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Robert Allan Caro

ロバート・アラン・カーロ

Robert Allan Caro

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1935-10-30 （New York City, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Judaism
Residence History
New York City (Manhattan) → Riverdale, Bronx (attended Horace Mann School) → East Hampton (writing base) → Rural Texas (temporary residence for research) → Washington, D.C. (research stays)

Career

Occupations
Biographer, Journalist
Active Years
1957-
Affiliations
Newsday (reporter), Alfred A. Knopf (publisher), New‑York Historical Society (archive recipient)
Memberships
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Letters, New‑York Historical Society (honorary association)
Influenced By
Leo Tolstoy, Edward Gibbon
Influenced
Taylor Branch, David Maraniss, David McCullough, William T. Vollmann

Education

Horace Mann School
Period: 〜1953
Year of Graduation: 1953
Country: United States
Preparatory school (secondary education)
Princeton University
Undergraduate (English) / English
Degree: BA
Period: 1953–1957
Year of Graduation: 1957
Country: United States
Graduated cum laude. His unusually long senior thesis led the department to set a maximum length rule sometimes called the 'Caro rule'.

Awards

Pulitzer Prize (Biography)
1975
Work: The Power Broker
Category: 伝記
Organization: Pulitzer Prize Committee (Columbia University)
Result: 受賞
Pulitzer Prize (Biography)
2003
Work: Master of the Senate
Category: 伝記
Organization: Pulitzer Prize Committee (Columbia University)
Result: 受賞
National Book Award
2002
Work: Master of the Senate
Category: ノンフィクション（単行本）
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: 受賞
National Humanities Medal
2010
Organization: President of the United States (National Endowment for the Humanities)
Result: 受賞
Francis Parkman Prize
1975
Work: The Power Broker
Organization: Society of American Historians
Result: 受賞
Gold Medal in Biography, American Academy of Arts and Letters
1986
Organization: American Academy of Arts and Letters
Result: 受賞
BIO Award (Biographers International Organization)
2011
Organization: Biographers International Organization
Result: 受賞
National Book Award (Lifetime Achievement)
2016
Category: 生涯業績
Organization: National Book Foundation
Result: 受賞
New‑York Historical Society exhibition
2021
Work: Robert Caro archive exhibition 'Turn Every Page'
Organization: New‑York Historical Society
Result: 展示
Authors Guild Foundation's Preston Award
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 / Nonfiction

A major biography of New York urban planner Robert Moses that traces how Moses accumulated unelected power; combines exhaustive research with narrative history and examines the social impact of his projects.

Acquisition of powerUrban planning and public worksDemocracy and governance
Adaptations
  • [Film/visual (influence)] Motherless Brooklyn (inspired in part) / Edward Norton (2019)

The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Path to Power

1982 Biography / History 882 pages

Covers Lyndon B. Johnson's early life up to his failed 1941 Senate campaign, tracing his formative years and early political career in depth.

Origins of political powerTexas politicsIndividual biography and the state

The Years of Lyndon Johnson: Means of Ascent

1990 Biography / History 506 pages

Covers the late 1940s and Johnson's rise to the Senate, focusing on electoral tactics and methods of gaining power.

Electoral practicesPolitical maneuveringAmbition

The Years of Lyndon Johnson: Master of the Senate

2002 Biography / History 1167 pages

Details Johnson's dominance as Senate Majority Leader and how he used personnel and legislative skill to consolidate power.

Control of legislationPolitical craftsmanshipExercise of power

The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Passage of Power

2012 Biography / History 752 pages

Covers the 1960 election, Johnson's vice presidency, the JFK assassination and Johnson's early presidency—examining transitions of power and policy decisions.

Transition of powerPolicy formationReexamination of historical events

Working

2019 Essays / On writing 240 pages

A semi-memoir of essays on research, interviewing and writing, focusing on practical craft and his methods.

Research methodsWriting craftCollaboration with editors

Bibliography

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

  • Documentary 'Turn Every Page: The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb' (2022)
  • Film 'Motherless Brooklyn' (2019) — contains elements inspired by The Power Broker

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Narrative nonfiction built on exhaustive archival research and interviewsLong-form, story-driven historical writing
Recurring Motifs
Origins and exercise of powerInteraction between individuals and institutionsPolitical maneuvering and ethics

Legacy

Robert Caro is one of the most important contemporary biographers, known for exhaustive archival research and detailed interviews focused on the study of power. His work has influenced many writers and is valued both academically and as narrative literature.

Museums

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

Academic Societies

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

Archives

  • Robert Caro's archive acquired by the New‑York Historical Society (acquired 2020)

In Popular Culture

  • Documentary 'Turn Every Page' highlights his collaboration with editor Robert Gottlieb
  • The film 'Motherless Brooklyn' contains elements inspired by 'The Power Broker'

Quotes

  • I think about Robert Caro and reading The Power Broker back when I was 22 years old and just being mesmerized; I'm sure it helped to shape how I think about politics.
    Source: President Barack Obama (remarks at National Humanities Medal ceremony) (2010)

Trivia

  • He has long used Smith Corona typewriters for drafting his books.
  • His wife Ina Caro sold their home and took a teaching job to help finance his work on The Power Broker.
  • His unusually long senior thesis at Princeton led the department to establish a maximum length rule sometimes referred to as the 'Caro rule'.