Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson

Master of the Senate is the third volume of Robert A. Caro's biography The Years of Lyndon Johnson. It covers Johnson's twelve years in the United States Senate, from 1949 to 1960, the period in which he turned a sluggish institution into an instrument of his own will. Caro begins with a history of the Senate itself, from the era of Daniel Webster, Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun, when it was the center of national debate, to the mid-twentieth century, when the seniority system had left it slow and resistant to change. He then shows how Johnson, drawing on lessons from his Texas Hill Country youth and his years in the House, rose to become majority leader after only one term and mastered the Senate's rules and personalities. The result is a detailed portrait of how legislative power works in America. It won the 2002 National Book Award for Nonfiction.