Rayburn: a biography.

• Author: Noah, Timothy

Rayburn: A Biography.

D.B.Hardeman, Donald C. Bacon. Texas Monthly Press, $21.95. Sam Rayburn served as speaker of the House longer than anyone else-- from 1940-1961, with time out as minority leader during the Eisenhower administration. Today he is remembered chiefly as a reticent survivor who admonished younger legislators, "in this House, the people who get along the best, go along the most.'

But there was more passion andsubstance to Rayburn than the saying suggests. While still a freshman, Rayburn sponsored legislation giving the Interstate Commerce Commission the authority to approve all new transportation securities--a measure that brought Rayburn into conflict not only with the then-powerful railroads but also with President Woodrow Wilson. Rayburn's actions so angered Wilson that he lent support to Rayburn's opponent in the next...