This companion offers an overview of Lyndon B. Johnson's life, presidency, and legacy, as well as a detailed look at the central arguments and scholarly debates from his term in office.

• Explores the legacy of Johnson and the historical significance of his years as president
• Covers the full range of topics, from the social and civil rights reforms of the Great Society to the increased American involvement in Vietnam
• Incorporates the dramatic new evidence that has come to light through the release of around 8,000 phone conversations and meetings that Johnson secretly recorded as President

"This volume of essays is a superb contribution to the growing body of scholarship on LBJ and his presidency. Lerner, himself one of the country’s leading experts on Johnson, has assembled a first-rate cast of contributors." – Randall B. Woods, author, LBJ: Architect of American Ambition

"For all serious scholars and students of Lyndon Johnson—and given the long-term consequences of Vietnam, the Great Society, and the 1960s broadly, aren’t we all?—Lerner’s compilation is a must-read to truly understand the man and his era." - Jeffrey A. Engel, Kruse ’52 Founders Professor, Texas A&M University

"The one-stop source for the latest historiography on the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson.  Lerner has assembled a collection of gems by the leading historians of U.S. domestic and foreign policy during the Johnson era." – Frank Costigliola, University of Connecticut