Robert Caro on Cutting 350,000 Words From The Power Broker
Robert Caro cut 350,000 words from The Power Broker to keep it in one volume. Here is what he learned about ruthless editing and research archives.
What Robert Caro learned about power after studying it for 50 years
With Dwarkesh Patel, Robert Caro · Sunday, November 1, 2026
Biographer Robert Caro joins Dwarkesh Patel to discuss the nature of political power, examining the careers and ruthless determination of Robert Moses and Lyndon B. Johnson. Caro reflects on his exhaustive research process, cutting hundreds of thousands of words from manuscripts, and how the isolation required for long-form biographical work has shaped his life.
Key takeaways
- Robert Caro and editor Robert Gottlieb removed 350,000 words from the original 1,050,000-word draft of The Power Broker to physically fit the book into a single binding. Read more →
- Robert Caro refuses to draft a single word of a multi-year biography until he visualizes the complete arc of the book from start to finish. Read more →
2 articles from this episode
Robert Caro: Get the Entire Book Down to One Sentence
Robert Caro explains how distilling a 10-year project into a single sentence prevents aimless drafting and keeps long-form work cohesive.
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