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Robert A. Caro

ロバート・A・カロ

Robāto A. Karo

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1935-10-30 （New York City, United States）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Judaism
Residence History
New York City (Upper West Side / Central Park West) → Long Island, New York → East Hampton, New York (working residence) → Texas (temporary residence for research) → Washington, D.C. (research stays)

Career

Occupations
Biographer, Journalist, Author
Active Years
1957-
Memberships
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Letters, Biographers International Organization (BIO)
Influenced By
Leo Tolstoy, Edward Gibbon, Tradition of investigative reporting and long-form archival fieldwork
Influenced
David McCullough, Taylor Branch, David J. Garrow, Numerous contemporary biographers often described as 'Caro-esque'

Education

Princeton University
English
Degree: BA (cum laude)
Period: 1953–1957
Year of Graduation: 1957
Country: United States
Senior thesis was unusually long; Princeton's English department later instituted a maximum thesis length informally known as the 'Caro rule'.
Rutgers University (brief graduate enrollment)
English (brief enrollment; served as teaching assistant)
Period: 1957–1958（短期）
Country: United States
Briefly enrolled in the doctoral program and worked as a teaching assistant; did not obtain a degree.
Harvard University (Nieman Fellow)
Journalism-related program
Period: 1965–1966（ニーマン奨学金）
Country: United States
1965–1966 Nieman Fellowship; study of urban planning and land use influenced research for The Power Broker.
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism (Carnegie Fellowship)
Journalism
Period: 1967–1968（Carnegie Fellowship）
Country: United States
Carnegie Fellowship during research for The Power Broker.

Awards

Pulitzer Prize for Biography
1975
Work: The Power Broker
Organization: The Pulitzer Prizes
Result: 受賞
Pulitzer Prize for Biography
2003
Work: Master of the Senate
Organization: The Pulitzer Prizes
Result: 受賞
National Book Award
2002
Work: Master of the Senate
Category: ノンフィクション
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: 受賞
National Humanities Medal
2010
Organization: The White House / National Endowment for the Humanities (award presented by the President)
Result: 受賞
Francis Parkman Prize
1975
Work: The Power Broker
Organization: Society of American Historians
Result: 受賞
National Book Critics Circle Award (Best Nonfiction)
1982
Work: The Path to Power
Organization: National Book Critics Circle
Result: 受賞
National Book Award (Lifetime Achievement)
2016
Category: 生涯業績
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: 受賞
Authors Guild Foundation's Preston Award for Distinguished Service to the Literary Community
2025
Organization: Authors Guild Foundation
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York

1974 Biography / Urban history 1344 pages

A landmark biography of New York city planner Robert Moses that examines how he acquired and wielded power, analyzing projects and urban transformation to reveal the reality of unelected power in a democracy.

Acquisition and use of powerUrban planningEffects of public policy
Adaptations
  • [Film (inspiration)] Motherless Brooklyn (inspired by themes) / Edward Norton (2019)

The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Path to Power

1982 Biography / Political history 882 pages

Covers Lyndon B. Johnson's early life up to his 1941 Senate campaign defeat, tracing the formative steps in his acquisition of political power.

Political ambitionLocal politicsFormation of power

The Years of Lyndon Johnson: Means of Ascent

1990 Biography / Political history 506 pages

Chronicles Johnson's political comeback after 1941 through his controversial 1948 Senate victory, examining methods and ethical questions in acquiring power.

Electoral fraud and manipulationPolitical maneuvering

The Years of Lyndon Johnson: Master of the Senate

2002 Biography / Political history 1167 pages

Details Johnson's rise in the Senate and his dominance as Senate Majority Leader, analyzing legislative processes and the exercise of political influence.

Legislation and powerParty control

The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Passage of Power

2012 Biography / Political history 752 pages

Covers the 1960 election, Johnson's vice presidency, the JFK assassination and Johnson's early presidency, depicting the transition and use of power.

Transition of powerPresidential authority

Working

2019 Nonfiction / Essays 240 pages

A semi-memoir of observations on research, interviewing, and the craft of writing and editing.

Research techniquesCraft of writing

Bibliography

  • The Power Broker (1974)
  • The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Path to Power (1982)
  • The Years of Lyndon Johnson: Means of Ascent (1990)
  • The Years of Lyndon Johnson: Master of the Senate (2002)
  • The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Passage of Power (2012)
  • Working (2019)

Adaptations

  • Turn Every Page: The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb (documentary, 2022)
  • Motherless Brooklyn (2019) — inspired in part by themes from The Power Broker

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Narrative history built upon exhaustive primary-source research and meticulous archival workA weighty style formed by years of sustained field research
Recurring Motifs
Origins and exercise of powerInteraction between political structures and individualsInterplay of city planning and policy

Legacy

Through years of exhaustive research and detailed writing, he became a defining figure in modern biography, influencing both scholarly and general readers and spawning the adjective 'Caro-esque' to describe similar exhaustive biographical methods.

Museums

  • New-York Historical Society (Robert Caro Working exhibition) Manhattan, New York City Opened in 2021

Academic Societies

  • American Academy of Arts and Letters
  • American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Archives

  • New-York Historical Society (complete Robert A. Caro archive)

In Popular Culture

  • Edward Norton's film Motherless Brooklyn (2019) is noted as partly inspired by themes from The Power Broker.
  • The 2022 documentary Turn Every Page portrays his collaboration with editor Robert Gottlieb and popularized Caro's working methods.

Quotes

  • "Turn every goddamn page."
    Source: Advice from Alan Hathway, editor at Newsday (symbolic of Caro's research philosophy)
  • "History is a narrative. If you are not telling a story, you are not being faithful to history."
    Source: Interview quoted in The New York Times Magazine (2002)

Trivia

  • He insists on writing drafts longhand on specific legal pads and types manuscripts on Smith Corona Electra 210 typewriters, keeping many in reserve.
  • His wife Ina sold their house and took a teaching job to financially support his research for The Power Broker.
  • His unusually long senior thesis at Princeton led the English department to institute a maximum thesis length informally known as the 'Caro rule'.