His political savvy and bravado made him a standout in the rough-and-tumble world of Texas politics. He won a seat in the Texas Legislature in 1960, and four years later he became the youngest speaker of the House since the Civil War. In 1968, he helped Congressman George Herbert Walker Bush get his son into the National Guard-a controversy that would rage during the 2004 presidential election. In 1970, Lyndon Johnson told the public that Ben was destined to be the next U.S. president to hail from Texas. Barnes's rollicking memoir recalls the glory days of his Texas past and blazes a trail for our country's future.
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