Yep. The infamous ballot box number 13 determined the course of American history. Without that stolen box, LBJ would not have become a senator and would not therefore not have become president. His means to power were always corrupt (he stole elections at the student body president level and the congressmen assistants organization) but once he attained it, he was surprisingly effective. From electrification of the rural Texas Hill country from which he hailed to enacting legislation for the civil rights movement.

History may have been different but to say LBJ wouldn’t have found a way to power via the senate or even the presidency is impossible to say. He knew how to survive amidst setbacks...who knows what would’ve happened if he lost that race.

Having read these books I think there are two ways to look at it. On one hand, in Means of Ascent you see how LBJ became a congressman against terrific odds by sheer force of will, brains, and excellent advisors / supporters. On the other hand, you see that later in life he either takes fewer risks or is more complacent by the time of the 1960 presidential campaign. The democratic nomination was his to lose, and if he had pushed for it he would have gotten it, not Kennedy.

So if LBJ had lost that Senate race in 1948, which aspect of his character would dominate? What is so great about those books is how they reveal the complexity of an individual's character.