johnson spearheaded the most transformative agenda in American politics since the New Deal. In just three years, he drove the passage of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts, the War on Poverty, and Medicare and Medicaid, among a raft of other progressive initiatives. Dubbed the Great Society, it was an agenda whose ambition and achievement have never been matched, and it remains largely intact fifty years on. In The Fierce Urgency of Now, Julian E. Zelizer takes the full measure of the story in all its epic sweep. He provides unprecedented insight into the battles that raged inside Congress and the administration, and examines the often bitterly divided forces at play in the country--from religious groups and civil rights activists to labor unions and the media--during the tumultuous years when our political sights were set on the ideal of a Great Society.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Penguin Books
  • Publish Date: Dec 22nd, 2015
  • Pages: 384
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 8.40in - 5.40in - 0.90in - 0.70lb
  • EAN: 9780143128014
  • Categories: United States - 20th CenturyHistory & Theory - GeneralPublic Policy - Social Policy

About the Author

Julian E. Zelizer is the Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, Class of 1941, Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton University and a fellow at New America. He is the author of numerous books on U.S. political history, including Jimmy Carter, Arsenal of Democracy, and Governing America.

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Book Cover for: Burning Down the House: Newt Gingrich and the Rise of the New Republican Party, Julian E. Zelizer
Book Cover for: Arsenal of Democracy: The Politics of National Security -- From World War II to the War on Terrorism, Julian E. Zelizer
Book Cover for: Defining the Age: Daniel Bell, His Time and Ours, Paul Starr
Book Cover for: Abraham Joshua Heschel: A Life of Radical Amazement, Julian E. Zelizer
Book Cover for: Fault Lines: A History of the United States Since 1974, Kevin M. Kruse
Book Cover for: On Capitol Hill: The Struggle to Reform Congress and Its Consequences, 1948-2000, Julian E. Zelizer
Book Cover for: Taxing America, Julian E. Zelizer
Book Cover for: Taxing America: Wilbur D. Mills, Congress, and the State, 1945-1975, Julian E. Zelizer
Book Cover for: Governing America: The Revival of Political History, Julian E. Zelizer

Praise for this book

Kirkus:
A sort-of-liberal president faces an intransigent, obstructionist Congress: We mean Lyndon Johnson, of course, and the class of 1966. Zelizer, a lucid writer, doesn't need to cherry-pick to line up parallels with today...A smart, provocative study."

Publishers Weekly
"Zelizer paints Johnson as a flawed--opportunistic, domineering, ambitious--yet impressive leader, who took advantage of a perfect storm of legislative and governmental conditions to push through an unprecedented number of projects and achievements; a president who gambled greatly while his party and a liberal majority were in ascendancy and won accordingly...His focus on the conflict between conservative and liberal factions is even more timely in today's climate. Zelizer writes with an expert's deep understanding of the subject."