Home / Authors / Robert Caro

Robert Caro

Robert Caro Quotes

Journalist

Robert Caro is an American journalist and author renowned for his in-depth research into political figures and history. His work is known for its thorough investigation and analytical depth, particularly his biographical series on U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Filter quotes by topic

All Ballet Political Writing Book Ifs Johnson Years Believe Biographies Democracy

Famous Robert Caro Quotes

“There is a time to fish and a time to mend nets.”

Bible Sam Rayburn The Path To Power

Author:Robert Caro

“He [Robert Moses] built parks and playgrounds with a lavish hand, but they were parks and playgrounds for the rich and comfortable...Recreation facilities for the poor he doled out like a miser.”

Parks Infrastructure Rich And Poor Nyc History Robert Moses Robert Caro Parks And Playgrounds Power Broker

Author:Robert Caro

“Whenever I go to work I wear a jacket and a tie, because I'm inherently quite lazy, and my books take so long to do, and my publishers don't bug me, so it's so easy to fool yourself into thinking you're working harder than you really are.”

Thinking Long Book Easy Fool Harder Ties Lazy Publishers Bugs Jackets

Author:Robert Caro

“Power doesn't always corrupt. Power can cleanse. What I believe is always true about power is that power always reveals.”

Believe I Believe Absolute Power Power Corrupts Corrupt Power Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely

Author:Robert Caro

“Among the reasons that you go into journalism, I suppose, are some rather idealistic, even foolish reasons. In my case one of the reasons was I wanted to explain how things really work, how political power really works.”

Reason Wanted Political Cases Foolish Journalism Political Power Idealistic

Author:Robert Caro

“You can lose a reader in a blink of an eye. If a person is an engineer or chemist or an anthropologist or whatever, you spoil the whole book for that person if there's obviously ignorance here. What's wrong with so much science fiction is that the science is so lousy that it isn't worth paying attention to.”

Ifs Persons Book Whole Eye Loses Attention Fiction Ignorance Reader Science Fiction Pay Attention Engineers Spoil Blink Chemist Anthropologists Blink Of An Eye

Author:Robert Caro

“To my mind, the prose in a non-fiction work that's going to endure has to be of the same quality as the prose in a work of fiction that endures.”

Mind Fiction Quality Endure Prose Non Fiction

Author:Robert Caro

“I've always felt that no one understands why some books of non-fiction endure and some don't, because there's not much understanding among many non-fiction writers that the narrative is terribly important.”

Important Book Felt Understanding Fiction Endure Narrative Non Fiction Fiction Writers

Author:Robert Caro

“You have to be an extremely good reader to appreciate what a good writer is. There are some people who are completely insensitive to good writing.”

People Writing Reader Appreciate Good Writing Good Writers Insensitive

Author:Robert Caro

“There's a theory, and I think the theory is right, that in order to make a change you've got to make the whole language of the page harmonious. Well, that's a lot easier with a computer.”

Thinking Wells Whole Order Language Theory Easier Computer Pages Making Changes Harmonious

Author:Robert Caro

“I write from seven to about noon. I used to try to write longer, but I read and I found that I was always getting myself tired by working in the afternoon and then I was just throwing out what I wrote in the afternoon, so writing then was counterproductive.”

Writing Trying Used Found Tired Seven Throwing Afternoon Noon Counterproductive

Author:Robert Caro

“My interest is in power. How power works.”

Author:Robert Caro

“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.”

Ifs Real Feelings Government Used Solutions Lows Used To Be Trends Presidency Johnson Discouraging Truman

Author:Robert Caro

“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.”

Feels Like You Higher Ballet Rest Of Your Life

Author:Robert Caro

“Everyone believed the Senate could not really be led. It used to take so long to rise up through seniority. In two years Lyndon Johnson is assistant leader of his party. In four years he is the leader of his party.”

Years Long Two Used Party Leader Four Two Years Four Years Senate Johnson Assistants Seniority

Author:Robert Caro

“In a democracy, supposedly we hold power by what we do at the ballot box, so therefore the more we know about political power the better our choices should be and the better, in theory, our democracy should be.”

Knows Should Political Choices Democracy Theory Boxes Ballots Political Power Our Choices

Author:Robert Caro

“Sometimes during a ballet I'll look around and see all these rows of intent faces, concentrating on this beautiful thing up on the stage.”

Looks Sometimes Beautiful Faces Stage Ballet Beautiful Things Concentrating

Author:Robert Caro

“You can use a biography to examine political power, but only if you pick the right guy.”

Ifs Use Political Guy Picks Biographies Political Power Right Guy

Author:Robert Caro

“The ballet embodies the notes of music. And sometimes you almost feel like you can see the notes dance up there on the stage.”

Inspirational Feels Sometimes Stage Like You Dance Notes Ballet

Author:Robert Caro

“Herman Brown was a businessman who wanted value for money spent. His relationships with politicians were measured by that criterion.”

Wanted Political Values Politics Politician Brown Businessman Criteria

Book:The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The path to power

Source: The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The path to power

“We're taught Lord Acton's axiom: all power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. I believed that when I started these books, but I don't believe it's always true any more. Power doesn't always corrupt. Power can cleanse. What I believe is always true about power is that power always reveals.”

Believe Book I Believe Lord Taught Absolutes Don't Believe Axioms Absolute Power Power Corrupts Corrupt Power Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely

Author:Robert Caro

“As you get older, you sometimes feel that it's harder and harder to get something new and wonderful to come into your life.”

Feels Sometimes Wonderful Harder Something New

Author:Robert Caro

“Every president has to live with the result of what Lyndon Johnson did with Vietnam, when he lost the trust of the American people in the presidency.”

People Lost President Results Vietnam Presidency Johnson

Author:Robert Caro

“Everything seems to be going faster and faster. It's really harder to create something that endures. The New York City Ballet has succeeded in doing that.”

Seems Cities New York Harder Endure Faster New York City Ballet

Author:Robert Caro

“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.”

Writing Trying Believe Literature I Believe Term Clear Highest Biographies

Author:Robert Caro

“I deliberately made an effort not to become an expert on the ballet.”

Made Effort Experts Ballet

Author:Robert Caro

“Ballet is sort of a mystery to me. And I don't want to unravel that mystery.”

Want Mystery Ballet

Author:Robert Caro

“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.”

Thinking Men Writing Book Interest Great Men Zero Biographies

Author:Robert Caro

“I like new ballets because they're totally new. As you get older, new experiences are harder and harder to come by, so it's pretty great to have a new experience.”

Harder New Experiences

Author:Robert Caro

“The moment the curtain rose on that first ballet, I knew something wonderful and new had come into my life. I can still see the first scene. The ballet was Divertimento No. 15”

Firsts Stills I Can Moments Wonderful Scene Rose Ballet Curtains

Author:Robert Caro

“Lyndon Johnson, as majority leader of the United States Senate, he made the Senate work”

Made States United Leader United States Majority Senate Johnson Majority Leader

Author:Robert Caro

“You come in off the street, through the doors of the theater. You sit down. The lights go down and the curtain goes up. And you're in another world”

World Light Doors Streets Theater Down And Curtains Another World

Author:Robert Caro

“My predictions are notably inaccurate”

Author:Robert Caro

“The Senate is an unknowing world”

World Senate Unknowing

Author:Robert Caro

“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”

Men Use Wanted Political Democracy Our Lives Shapes Biographies Political Power

Author:Robert Caro

“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”

Whole Cities Talking Wonder Generations New York New York City Ballet New Generation Previous Generations

Author:Robert Caro

“I sometimes feel that if your book sells more than 20 years, then there's something in it that you can say, gee, I did something that endures, that's timeless”

Ifs Feels Years Book Sometimes Sells Endure Timeless

Author:Robert Caro

“Robert Moses wasn't elected to anything. We're taught that in a democracy power comes from being elected. He had more power than anyone, and he held it for 48 years”

Years Democracy Taught Moses

Author:Robert Caro

“I was trying to learn about Lyndon Johnson when he was young and creating his first political machine in the Texas hill country. I moved there for three years. You had to learn that world”

World Trying Years Firsts Country Young Political Three Creating Machines Moved Hills Texas Three Years Johnson

Author:Robert Caro

“I trained myself to be organized.”

Author:Robert Caro

“Nobody believes this, but I write very fast.”

Writing Believe

Author:Robert Caro

“I try to have a mood or a rhythm for a chapter.”

Trying Mood Rhythm Chapters

Author:Robert Caro

“I never went to a ballet until I was 45 years old. I don't know why.”

Knows Years Ballet

Author:Robert Caro

“The right of a minority is so important in a democracy.”

Important Democracy Minorities

Author:Robert Caro

“I think President Obama has done more than he is given credit for.”

Thinking Done Given President Credit President Obama

Author:Robert Caro

“I used to work very long hours. Then I started to realize that the stuff that I was writing in the late afternoons, I was generally throwing out. So I quit earlier than I used to.”

Writing Long Used Stuff Realizing Hours Late Quitting Throwing Afternoon I Quit Long Hours Late Afternoon

Author:Robert Caro

“If it's coming near the end of a chapter and I'm really getting into it, I tend to get up earlier and earlier, just because I'm excited to get to work.”

Ifs Ends Excited Get Up Chapters

Author:Robert Caro

“If things are going well, if the writing's coming along, I jump out of bed happy. And if the previous day has been bad, I get out of bed disgruntled.”

Ifs Writing Wells Has Beens Bed Disgruntled

Author:Robert Caro

“Someday a political genius will come along and make the Senate work.”

Political Genius Someday Senate

Author:Robert Caro

“There's a feeling about it. You feel almost like a cabinetmaker, laying planks. There's a real feeling when you know you're getting it right. It's a physical feeling.”

Knows Real Feelings Real Feelings

Author:Robert Caro

About the Author

Born: October 30, 1935
Known for: Journalist
Quotes: 50

Related Topics

Ballet Political Writing Book Ifs Johnson Years Believe Biographies Democracy

Popular Topics

People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The path to powerRelated source material

Similar Authors

Jean-Georges NoverreBrowse related quotes
Suzanne FarrellBrowse related quotes
Misty CopelandBrowse related quotes
Richard SaundersBrowse related quotes
Marius PetipaBrowse related quotes
Kevin McKenzieBrowse related quotes
John Francis WallerBrowse related quotes
Svetlana ZakharovaBrowse related quotes
Alonzo KingBrowse related quotes
John GuareBrowse related quotes