You can use a biography to examine political power, but only if you pick the right guy. Robert Caro More Quotes by Robert Caro More Quotes From Robert Caro Power doesn't always corrupt. Power can cleanse. What I believe is always true about power is that power always reveals. Robert Caro corrupt-powerpower-corruptsbelieve 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. Robert Caro rest-of-your-lifeballetlike-you 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 Robert Caro democracypoliticalmen 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 Robert Caro lightdoorsworld 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 Robert Caro taughtdemocracyyears 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. Robert Caro taughtbelievebook 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 Robert Caro citiesnew-yorktalking 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. Robert Caro realknowsfeelings 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. Robert Caro eyeignorancebook 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. Robert Caro zerowritingbook 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. Robert Caro partytwoyears The right of a minority is so important in a democracy. Robert Caro minoritiesdemocracyimportant 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 Robert Caro sometimesbookyears 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. Robert Caro qualitymindfiction 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. Robert Caro tiredwritingtrying 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 Robert Caro balletrosefirsts 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. Robert Caro journalismpoliticalreason 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. Robert Caro appreciatewritingpeople Herman Brown was a businessman who wanted value for money spent. His relationships with politicians were measured by that criterion. Robert Caro politicianpoliticspolitical 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 Robert Caro creatingtexascountry
