“Compelling… An informed political investigation of these two civil rights warriors and the cause for which they fought and, in King's case, died. Highly recommended.”

--- Library Journal (starred review)

11/15/04

“Kotz does a brilliant job telling the stories of these two very different, very charismatic characters and analyzing the forces that drew them together, then drove them apart… A piquant reminder that great social progress occurs when the powerful collaborate rather than joust.”

--- Kirkus Review 11/15/04

“Kotz’s detailed and gripping account takes readers into the bloody trenches of the Civil Rights movement and the bitter congressional floor battles to get legislation past the segregationist bloc. It is a fascinating portrait of two leaders working at a time when the low skullduggery of politics really was infused with the highest moral values.”

--- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

11/29/04

“[A] dramatic story… This well-written study helps us to better understand [these] two men.”

--- BookPage 1/05

“Painstakingly researched, Judgment Days is a definitive look at the sweeping social victories of a presidency tarnished by the failures of Vietnam.”

--- Texas Monthly (January's Book of the Month) 1/05

"A wonderful new book... Kotz relates the epic relationship between Johnson and the Rev. Martin Luther King to achieve breakthroughs in civil rights."

--- Hearst Newspapers review by Helen Thomas

"Kotz has specialized in books covering seemingly familiar topics in unfamiliar ways, thus creating new realities for readers... The secret to the success of "Judgment Days" is how Kotz takes two well-documented lives, those of Johnson and King, then looks for the intersections of those lives from Johnson's ascension to the White House until King's assassination."

--- Des Moines Register review by Steve Weinberg

"The tale of [Johnson and King's] partnership is ably recounted in an important new book... [Judgment Days] is a reminder that America does have the power to progress, even if not as fast or as willingly as King would have liked."

--- Scripps Howard review by Dale McFeatters

"A fresh and vivid account... [a] thorough and thoughtful book [that] rightly emphasizes that 'without both Johnson and King, the civil rights revolution might have ended with fewer accomplishments and even greater trauma' than it did."

--- Washington Post review by David Garrow

"History doesn't just happen. It is made, created, shaped. And it helps if somebody writes it down -- candidly, factually and with a bit of flair. Which is exactly what Kotz, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who had a front row seat to the civil rights dramas... has done."

--- National Catholic Reporter review by Joe Feuerherd

"[A] fascinating and informative new history... page after page after page I was surprised to come across details that increased my knowledge of the subject... [Nick Kotz's] research and writing style mesh well [with] not only a lot of facts and insights, but also vivid descriptions of people and renderings of public and non-public scenes of give and take, triumph and tragedy."

--- Savannah Morning News review by Theo Lippman Jr.

"[A]n amazing American story... Kotz explores the complicated relationship between these two extraordinary leaders, both from the South, both excellent organizers, both brilliant at bridging deep divides among their followers."

--- KERA 90.1 Review by Lee Cullum