Building The Great Society by Joshua Zeitz

BUILDING THE GREAT SOCIETY by Joshua Zeitz has been a real treat to read. I truly enjoyed seeing some of the “behind the scenes” politics and “wheeling and dealing” necessary to make change in the 1960’s.  This is a fascinating, if somewhat biased, look at the challenges, accomplishments, and social justice values associated with LBJ’s Great Society and War on Poverty. One cannot help but contrast the described events with those in Washington, D.C. today. Zeitz notes that “LBJ’s early success [was] owed in part to his mastery of legislative strategy, equally fundamental were the efforts of advocacy groups … [and] Johnson benefited from a deep well of public support….” Amazingly, Johnson made 87 legislative requests in 1965, 84 were passed.  The efforts of Johnson and his staff resulted in transformative programs like Medicare, Head Start, and funding for education and the arts, including PBS/NPR. In addition to passing The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, they addressed immigration reform. Many familiar names (Joseph Califano, Jack Valenti, Bill Moyers, Abe Fortas, Sargent Shriver and so on) appear in Zeitz’s highly readable and narrative account. Extensively researched and footnoted, BUILDING THE GREAT SOCIETY aptly recalls a more hopeful, productive time in American history.