Working: Researching, Interviewing, Writing

This is absolute candy for me. Caro, the buttoned-up, indefatigable biographer of Robert Moses and—in five volumes—Lyndon Johnson, has, in his 80s, become a cultural hero weighted with some of the same admiration we place on hardworking throwbacks like Vin Scully, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Robert Mueller. In this anecdotal working memoir he embraces his identity, sharing his patient and creative methods—"turn every page!"—for unearthing the untold stories behind his subjects' lives and the lives of those they effected. Fascinating and entertaining for anyone who has read (or, like me, has always aspired to read) any of Caro's giant volumes, but also a wonderful self-portrait for anyone else who is interested in a life tirelessly devoted to a worthy vocation.