Working

Starred review from February 25, 2019
In this superb collection of original and previously published pieces, Pulitzer winner Caro (The Passage of Power) offers a glimpse into the process behind his epic biographies of Robert Moses and Lyndon Johnson. Writing with customary humor, grace, and vigor, Caro wryly acknowledges the question of “Why does it take so long” to produce each book. Caro provides both the short answer—intensive research—and a longer, illuminating explication of just what that entails. For example, he tracked down individual people displaced by Moses’s building projects; he followed the trail of money to uncover how Johnson attained influence in Congress while still a relative unknown; he moved to Johnson’s hometown in rural Texas and gained the trust and of its residents, who shared untold stories with him. Caro began his career in journalism and credits his Newsday editor for two crucial pieces of investigative advice: “Turn every page” and find a way to get the information one needs. The results may take longer, but, as readers of Caro’s work know, it is always worth the wait. For the impatient, however, this lively combination of memoir and non-fiction writing will help sate their appetite for new writing from Caro until the arrival of his final, still-in-progress Johnson biography. Agent: Lynn Nesbit, Janklow & Nesbit.

As an audiobook performer, Robert Caro doesn't display much polish, but there could be no finer voice for describing his career as an investigative writer. Caro, the esteemed biographer of Robert Moses and Lyndon Johnson, portrays the painstaking research and years of writing and rewriting behind his books in a voice that is pure New York City: "sawer" for "saw" and "idear" for "idea," and special thanks to his wife, "Iner." That distinctive, indigenous voice transforms what would have been a stray assembly of reminiscences, old interviews, and magazine pieces into a compelling narrative of the writerly life. The work strays and sometimes goes back over the same details. But Caro is 82, and the story he tells is an inspiration to every would-be writer, told with authenticity--and artistry--that no polish could enhance. D.A.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine