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On Power
1 hour and 42 minutes
From two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and two-time National Book Award winner Robert A. Caro: a short, penetrating reflection on the evolution and workings of political power - for good and for ill.
In On Power, from Audible Original Publishing, the legendary historian Robert A. Caro reflects on what drew him as a young journalist to study political power and what his half century of reporting on New York City urban planner Robert Moses and President Lyndon Johnson have taught him about the inner workings of government and democracy.
Adapted by the author from two recent speeches and filled with thoughtful lessons and personal moments, On Power goes behind the scenes in the author's decades-long quest to understand how power works, often in ways he could have never imagined.
Listening to On Power, narrated with emotion and humor by Caro in his unmistakable New York accent, is like having a private audience with the author often hailed as our greatest living historian. Longtime fans of Caro's books, as well as those seeking a more personal introduction to his life and work, will be treated to his trademark wit and revelatory insight.
But more than anything, On Power is a timely reminder for those who want to better understand how power and government work.
In Caro's words: "Why political power? Because it shapes all of our lives. It shapes your life in ways that you might never think about. Every time a young man goes to college on a federal education bill passed by Lyndon Johnson, that's political power. And so is a young man dying in Vietnam. Every time an elderly person is able to afford an MRI, that's Medicare. That's political power. It affects your life in all sorts of ways. My books are an attempt to explain this power.... Because the more America understands about political power, the better informed our votes will be, and then, hopefully, the better our democracy should be."
©2017 Robert A. Caro, Inc. (P)2017 Audible, Inc.
From two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and two-time National Book Award winner Robert A. Caro: a short, penetrating reflection on the evolution and workings of political power - for good and for ill.
In On Power, from Audible Original Publishing, the legendary historian Robert A. Caro reflects on what drew him as a young journalist to study political power and what his half century of reporting on New York City urban planner Robert Moses and President Lyndon Johnson have taught him about the inner workings of government and democracy.
Adapted by the author from two recent speeches and filled with thoughtful lessons and personal moments, On Power goes behind the scenes in the author's decades-long quest to understand how power works, often in ways he could have never imagined.
Listening to On Power, narrated with emotion and humor by Caro in his unmistakable New York accent, is like having a private audience with the author often hailed as our greatest living historian. Longtime fans of Caro's books, as well as those seeking a more personal introduction to his life and work, will be treated to his trademark wit and revelatory insight.
But more than anything, On Power is a timely reminder for those who want to better understand how power and government work.
In Caro's words: "Why political power? Because it shapes all of our lives. It shapes your life in ways that you might never think about. Every time a young man goes to college on a federal education bill passed by Lyndon Johnson, that's political power. And so is a young man dying in Vietnam. Every time an elderly person is able to afford an MRI, that's Medicare. That's political power. It affects your life in all sorts of ways. My books are an attempt to explain this power.... Because the more America understands about political power, the better informed our votes will be, and then, hopefully, the better our democracy should be."
©2017 Robert A. Caro, Inc. (P)2017 Audible, Inc.
Audiobook
Published May 9, 2017
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About the author
Robert A. Caro
35 books2,915 followersRobert Allan Caro is an American journalist and author known for his biographies of United States political figures Robert Moses and Lyndon B. Johnson.
After working for many years as a reporter, Caro wrote The Power Broker (1974), a biography of New York urban planner Robert Moses, which was chosen by the Modern Library as one of the hundred greatest nonfiction books of the twentieth century. He has since written four of a planned five volumes of The Years of Lyndon Johnson (1982, 1990, 2002, 2012), a biography of the former president. Caro has been described as "the most influential biographer of the last century".
For his biographies, he has won two Pulitzer Prizes in Biography, two National Book Awards (including one for Lifetime Achievement), the Francis Parkman Prize (awarded by the Society of American Historians to the book that "best exemplifies the union of the historian and the artist"), three National Book Critics Circle Awards, the Mencken Award for Best Book, the Carr P. Collins Award from the Texas Institute of Letters, the D. B. Hardeman Prize, and a Gold Medal in Biography from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 2010 President Barack Obama awarded Caro the National Humanities Medal.
Due to Caro's reputation for exhaustive research and detail, he is sometimes invoked by reviewers of other writers who are called "Caro-esque" for their own extensive research.
After working for many years as a reporter, Caro wrote The Power Broker (1974), a biography of New York urban planner Robert Moses, which was chosen by the Modern Library as one of the hundred greatest nonfiction books of the twentieth century. He has since written four of a planned five volumes of The Years of Lyndon Johnson (1982, 1990, 2002, 2012), a biography of the former president. Caro has been described as "the most influential biographer of the last century".
For his biographies, he has won two Pulitzer Prizes in Biography, two National Book Awards (including one for Lifetime Achievement), the Francis Parkman Prize (awarded by the Society of American Historians to the book that "best exemplifies the union of the historian and the artist"), three National Book Critics Circle Awards, the Mencken Award for Best Book, the Carr P. Collins Award from the Texas Institute of Letters, the D. B. Hardeman Prize, and a Gold Medal in Biography from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 2010 President Barack Obama awarded Caro the National Humanities Medal.
Due to Caro's reputation for exhaustive research and detail, he is sometimes invoked by reviewers of other writers who are called "Caro-esque" for their own extensive research.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 160 reviews
March 24, 2018
This is a fascinating account of progress, political calculus and broken lives. Robert Caro's On Power serves as both an overview of his Pulitzer Prize winning journalistic investigations of urban planner, Robert Moses, and Congressman/Senator/Vice-President and President, Lyndon B. Johnson, as well as what happens when people get caught "in power's path." In doing so, he looks at the human price of progress for such things as roads which divide and sometimes destroy neighborhoods. Specifically, Caro looks at the planning and construction of New York's Northern State Parkway. He also looks at how Johnson created an electoral power base by bringing electric power to rural areas of Texas. Details of Caro's painstaking research as well as his perseverance to tell this story make this well worth reading.
July 14, 2023
In hopes of trying to stir up the vibes for Robert A. Caro to complete this multi-volume biography of Lyndon Baines Johnson, I chose to begin a re-read of those tomes already published. This piece tackles some of the power grabbing LBJ was able to complete within the four books already published and crumbs of the last tome to come. Let’s see if it works!
This is definitely a great summary of Caro’s work and what he discovered on gaining and sustaining power. His two major collections, a biography on Robert Moses and multi-volume piece on Lyndon Johnson, focus on a lot of the power grabs both men took in order to gain, hold, and sustain power in their own way. This piece is also a truncated version of Caro’s earlier publication, Working: Researching, Interviewing, Writing.
As I have recently read and reviewed the longer analysis, I will do something I do not usually do and refer readers to that summary: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This is a great piece for those who want to dip their toe into the water when it comes to discerning how Moses and Johnson sought to get their hands on the reins of power and steer it in their own direction. The ideas Caro mentions are both poignant and powerfully delivered, something that I can only hope will come when he publishes the last of the Johnson volumes (the fifth, rumoured for release since 2015).
As Caro’s age creeps up, I am becoming a little more anxious that there will not be a final volume, especially as Caro veered away to write Working, but I have to remain positive and will do my best to be patient!
Kudos, Mr. Caro, for opening up your mind and work process. Now then, get that fifth volume done!
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
This is definitely a great summary of Caro’s work and what he discovered on gaining and sustaining power. His two major collections, a biography on Robert Moses and multi-volume piece on Lyndon Johnson, focus on a lot of the power grabs both men took in order to gain, hold, and sustain power in their own way. This piece is also a truncated version of Caro’s earlier publication, Working: Researching, Interviewing, Writing.
As I have recently read and reviewed the longer analysis, I will do something I do not usually do and refer readers to that summary: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This is a great piece for those who want to dip their toe into the water when it comes to discerning how Moses and Johnson sought to get their hands on the reins of power and steer it in their own direction. The ideas Caro mentions are both poignant and powerfully delivered, something that I can only hope will come when he publishes the last of the Johnson volumes (the fifth, rumoured for release since 2015).
As Caro’s age creeps up, I am becoming a little more anxious that there will not be a final volume, especially as Caro veered away to write Working, but I have to remain positive and will do my best to be patient!
Kudos, Mr. Caro, for opening up your mind and work process. Now then, get that fifth volume done!
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
November 27, 2018
"The more that America understands about political power, the better informed our votes will be. And then, hopefully, the better our democracy should be."
- Robert Caro, On Power
This was produced as an hour and forty-three minute "Audible Original" looking at the major theme of Robert Caro's political biographries: power. There is no paperback or little hardback associated with this, it is only on Audible. So, if you are as craven a fan of Caro as I am, it doesn't really matter. You will get it however you need to get it. My kids know how much I love Caro. There is a joke at my home that nightly prayers involve praying to God to keep Caro alive to finish his 5-book series on LBJ. They are THAT good. I can't even name a popular biographer I would put in his class.
This small "talk" is really Caro talking about how he got his start in writing, journalism, and writing biography. He talks about how his interest in Robert Moses developed and how later his interest in LBJ. He is a fascinating talker (which makes sense because his narrative histories are amazing). He is a man who understand that a good story also requires amazing details, told well. Well, this is kinda a nice throwaway. I'm glad to read anthing Caro writes or listen to anything he says, but I'm still waiting...paitently...for Book 5.
- Robert Caro, On Power
This was produced as an hour and forty-three minute "Audible Original" looking at the major theme of Robert Caro's political biographries: power. There is no paperback or little hardback associated with this, it is only on Audible. So, if you are as craven a fan of Caro as I am, it doesn't really matter. You will get it however you need to get it. My kids know how much I love Caro. There is a joke at my home that nightly prayers involve praying to God to keep Caro alive to finish his 5-book series on LBJ. They are THAT good. I can't even name a popular biographer I would put in his class.
This small "talk" is really Caro talking about how he got his start in writing, journalism, and writing biography. He talks about how his interest in Robert Moses developed and how later his interest in LBJ. He is a fascinating talker (which makes sense because his narrative histories are amazing). He is a man who understand that a good story also requires amazing details, told well. Well, this is kinda a nice throwaway. I'm glad to read anthing Caro writes or listen to anything he says, but I'm still waiting...paitently...for Book 5.
December 7, 2017
I have enjoyed reading Robert A. Caro’s series of biographies of Lyndon Johnson. I have yet to read his other book on Robert Moses. Caro has won two Pulitzer Prizes and two National Book Awards. This is an essay on the evolution and workings of political power for good and ill. Caro put it together from several speeches he made recently. He tells about how he and his wife work together. She is the only one he trusts to do research for him.
Caro tells of his decade long quest to understand how power works. Caro narrates the essay himself. Listening to his New York accent and hearing his emotions about the topic was like sitting down over tea and talking with him. Caro has a wit and humor that comes through in his discussion. He states political power affects all our lives every day. His key message is the better you understand political power the better informed your vote will be.
I downloaded this essay from Audible. It is almost two hours long.
Caro tells of his decade long quest to understand how power works. Caro narrates the essay himself. Listening to his New York accent and hearing his emotions about the topic was like sitting down over tea and talking with him. Caro has a wit and humor that comes through in his discussion. He states political power affects all our lives every day. His key message is the better you understand political power the better informed your vote will be.
I downloaded this essay from Audible. It is almost two hours long.
December 19, 2022
A year ago, I was lucky enough to visit the exhibit on Robert Caro in the New York Historical Society. It contained typed and written drafts of his notes and manuscripts, as well as detailed information about his working process. Though the display only filled a single hallway, I came away in awe of the man.
All professional writers work hard, but Caro is superhuman. Every phase of his writing process is laborious in the extreme. The amount of research he does is nauseating. And then he must assemble it all together—first with pen and paper, and then with a typewriter—in mountains of text, revised over and over again. Simply to write as much as he does would be impressive; but to write millions of carefully researched and painstakingly expressed words is a feat in another category altogether.
This short audiobook confirmed this awe-inspiring impression. His dedication to his work is astounding to me. He could easily have written a book about Robert Moses that was, say, half the size of The Power Broker, and it probably would have been quite excellent. Instead, he insisted on writing a book that was so large that it physically could not be printed and bound, and in the process took serious professional and financial risks. He quit his job, moved his family into a small apartment, and used up his savings, all for the sake of a book that could well have been an utter commercial failure. That takes guts.
As you can tell, I was enthralled by the stories he told of his research in this short audiobook. But it must be said that the title is slightly ridiculous. This is not a meditation on power. It is a collection of anecdotes about how he came to write his biographies of Robert Moses and Lyndon B. Johnson—books which certainly do have much to say about political power. I still often find myself thinking of The Power Broker, so I suppose I will have to read all of the Johnson books one day. Perhaps when he finally—and he better do it!—releases the last volume. For now, I can only hope to emulate, in a small and pitiful way, Caro’s enormous devotion to writing and research.
All professional writers work hard, but Caro is superhuman. Every phase of his writing process is laborious in the extreme. The amount of research he does is nauseating. And then he must assemble it all together—first with pen and paper, and then with a typewriter—in mountains of text, revised over and over again. Simply to write as much as he does would be impressive; but to write millions of carefully researched and painstakingly expressed words is a feat in another category altogether.
This short audiobook confirmed this awe-inspiring impression. His dedication to his work is astounding to me. He could easily have written a book about Robert Moses that was, say, half the size of The Power Broker, and it probably would have been quite excellent. Instead, he insisted on writing a book that was so large that it physically could not be printed and bound, and in the process took serious professional and financial risks. He quit his job, moved his family into a small apartment, and used up his savings, all for the sake of a book that could well have been an utter commercial failure. That takes guts.
As you can tell, I was enthralled by the stories he told of his research in this short audiobook. But it must be said that the title is slightly ridiculous. This is not a meditation on power. It is a collection of anecdotes about how he came to write his biographies of Robert Moses and Lyndon B. Johnson—books which certainly do have much to say about political power. I still often find myself thinking of The Power Broker, so I suppose I will have to read all of the Johnson books one day. Perhaps when he finally—and he better do it!—releases the last volume. For now, I can only hope to emulate, in a small and pitiful way, Caro’s enormous devotion to writing and research.
December 9, 2017
This turned out to be a biography of his time writing his longer books. Reading about his passion for understanding political power, and in particular his thoughts on how LBJ was so effective in passing laws and what the construction of city streets have to do with power, I feel compelled to read his longer books. When he got to the last words, which were about power and equality, I found myself saying aloud, "Yes!" But, then this tiny booklet was over. I definitely need to read more.
May 10, 2017
For a rabid Robert Caro fan like myself, there's not much new to be found in "On Power," his new "book," an Audible-exclusive audiobook clocking in at just under two hours. It's more like an extended podcast episode, with Caro riffing on the familiar theme that permeates his work: many say that power corrupts, but what is more true is that power reveals.
Many of the anecdotes about Robert Moses and Lyndon Johnson that Caro tells here are watered-down versions of memorable sections of his books. The personal stories Caro tells about his research are more enlightening, but many are also familiar to anyone who has watched more than a handful of Caro interviews throughout the years.
When he is saying something new -- like when he talks briefly about his research for Volume 5 of his Lyndon Johnson series -- he doesn't seem particularly happy to be doing so, making one wonder why this project was envisioned as an audiobook instead of a short ebook.
Those new to Caro or those wanting to learn more about how he views his subjects and how they wield power may find these two hours well spent. I'd argue, though, that you'd learn more watching various interviews with Caro on YouTube for two hours. He's more eloquent and personable when he's not scripted, and you'll hear the same stories.
To those not new to Caro, you'll likely leave feeling as if the project was a misuse of valuable time -- not just yours, but his, too.
Many of the anecdotes about Robert Moses and Lyndon Johnson that Caro tells here are watered-down versions of memorable sections of his books. The personal stories Caro tells about his research are more enlightening, but many are also familiar to anyone who has watched more than a handful of Caro interviews throughout the years.
When he is saying something new -- like when he talks briefly about his research for Volume 5 of his Lyndon Johnson series -- he doesn't seem particularly happy to be doing so, making one wonder why this project was envisioned as an audiobook instead of a short ebook.
Those new to Caro or those wanting to learn more about how he views his subjects and how they wield power may find these two hours well spent. I'd argue, though, that you'd learn more watching various interviews with Caro on YouTube for two hours. He's more eloquent and personable when he's not scripted, and you'll hear the same stories.
To those not new to Caro, you'll likely leave feeling as if the project was a misuse of valuable time -- not just yours, but his, too.
January 29, 2018
In On Power Robert Caro offers the reader an explanation of his writing philosophy, as well as some behind-the-scenes stories from the writing is best known works. The main tenant of his writing is the effect of political power upon the powerless. In order to study the effects of this political power he knew he had to start by examining the lives of those who wielded it to find out how they got to the top of their profession. In telling the story of Robert Morris he quickly realized that it lent itself better to the biographical form than the textbook he was trying to write. Also as a starving writer biographies always sold better. This is the format he subsequently followed for his acclaimed work on Lyndon Johnson. I know that I will read Caro with a greater understanding having read this first. I will also look forward to his books more.
June 27, 2022
This is basically just a long, narrated essay, but it's magnificent nonetheless. Caro gets into his methodology for writing about Robert Moses and LBJ, and why he chose those people. There are also some nice bits about why understanding political power is so important — which seems to get more and more relevant with each passing day.
Everything Caro does is 5 stars, so the rating isn't a surprise. He investigates and tells stories about politics and power as well as anyone who has ever lived.
Everything Caro does is 5 stars, so the rating isn't a surprise. He investigates and tells stories about politics and power as well as anyone who has ever lived.
December 12, 2017
I confess: I haven’t read either of Robert Caro’s reputed master projects for the simple reason that they seem too long. He’s gotten famous for the biography of Lyndon Johnson that seems never to end. (He jokes here that he’s on volume five of a projected two-volume work.) And he made his name by calling on us to rethink the role of Robert Moses in remaking New York city and state.
I’d like to read them, especially the Moses since it touches so much on the way cities get remade and reimagined in what’s largely an ethnic context. Still, it just seems so imposing. I’m sure I’d appreciate it, but I also think it would take a long time to find the particulars I’m interested in within the larger story he’s telling in the book.
And that brings me to this “book.” I use the quotes only because it’s such a short work, in many ways just an extended essay. But, above all, it’s an introduction to Caro’s work and to his abiding interest: how does political power shape our America, and how does wealth shape and inflect that power?
If Caro never quite answers that question, I can cut him some slack. I don’t expect people to answer the question of “What’s the meaning of life” either. Instead, we get a top-tier mind wrestling with a subject worthy of it. We have a man with a simmering social conscience reflecting on what he’s learned over four decades of sifting through records that most people would lack the patience or imagination to deal with.
In this essay – and it really is an essay in the sense of being a work that finds its subject as it goes – Caro makes his work personal. He tells the amusing and inspiring story of how he migrated from investigative journalism into deep-dive biography, but he presents it as the consistent pursuit of the same impulse. Whether he’s commuting four hours a day (on highways that Moses constructed by crushing the powerless and bending to the powerful) for a first job or moving to Johnson’s Southern boyhood home for otherwise impossible to get material, he always looks to the ways some bully and some get bullied.
The star here is Caro’s voice. That’s magnified in the audiobook where he reads his own story in a great working-class New York accent, but it’s present in the prose, too. As a trained journalist, he never wastes words. As a man inspired to tell the tale of people who found themselves at the mercy of others, he tempers his outrage by reminding us of his own limits and by acknowledging that the work is so vast – so long, if you will – that he can’t let it consume him or his sense of humor.
This is a straightforward pleasure, and I come away from it feeling as if I have a new friend.
I’d like to read them, especially the Moses since it touches so much on the way cities get remade and reimagined in what’s largely an ethnic context. Still, it just seems so imposing. I’m sure I’d appreciate it, but I also think it would take a long time to find the particulars I’m interested in within the larger story he’s telling in the book.
And that brings me to this “book.” I use the quotes only because it’s such a short work, in many ways just an extended essay. But, above all, it’s an introduction to Caro’s work and to his abiding interest: how does political power shape our America, and how does wealth shape and inflect that power?
If Caro never quite answers that question, I can cut him some slack. I don’t expect people to answer the question of “What’s the meaning of life” either. Instead, we get a top-tier mind wrestling with a subject worthy of it. We have a man with a simmering social conscience reflecting on what he’s learned over four decades of sifting through records that most people would lack the patience or imagination to deal with.
In this essay – and it really is an essay in the sense of being a work that finds its subject as it goes – Caro makes his work personal. He tells the amusing and inspiring story of how he migrated from investigative journalism into deep-dive biography, but he presents it as the consistent pursuit of the same impulse. Whether he’s commuting four hours a day (on highways that Moses constructed by crushing the powerless and bending to the powerful) for a first job or moving to Johnson’s Southern boyhood home for otherwise impossible to get material, he always looks to the ways some bully and some get bullied.
The star here is Caro’s voice. That’s magnified in the audiobook where he reads his own story in a great working-class New York accent, but it’s present in the prose, too. As a trained journalist, he never wastes words. As a man inspired to tell the tale of people who found themselves at the mercy of others, he tempers his outrage by reminding us of his own limits and by acknowledging that the work is so vast – so long, if you will – that he can’t let it consume him or his sense of humor.
This is a straightforward pleasure, and I come away from it feeling as if I have a new friend.
December 16, 2017
This was a book I bought for $1 from Audible. In truth, I wasn't expecting much since I had never heard about Robert Caro, and the main reason I bought it was because I liked his voice. I find it quite clear and nice to listen to in truth. This experience was really similar to listening to a guest speaker at University and it wasn't boring or disappointing. This is a compilation of some speeches that summarize how Mr. Caro got started writing about political power, a little of what he has learned about politics from his reporting career, and what he has learned about himself. It was nice hearing how he and his wife researched his topics together and how he trusts and loves her for her support and ability to do research as well as he does. This is an interesting and enjoyable audiobook. I am now interested in the authors works that were described in this and plan to learn a bit more about his career and writings.
December 12, 2017
Robert Caro, author of groundbreaking, monumental biographies of Robert Moses and Lyndon Johnson, talks about the origins, creation, and use of political power. It's short (under two hours), insightful, funny, and enlightening. Caro talks about his own development as a reporter, researcher, and writer, including the experience of an early, temporary job as a speechwriter of an unnamed local political boss, which changed the direction of his career early on.
His views continued to grow and change as he researched his biography of Robert Moses, and as he later researched his biography of Lyndon Johnson. It's worth noting that the Johnson biography is currently four volumes, and he notes in this audiobook that he's now working on the fifth volume of this projected three-volume biography. The more he researches, the more he learns, and the more he has to say about political power, how it grows, how it is used, and how it affects every aspect of people's lives.
Highly recommended.
His views continued to grow and change as he researched his biography of Robert Moses, and as he later researched his biography of Lyndon Johnson. It's worth noting that the Johnson biography is currently four volumes, and he notes in this audiobook that he's now working on the fifth volume of this projected three-volume biography. The more he researches, the more he learns, and the more he has to say about political power, how it grows, how it is used, and how it affects every aspect of people's lives.
Highly recommended.
January 29, 2019
Captivating short story about the rise of a storied journalist, the master builder, and the wonder boy of politics. Caro has certainly captured my interest and appreciation for his writing style; I’ll be back for more.
May 20, 2021
A great short intro to Robert Caro, narrated by author with his enjoyable old-time New York accent. Has some autobiographical parts, some good explanations for the selection of Robert Moses and LBJ and some stories about them. Quite enjoyable.
December 15, 2017
Caro has done a great job of selling his books in this audio essay, adapted from a couple of speeches he has given. I have been putting off reading his books because they are so huge and intimidating. But after listening to Caro talk about how he came to write about two icons of power, Robert Moses and Lyndon Johnson, I can't wait to start them. If you haven't read his work, this is a nice place to start and get a feel for his style of writing and what motivates him. If you have read his work, I imagine this would be an interesting look behind the scenes of his research. Either way, an entertaining couple of hours!
January 24, 2018
A positively enchanting vignette read by Robert Caro. Perhaps the best way to describe this is as Caro's mini-intellectual history. He tells the story of his early days of journalism, how he came to write his great books on Robert Moses and Lyndon B. Johnson, and the themes across those books that motivated him. The glimpses into Caro's process and the lives and impact of both Moses and Johnson are captivating. Now I can't wait to read those books, whenever I find the time and bravery to dive into 1000+ pages.
January 31, 2022
This is a reading of an extended autobiographical essay (believe it was originally in the NY Review of Books) on Caros writing career (or at least the early part). It particularly focussed on how he came to be interested in the exercise of power, and the process of writing is biography of Robert Moses, then the early stages of his Lyndon Johnson biography. You get a real sense of his dedication and deep research. I would love to tackle one of these books, if only they were available on Kindle in New Zealand!
September 25, 2023
More of a long essay than a book. Still, Robert Caro has convinced me that I need to read his other books. Their purpose is to explore what political power means for those in the polity—both the good, like civil rights, and the bad, like Vietnam. Even after this short piece it is clear that reading Caro will remove the wool over your eyes about how power operates in the United States.
October 18, 2018
I had never heard of Robert Caro, but after listening to this short Audible Original, in which he talks about his (apparently very famous) volumes about New York tycoon Robert Moses, and Lyndon Johnson, damned if I don't want to.
Caro, in his very New Yawk accent, talks about how he, as an up-and-coming journalist in the late 60s and early 70s, woke to his desire to be a truth-teller and a crusader, an idealist who literally walked away from a cushy job when he realized it was cushy because it involved being a gear in the political machine that ran New York.
Then he went and wrote a book about Robert Moses, a very unflattering book, that exposed the enormous destruction of lives and property that could result from a powerful man deciding that he wants a freeway built, and it's just too inconvenient to move it a quarter mile south. Caro talks about power - how politics is power, and how he came to realize that the wonky, tedious details of how things are done, contained in balance sheets and old dusty record books, and today, in Excel spreadsheets and cloud storage, this is all bits and numbers and policy and it's boring until you realize that this is people's lives.
He also talks about his biography of Lyndon Johnson - how, as a city boy from New York, he wanted to tell the "real story" of LBJ's life, including his childhood in the Texas hill country, but when he went out there to interview people, no one would really open up to yet another "portable journalist," as they called guys like Caro, from the East Coast. So he actually moved to Texas to live in the hill country, and once they realized he was sticking around, that he was that interested in their stories, they started talking to him, and telling him things they hadn't told other biographers of the famous president.
Caro sounds like quite a guy, a real old-school journalist who came around just in time to capture a lost age (he was interviewing people who farmed on Long Island back in the Gilded Age of the 20s, and old women in their 80s and 90s who'd grown up in the Texas hill country before electricity) and carry it forward to present to the next generation.
This is just a tidbid of Caro's work, but I highly recommend it, and I'm definitely going to check out his books.
Caro, in his very New Yawk accent, talks about how he, as an up-and-coming journalist in the late 60s and early 70s, woke to his desire to be a truth-teller and a crusader, an idealist who literally walked away from a cushy job when he realized it was cushy because it involved being a gear in the political machine that ran New York.
Then he went and wrote a book about Robert Moses, a very unflattering book, that exposed the enormous destruction of lives and property that could result from a powerful man deciding that he wants a freeway built, and it's just too inconvenient to move it a quarter mile south. Caro talks about power - how politics is power, and how he came to realize that the wonky, tedious details of how things are done, contained in balance sheets and old dusty record books, and today, in Excel spreadsheets and cloud storage, this is all bits and numbers and policy and it's boring until you realize that this is people's lives.
He also talks about his biography of Lyndon Johnson - how, as a city boy from New York, he wanted to tell the "real story" of LBJ's life, including his childhood in the Texas hill country, but when he went out there to interview people, no one would really open up to yet another "portable journalist," as they called guys like Caro, from the East Coast. So he actually moved to Texas to live in the hill country, and once they realized he was sticking around, that he was that interested in their stories, they started talking to him, and telling him things they hadn't told other biographers of the famous president.
Caro sounds like quite a guy, a real old-school journalist who came around just in time to capture a lost age (he was interviewing people who farmed on Long Island back in the Gilded Age of the 20s, and old women in their 80s and 90s who'd grown up in the Texas hill country before electricity) and carry it forward to present to the next generation.
This is just a tidbid of Caro's work, but I highly recommend it, and I'm definitely going to check out his books.
November 30, 2018
This is less than 2-hour audible original in which Caro talks about how he became and author and how he came to write biographies of Robert Moses and Lyndon Johnson. How he came to write the biographies has a lot to do with figuring out what was behind each man's political power. He also explains how he came to write this biographies as biographies of the times the two men lived, as well as biographies of the individuals. While I haven't read Caro's book about Moses, I have read the four completed books of his planned trilogy about LBJ and, like many others, I so want to read volume five and was gratified to hear Caro say he was diligently working on it. Hopefully he will live to finish it and I will live to read it! I enjoyed this short audiobook, which was rather like reading a few essays. I did not appreciate how much Caro and his wife immerse themselves into the research and writing, to the extent that they actually moved to the Hill Country in Texas for a few years in order to really understand LBJ's childhood and early career. I liked that Caro pointed out what he thought were good and bad examples of the use of political power.
March 9, 2024
Basically a teaser across his two other tombs, The Power Broker and the Lyndon B Johnson series.
Caro made some points about the nature of power in general, but less than I expected from the preview. I got to understand why though, I think: the generalizable lessons are lifeless compared to textured anecdotes of how power is gained and wielded. Tellingly, I was most excited when the book dove into specific examples—I reckon I should read the full books.
I enjoyed that Caro gave the reader a sense of who he was as an author and what he saw himself doing. Hearing about his career arc, self-sacrifice (he sold his house for his 5 year book project and separately moved to the dessert for 3 years!) and his approach to humanizing the victims and beneficiaries of power was inspiring.
Caro made some points about the nature of power in general, but less than I expected from the preview. I got to understand why though, I think: the generalizable lessons are lifeless compared to textured anecdotes of how power is gained and wielded. Tellingly, I was most excited when the book dove into specific examples—I reckon I should read the full books.
I enjoyed that Caro gave the reader a sense of who he was as an author and what he saw himself doing. Hearing about his career arc, self-sacrifice (he sold his house for his 5 year book project and separately moved to the dessert for 3 years!) and his approach to humanizing the victims and beneficiaries of power was inspiring.
January 16, 2018
An Audible exclusive, less than 2 hours. Although it has the weighty name "On Power" this is really a personal reminiscence by Caro of how he came to write massive biographes of Robert Moses and Lyndon Baines Johnson (ongoing) and what he learned upon the way. He discusses how power can accomplish great good, but also cause great harm using examples he found in his research. Caro is not a professional narrator (he often steps back too far from the mike and has a classic NYC accent) but he grows on you. He would appear to be an interesting guy to hear speak or meet at a party.
March 14, 2018
"On Power" is really an extended essay in which Robert Caro talks about his early career and how he came to choose the topics that he has written about for the past forty years. He is a fascinating raconteur, bringing a very human and humane sense to his writing. The essay's main concern is how he came to see important political issues in the lives of larger than life people. How political power is wielded, for good and ill, is something to should concern us all.
Highly recommended. Now I just need to find time to read (or listen) to his book on Lyndon Johnson.
Highly recommended. Now I just need to find time to read (or listen) to his book on Lyndon Johnson.
June 20, 2018
Wow, this was a wonderful little memoir on what it takes to write history and to find a mission in your writing. It has really encouraged me to get back to that dissertation and try to get it published. CI also want to read his LBJ series.
January 12, 2019
A short, compelling discussion of how he came to study political power and why it matters (it affects people lives for good or ill!). Caro's books on Robert Moses and LBJ are monsters, and I've been getting my motivation up to tackle them for years. I like Caro's narrative voice and his storytelling style, so I think this has pushed me to finally start them.
October 9, 2022
We sometimes forget that power can be used for good too.
January 22, 2018
Really enjoyed this short audio book narrated by Robert Caro. Fascinating glimpse into the lives of the Robert Moses and Lyndon Johnson, and into Caro's creative process and development as a writer.
October 17, 2018
It is a very quick read about Robert Caro's path to visualizing the role of power and brokering power in United States politics. I have found it very relevant.
June 7, 2025
Always amazing historical storytelling.
December 16, 2024
Pretty cool
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