Robert Caro Quotes

A collection of quotes by Robert Caro.

Robert Caro is an acclaimed American biographer and journalist, born on October 30, 1935, in New York City. He gained worldwide recognition for his extensive and meticulously researched biographies of two influential political figures, Robert Moses and Lyndon B. Johnson.

Caro began his career as a reporter for the New Brunswick Home News and later worked for Newsday. In 1974, he released his first book, "The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York," for which he received the Pulitzer Prize. This groundbreaking work delved into the life and political career of Robert Moses, exploring his immense power and influence in shaping modern-day New York City.

Caro continued his exploration of political power in his multi-volume biography of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The series began with "The Path to Power" in 1982 and has since included three more volumes. These books detail Johnson's rise to power, his turbulent presidency, and his role in implementing civil rights legislation.

Known for his exhaustive research methods and attention to detail, Caro often spends years immersing himself in the subjects of his biographies. He has received numerous awards and accolades for his work, including multiple Pulitzer Prizes, National Book Critics Circle Awards, and the National Humanities Medal.

Throughout his career, Caro has provided readers with profound insights into the lives of influential figures, shedding light on the complex nature of political power and its impact on society.

I never wanted to do biography just to tell the life of a fa

I never wanted to do biography just to tell the life of a famous man. I always wanted to use the life of a man to examine political power, because democracy shapes our lives.

Robert Caro


I don't think of my books as being biographies. I never had

I don't think of my books as being biographies. I never had any interest in doing a book just to write the life of a great man. I had zero interest in that. My interest is in power. How power works.

Robert Caro

Life Work Power Man

At the ballet, you really feel like you're in the presence o

At the ballet, you really feel like you're in the presence of something outside the rest of your life. Higher than the rest of your life.

Robert Caro

Life Rest

There used to be this feeling under Eisenhower and Kennedy a

There used to be this feeling under Eisenhower and Kennedy and Roosevelt and Truman that government was a solution. Trust in the presidency fell precipitously under Johnson - real lows. And it's never come back. It's a trend that, if you're liberal, is really discouraging.

Robert Caro

Trust

I really wanted there to be something in my life that I enjo

I really wanted there to be something in my life that I enjoy just for the beauty of it.

Robert Caro

Beauty

Yes I am, I am also a Muslim, a Christian, a Buddhist, and a

Yes I am, I am also a Muslim, a Christian, a Buddhist, and a Jew.

Mahatma Gandhi

Theater

The New York City Ballet is obviously speaking to a whole ne

The New York City Ballet is obviously speaking to a whole new generation and bringing it the same wonder and beauty that it brought previous generations.

Robert Caro

Beauty

Now, for this book I had to learn the world of the Senate, w

Now, for this book I had to learn the world of the Senate, which is really for all that's written about the Senate, an unknowing world and its mores, and the way things work with subcommittees and all. I loved learning about that.

Robert Caro

Learning

You know, my first three or four drafts, you can see, are on

You know, my first three or four drafts, you can see, are on legal pads in long hand. And then I go to a typewriter, and I know everybody's switching to a computer. And I'm sort of laughed at.

Robert Caro

Legal

I am trying to make clear through my writing something which

I am trying to make clear through my writing something which I believe: that biography- history in general- can be literature in the deepest and highest sense of that term.

Robert Caro

History