In his book, "Indomitable Will," presidential historian Mark K. Updegrove offers an intimate portrait of the fascinating President Lyndon Baines Johnson. During his extraordinarily eventful presidency, and the turbulent times in which he served, President Johnson launched a revolution in civil rights, federal aid to education, and health care for the elderly and indigent, and expanded immigration and environmental protection. He signed 207 laws during his five years in office, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965, Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Head Start, and Medicare.
His force of personality, mastery of power and the political process, and boundless appetite for social reform made him one of the towering figures of his time. America saw the virtuoso deal-maker use every inch of his six-foot-three-inch frame to intimidate his subjects and the embattled commander in chief agonizing over the fate of his "boys" in Vietnam - including his two sons-in-law - yet steadfast in his determination to thwart Communist aggression through war, or an honorable peace.
Updegrove will discuss and sign copies of his new book. Copies will be on sale at the library courtesy of A Cappella Books.