Gothamist scored this wonderful interview with legendary writer Robert Caro. Most of the questions are about “The Power Broker,” Caro’s landmark biography of Robert Moses, but I particularly liked this exchange in which Caro talks about the demands of writing on a deadline, especially as seen through the lens of publishing in the Internet age.
You’ve said that you were able to uncover some of your best material in “The Power Broker” and in your LBJ series by being incredibly thorough—“time equals truth,” and “turn the page.” For someone who writes on the Internet, how do you uncover truth on a weekly basis? Or an hourly basis?
That’s what I hated about being a reporter. I liked a lot of—in fact, I was just talking to my wife and I said I’d give anything to take a year off and go back to being a general assignment reporter.
Why don’t you?
Yeah but I’m worried I’m not gonna finish the books now. I don’t wanna waste time doing articles. I love being a reporter. But the thing I didn’t like was you were always having to write when you still had more questions in your mind. I remember that feeling.
Read the full interview at gothamist.com.
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