Robert Caro - Working: Researching, Interviewing, Writing

Robert Caro details the meticulous research methods behind his seminal works on political power, *The Power Broker* and his Lyndon Johnson biography series. Central to his process is the commitment to "turn every page," a philosophy that led him to live in the Texas Hill Country and physically reconstruct historical scenes to understand his subjects' motivations. Caro emphasizes that true power often operates outside the ballot box, as seen in Robert Moses’s unelected control over New York’s infrastructure and Johnson’s mastery of the Senate. By prioritizing primary source documentation—such as uncovering excised college yearbook pages—and utilizing longhand drafting to ensure deliberate thought, he reveals the complex, often hidden mechanisms of governance. His work transforms biography into a study of how individuals shape the landscape of American political history through relentless, calculated ambition.