Working
Researching, Interviewing, Writing
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4.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $18.99
Publisher Description
Robert A. Caro is one of the most acclaimed writers of his generation, whose landmark biographies are widely hailed as masterpieces.
This is the captivating account of his life as a writer, describing the sometimes staggering lengths to which he has gone in order to produce his books and offering priceless insights into the craft of non-fiction writing, be it the pursuit of truth, the writer's process, the art of interviewing or the creation of literature.
Including several of Caro's most famous speeches and interviews as well as new material, this is the self-portrait of a man who knows the meaning and importance of great story-telling - and, like all his books, is an utterly riveting example of that too.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
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.)
