Rayburn: A Biography

Sam Rayburn guided the most important legislation of the 20th century through Congress-from the New Deal to the New Frontier-and served under eight presidents during his remarkable 49-year congressional career. Rayburn is the award-winning biography of the Texas Democrat whose tenure of 17 years as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives has never been equalled. "Mr. Sam" was a legend in Washington due to his integrity, tough-mindedness, and loyalty. A modest man with uncluttered rural values, his lifelong conviction was that the rich and powerful are entitled to justice but that the less fortunate are entitled to a helping hand from their government. Rayburn mixes compelling political history with richly-textured personal detail to tell the epic story of one of America's greatest political heroes.