
LBJ Exposed
Busting 15 Myths About the Great Society That Transformed AmericaBy Miguel ThorntonLength4h 48m
About this audiobook
In LBJ Exposed, historian Miguel Thornton dismantles the myths that have distorted America’s view of Lyndon B. Johnson for decades. Far from a copy of FDR’s New Deal, the Great Society was a bold Texan reinvention — a national blueprint forged in dust, sweat, and political fire. Through newly declassified tapes, Senate transcripts, and long-buried archives, this book reveals how Johnson’s programs cut poverty nearly in half, expanded education, and created Medicare and Medicaid amid war and chaos. Yet political opponents, media narratives, and cultural backlash turned success into stigma. LBJ Exposed is a vivid, fast-paced investigation into how power, race, and reform collided in the 1960s — and why those same battles still define America today. Balanced, cinematic, and relentlessly factual, it forces readers to look beyond legend and see the man who tried to build a truly Great Society.
Audiobook details
GenreBiography and Memoir, Politics and Government
Length4 hrs 48 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateOct 29, 2025
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Introduction: The Man, the Myths, and the Measure of a Presidency
10Myth 9: Great Society Spending Caused Inflation and Wrecked the Economy
2Myth 1: LBJ Just Copied FDR’s New Deal Welfare State
11Myth 10: The Voting Rights Act Was LBJ's Only Real Success
3Myth 2: The Vietnam War Completely Ruined the Great Society Programs
12Myth 11: Head Start and Kids' Programs Were Ineffective Wastes
4Myth 3: The Great Society Was a Radical Leftist Big-Government Scheme
13Myth 12: LBJ Betrayed His Texas Roots to Appease Northern Liberals
5Myth 4: The Great Society Failed to Reduce Poverty
14Myth 13: All Programs Were Canceled by Nixon and Republicans
Show all chaptersShow less
6Myth 5: It Destroyed the Black Family Structure
15Myth 14: LBJ Wasn't a True Liberal—Just a Scheming Texas Politician
7Myth 6: LBJ Was a Southern Racist Who Acted Only for Political Gain
16Myth 15: The Great Society Fueled the 1970s Crime Explosion
8Myth 7: Medicare and Medicaid Were Just Useless Handouts
17Conclusion: The Measure of a Man, the Mirror of a Nation
9Myth 8: The War on Poverty Created Permanent Dependency
18Acknowledgments