Re-Noted: Robert Caro's Cork Board - by Jillian Hess

On September 16th, 1974 a young journalist published his first book. It quickly became a modern classic, earning him the Pulitzer Prize among other accolades. The Power Broker remains one of the best books ever written about New York. As we celebrate its fiftieth anniversary, I thought it appropriate to share one of Noted’s earliest posts—on the notes Robert Caro took while writing his magisterial histories. If you want to publish award-winning history books that total well over 1,000 pages each, you’ve got to have an organizational system. Unsurprisingly, Robert Caro’s got one. We, mere mortals, can glimpse it by reading his most recent book, Working. Or, by visiting the New York Historical Society, which has an ongoing exhibit on Caro’s methods. Even though his readers usually have to wait at least 10 years between books, Caro jokes that he’s actually a very fast writer. It’s the research that takes forever. And the research takes so long because Caro has a deep appreciation for trut

On September 16th, 1974 a young journalist published his first book. It quickly became a modern classic, earning him the Pulitzer Prize among other accolades. The Power Broker remains one of the best books ever written about New York. As we celebrate its fiftieth anniversary, I thought it appropriate to share one of Noted’s earliest posts—on the notes Robert Caro took while writing his magisterial histories. If you want to publish award-winning history books that total well over 1,000 pages each, you’ve got to have an organizational system. Unsurprisingly, Robert Caro’s got one. We, mere morta