Flippen draws on Wright's memoirs, diaries, and papers; copious library and newspaper archives; and interviews (including conversations with Wright) to offer a definitive, richly detailed biography . . . An engrossing history that sheds light on our own fractious times.
— Kirkus
Flippen offers an exhaustive biography that reveals Wright as a Texas go-getter in the mold of mentor President Lyndon B. Johnson. . . The detailed analyses of Wright’s legislative actions will likely make this the authoritative account of his political life.
— Library Journal
A vivid and compelling portrait of a grass-roots politician who ascended into the hallowed halls of our nation’s capital and made his mark on practically every major public policy issue in the late 20th century.
— San Antonio Express-News
Extensively researched and well written…Flippen provides his readers with an excellent political biography, a work that will serve as the authoritative voice on Wright's career for many years to come."
— Central Texas Studies
A very scrupulous 'warts and all' account of the life of Jim Wright and his short-lived and problematic time as Speaker of the House…a good read in addition to representing strong scholarship.
— Congress & The Presidency
Clearly written and provides a helpful account of Wright's rise in national politics…historians of twentieth-century Texas will want to read this book.
— Southwestern Historical Quarterly
A detailed, thoroughly researched account of a lost political species: the moderate southern Democrat.
— Journal of Southern History
[An] engaging treatment of Wright's life and career…Flippen makes a convincing case that Wright deserves a place in the ranks of Texas political giants.
— Texas Books in Review
Much-needed…this book offers a definitive political biography of Wright while also illuminating the multifaceted and complex structure of Congress and the individuals who serve in it.
— Western Historical Quarterly
Everyone interested in the power structure of Congress and late twentieth-century public policy issues should fine a place for Speaker Jim Wright on their bookshelf.
— Journal of American History
Jim Wright’s career charts the rise and fall of Congress as an effective source of domestic and global policy after WWII. From civil rights to Cold War foreign policy, Wright was part of the bipartisan compromises that made Congress a source of pragmatic legislation. Speaker Wright’s demise marked the end of that era and the beginning of our own hyperpartisan logjam. This biography is a deeply researched and relevant history that everyone concerned about our current politics should read.
— Jeremi Suri, author of The Impossible Presidency: The Rise and Fall of America's Highest Office
Jim Wright is a significant figure in the history of American politics, well deserving of the careful attention he receives in Brooks Flippen’s biography. Wright shaped many of the seminal debates of the postwar decades, and through him we come to a better understanding of American political history. In the end, we also come to comprehend more deeply the scandal and corruption culture that has become such a prominent and noxious fixture of modern American politics. Well written and drawn from deep research—including interviews with Wright—this book will remain the biography of Jim Wright for a long time to come.
— David S. Brown, author of Moderates: The Vital Center of American Politics, from the Founding to Today