Texas breeds politicians and economic buccaneers of mythic power and capacity for failure. This robust biography traces the rise and fall of John Connally: his intimate association with Lyndon Johnson, his migration to the Nixon camp, his passion for the big gain, then his bankruptcy Texas-style. If LBJ's nemesis was Vietnam, Connally's was overextension on risky ventures. The lives of both are symbolic for much American history in the second half of the twentieth century.