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LBJ and Grassroots Federalism: Congressman Bob Poage, Race, and Change in Texas. By Robert Harold Duke. Centennial Series of the Association of Former Students. (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2014. Pp. [xvi], 248. $45.00, ISBN 978-1-62349-172-7.)
Lyndon B. Johnson and William Robert "Bob" Poage came of age at the same time but learned different values and philosophies that ultimately set them on opposite paths-one might even say paths on the right and wrong sides of history, respectively. Historian Robert Harold Duke takes readers on a lively and thorough journey through the lives of these two powerful Texans, from their upbringings to their final moments in federal politics. Duke argues that civil rights remained the sole issue separating the two men, who were from neighboring congressional districts. The author explains why Poage, who has been mostly forgotten by Texas historians despite his social politics, deserves recognition for his...