How does Robert Caro plan a biography before he starts writing?

Robert Caro says he thinks a whole book through to the end before writing, then forces himself to state what the book is about in one sentence or at most a paragraph, and hangs everything on that. He learned this by not doing it on The Power Broker. He admits he can never be sure he is on the right track over years of work, but the sentence keeps him from losing the thread three years in.

• Caro said digital archives now help him locate oral histories, such as those on the Ia Drang battle, but finding documents is small next to reading them.
• Caro turns off his phone each morning and returns calls only at the end of the day to protect his concentration.

▸In their words

“You got to get it down to one sentence.” Robert Caro · at 42:34 — open in the transcript →

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on Dwarkesh Podcast (2026-10-30). Read the whole episode summary →

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