Author Nick Kotz brings out the personalities of the heavy hitters of the 1960's, especially President Lyndon Johnson and civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr. The book begins with the assassination of President Kennedy as Lyndon Johnson is then thrust into the presidency. Determined to carry out Kennedy's programs Johnson achieves initial success with his Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Equal Voting Rights Act of 1965. The author does a wonderful job characterizing Johnson's ability to give others the "Johnson treatment" in convincing them to go along with his programs. He has to deal with, not only conservative Democratic politicians determined to keep segregation permanent, but with diverse personalities such as Bobby Kennedy who felt Johnson was trying to "take over" too fast following his brother's assassination, F.B.I. Director J. Edgar Hoover who kept voluminous files on those he may need to blackmail at some time in the future, and Martin Luther King, Jr. who wanted to achieve equal rights through nonviolence. King realized, however, that he needed to wake up the country by having them see the physical violence his marchers were subjected to in the South. Vietnam put the kibosh on Johnson's Great Society program and War on Poverty to such an extent that he chose not to run for a second term in that horrendous year of 1968 which saw both Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. assassinated, the Vietnam was spiraled out of control, cities continued to burn in rioting as they had in 1967, and Richard Nixon went on to become the next president. Whether you lived through these years or not they were historic times and this book is required reading for those wanting to learn about this period in history.

Author Nick Kotz brings out the personalities of the heavy hitters of the 1960's, especially President Lyndon Johnson and civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr. The book begins with the assassination of President Kennedy as Lyndon Johnson is then thrust into the presidency. Determined to carry out Kennedy's programs Johnson achieves initial success with his Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Equal Voting Rights Act of 1965. The author does a wonderful job characterizing Johnson's ability to give others the "Johnson treatment" in convincing them to go along with his programs. He has to deal with, not only conservative Democratic politicians determined to keep segregation permanent, but with diverse personalities such as Bobby Kennedy who felt Johnson was trying to "take over" too fast following his brother's assassination, F.B.I. Director J. Edgar Hoover who kept voluminous files on those he may need to blackmail at some time in the future, and Martin Luther King, Jr. who wanted to achieve equal rights through nonviolence. King realized, however, that he needed to wake up the country by having them see the physical violence his marchers were subjected to in the South. Vietnam put the kibosh on Johnson's Great Society program and War on Poverty to such an extent that he chose not to run for a second term in that horrendous year of 1968 which saw both Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. assassinated, the Vietnam was spiraled out of control, cities continued to burn in rioting as they had in 1967, and Richard Nixon went on to become the next president. Whether you lived through these years or not they were historic times and this book is required reading for those wanting to learn about this period in history.

A few more pieces to the civil rights movement,very well written. there was new stuff here along with insight and some behind the story things I really liked. You should enjoy this one.

Before reading this book my interest in the Civil Rights Era was probably at best a 4 on a scale of 1-10. After reading a few pages, I was instantly hooked. "Judgment Days" is easily one of the best-written books I've read in the last year (possibly only surpassed by "John Adams"). Nick Kotz does a wonderful job at making history read like a novel and despite the fact that someone completely unfamiliar with American history would still possess some basic knowledge of the subject matter: most Civil Rights legislation is passed, Vietnam is a quagmire, MLK is shot - I found myself unable to put this book down. Upon reading this book, I have a new-found respect for LBJ, view MLK in a different light, and my disdain for J. Edgar Hoover is even greater. This book should be a mandatory read for most US History and Civics classes. The struggle of the Civil Rights Era is only a generation removed for most of America's youth - yet is viewed as distant history. What MLK and others endured to ensure that the American Dream is possible for anyone provided that they want it, is eye opening (to say the least). The author does a great job of revealing how in the "land of the free" you were only truly free as long as your skin wasn't black. Nick Kotz deserves the Pulitzer for this book and it's also an excellent tie in to "The Years of Lyndon Johnson: Master of the Senate" by Robert A. Caro.

Before reading this book my interest in the Civil Rights Era was probably at best a 4 on a scale of 1-10. After reading a few pages, I was instantly hooked. "Judgment Days" is easily one of the best-written books I've read in the last year (possibly only surpassed by "John Adams"). Nick Kotz does a wonderful job at making history read like a novel and while someone completely unfamiliar with American history still possesses some basic knowledge of the subject matter: most Civil Rights legislation is passed, Vietnam is a quagmire, MLK is shot-- I found myself unable to put this book down. Upon completeing this book I have a new-found respect for LBJ, view MLK in a different light, and my disdain for J. Edgar Hoover is even greater. I find it interesting how for someone my age (21-years-old at present) most of these players in this book are still on the public stage (ex: Ramsey Clark, former Attorney-General). I would go as far as to say that this book should be mandatory reading for most Americans especially those not old enough to have lived through these times or who for one reason or another, we're far removed from the realities of the Civil Rights struggle. What MLK and others endured to ensure that the American Dream is possible for everyone as long as they want it, is startling. The author does a great job of portraying how in the land of the free, we weren't all that free just a generation ago and still have a ways to go today. Nick Kotz deserves the Pulitzer for this book and it's also an excellent tie in to "The Years of Lyndon Johnson: Master of the Senate" by Robert A. Caro.

No need to be interested in Civil Rights to enjoy this book. If you aren't hooked after the first chapter, no need to continue.

Though Kotz is writing about oft-covered material, this book comes across as a fresh and vital examination of the relationship of two of the most important figures of the previous century. He spends a lot of time going over well known facts but also highlights the personalities of these two men. The portraits that emerge are quite interesting. MLK comes across as a man committed to change and--despite minor flaws--as the hero he was.

More surprising is Kotz take on LBJ, who comes across as equally committed to change and righting wrongs. Kotz argues that LBJ always displayed a commitment to improving the lot of the poor. Though he does not explain LBJ's early votes against civil rights, he argues that his eventual support of major civil rights legislation had its roots in his desire to help the disadvantaged, like those he grew up with in the Hill Country of Texas.

While stressing that both men were brilliant leaders, Kotz does not shy away from their flaws--of which LBJ had many. Most interesting is his take that both hoped to accomplish significantly more in the realm of abolishing poverty when their efforts were cut short--LBJ's by the morass of Vietnam and MLK's by a bullet. Ultimately this was a great read and should serve to hold those readers over who are eagerly awaiting the years-away release of Robert Caro's next LBJ volume.

Johnson became so excoriated during the Vietnam period that history sometimes forgets his heroic moment, with Martin Luther King as his uneasy ally, of passing the greatest civil rights legislation since Reconstruction. Notz' excellent account brings out the suspense in Johnson's shrewd handling of the legislative arcana required to defeat the racist politicians entrenched in Washington (still there to this day). Moving rapidly in the wake of the Kennedy assassination, Johnson and King seem briefly in tune until their ways diverge in the deepening of the Vietnam fiasco. In the background is the insidious J. Edgar Hoover trying to sabotage King and manipulate Johnson. Even now these revolutionary gains seem like a near miracle, and we could obviously make the mistake of thinking racism has gone away or that the forces of racist reaction have been permanently defeated. Johnson in this portrait comes across as a flawed hero, seizing the moment, contradicting his own past, to wrench the stuck system toward its desperately delayed promises of equality.

This is an extraordinary re-creation of a particularly important time in American history. For those of you who lived through that era, this book offers significant new information as well as provides a vital context for understanding the interaction of legislation and civil rights activities. Both President Johnson and Rev. King emerge as sympathetic and complex and conflicted--yes, real people. Hovering over the book is the evil and vicious J. Edgar Hoover--and at times the book reads like a thriller with a tangled web of relationships among the three actors. For those of you for whom this era is ancient history, there is much to learn here about federal civil rights legislation and the civil rights movement. It may lead you to read more about the 1960's, and Kotz provides an extensive bibliography of some of the best books on a broad range of subjects. In any event, this is a great read which will get you thinking and perhaps even motivate you to action to promote equal rights.

Fabulous book. Extremely well written and researched. A very new perspective on LBJ's early Presidency. It really dovetails with Caro's Master of the Senate. We see LBJ using all his legislative tricks to break a fillibuster and get the 1964 Civil Rights Law passed. Really incredible. A must read.

Sub-Title: Lyndon Baines Johnson, Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Laws That Changed America

There seems to be a time when things happen. One of those times was forty years has passed since the 1965 Voting Rights Act was made into law. This was a time when two men rose to change the world.

Lyndon Johnson was a southern politician put on John Kennedy's ticket to help bring the south to the democrats. Then suddenly he was president, with the experience and skills that a lifetime in the Senate tought him about getting bills through Congress.

No less important was the input from Dr. King who had to combine the power of many disparate civil rights groups to speak with one voice.

Finally it almost seems that a third name, that of J. Edgar Hoover should be in the title. Hoover was a notorious racist and actively worked to break the two men apart. The amazing thing is that this quiet revolution came about with so little violence.

It's only when the books like this come out that you really get a feeling of what happened. The writings of the time are by people with an axe to grind.

This is without a doubt one of the best historical books I've ever read. The author has a dramatic story, fronted by three fascinating and complex characters in LBJ, MLK and J. Edgar Hoover.

Good writing and an eye for interesting details push this book over the top. Nick Kotz does an outstanding job laying out the ambitions of both Johnson and King, and the challenges they faced in trying to find a middle ground that wouldn't cost them the support of either blacks or whites in achieving their aims.

Many legendary stories exist of Johnson's "treatment" imposed on politicians in an effort to get legislation passed. But King had to do equally hard work in forging a consensus between two diverging wings of the black leadership in the civil rights movement. Both men experience triumphs, but in the end come across as admirable but tragic figures, like something out of Shakespeare. Johnson decides not to seek a second term as president, faced with a divided nation over the war in Vietnam (which King openly criticized him on, to the president's feelings of betrayal and anger). King was killed just days after Johnson made his intentions known to the country. On a positive note, those two events, Kotz argues, helped bring about a third major piece of civil rights legislation that provided for open housing.

It's always a great compliment to a book when it compels you to want to read more on a subject. Having read this, I want to learn more about both Johnson and King and hear other perspectives on the civil rights movement and the 1960s, a decade I was born too late to experience. The book also forced me to think about the state of race issues in the country today. In an intelligent epilogue, Kotz analyzes how far the country has come, and how much farther we have to go, since the civil rights laws were passed.

One minor annoyance was Kotz's use of footnotes at the bottom of the pages. Some of the information contained in those seems almost trivial, but some of it is very relevant information that probably should have been in the text itself.

Nevertheless, that's a small point. I highly recommend this book. It's an engrossing story put on paper by a skilled storyteller.

Judgment Days is riveting history and journalism--a real page turner about two fascinating, larger-than-life characters that come to life as in no other book I've read about Lyndon Johnson or Martin Luther King, Jr. Best of all, you'll hate J. Edgar Hoover more than you ever did and like Johnson and King better than you ever did.