A Political Education: A Washington Memoir

This classic political memoir offers an insider’s view of Washington in the ‘50s and ‘60s—with a preface by the author reflecting on the Clinton era. A Texas native, Harry McPherson went to Washington in 1956 as an assistant to Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson. He served in key posts under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, including as Johnson’s special counsel and speechwriter. In Political Education, McPherson offers a vividly evocative portrait of Johnson’s tumultuous presidency and of the conflicts and factions of the president's staff. Long regarded as a political classic, it is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand national politics of the period. In 1995, McPherson added a preface discussing how Washington had changed since the Johnson era. In it he suggests what lessons Bill Clinton could have learn from Johnson’s time in the Oval Office.