Biography

Relentless research, fevered rewrites, endless edits ~ plus a coat and tie

By Don Nelson• Story Craft• October 15, 2019

If there were no Robert Caro, he could not easily be invented. Consider the job description: Commit your career to exhaustive research into the lives of two legendarily powerful men, produce a tome every eight or 10 or 12 … Read more

“No single gesture would do more to demonstrate continuity and stability — to show that the government of the United States would continue to function without interruption despite the assassination of the man who sat at its head — and to legitimize the transition: to prove that the transfer of power had been orderly, proper, in accordance with the Constitution; to remove, in the eyes of the world, any taint of usurpation; to dampen, so far as possible, suspicion of complicity by him in the deed; to show that the family of the man he was succeeding bore him no ill will and supported him, than the attendance at this swearing-in ceremony of the late President’s widow.”

By Roy Peter Clark• One Great Sentence• February 7, 2018

Why is it great? The great presidential biographer Robert Caro has proved countless times that he understands the power of a short sentence.  His description of the instant in Dallas that changed LBJ’s — and America’s — life forever is … Read more