A completely new perspective on November 22, 1963

The central and no doubt most exciting (and newsworthy) section of Robert A. Caro's LBJ bio The Passage of Power focuses on the fateful day of November 22, 1963. Not sure if the story has ever been told before from this point of view - that of the Vice-President who becomes president on JFK's death - Caro perfectly captures the chaos and confusion of the day, and, in perhaps the most memorable "take" from the section we see Johnson standing alone, Lady Bird seated beside him, in a cordoned off room in Parkland Hospital - having no idea whether or not he's president, his mind working through. Caro also emphasizes the great sense of danger everyone felt - nobody knew right away whether LBJ or in fact the whole top echelon of U.S. government was targeted - some exciting, dramatic scenes as LBJ and entourage rush through the hospital corridors and then take a back route in unmarked cars to Love Airport. Final part of the section has LBJ in AF One as he begins to plan out the details of assuming the presidency: getting the oath of office, and literally staging the swearing in - very important to him that there were many witnesses and that Jackie Kennedy be present to symbolize peaceful and orderly passing of power in time of crisis and distress - hence, the famous picture of her staring like someone possessed, Johnson looming over everyone, the plan cabin jammed with people, all trying to get a look - photo included in the book, but I think the many thousands or words are necessary for us to fully understand the implications of the photo. Johnson made one very controversial call that day, to RFK, probably completely unnecessary and in and in bad taste, and leading to further animosity between the two. Mostly, in this section, we see LBJ emerge once again as a decisive and powerful figure - as if he'd been mummified for 3 years as veep. We almost forget, reading the section, the horrible elements to his personality that Caro laid are in earlier sections, particularly his bullying and his refusal to listen to views contradictory to his own, which ultimately led him to become a war president and led to his undoing.