Astral Codex Ten

Robert Caro

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Robert Caro

Article

Robert Caro is a recurring person in the Astral Codex Ten archive, appearing 3 times across 3 issues between May 07, 2021 and June 23, 2023. The archive places it in contexts such as “I trust that Robert Caro would have found out”; “After I finished Robert Caro’s The Years of Lyndon Johnson”; “Besides, Robert Caro and Ron Chernow have proven that people will read thousand-page tomes”. It most often appears alongside LBJ, Vietnam War, civil rights movement.

Metadata

  • Category: People
  • Mention count: 3
  • Issue count: 3
  • First seen: May 07, 2021
  • Last seen: June 23, 2023

Appears In

Source Context

Recovered passages from the original issue text. When the raw archive preserved outbound links inside the source passage, they are listed directly under the quote.

Your Book Review: The Years Of Lyndon Johnson
May 07, 2021 · Original source
All of this raises an important question: Did LBJ assassinate John F. Kennedy so that he could become president? On one hand, LBJ excelled at covering up stuff, and he broke the law whenever it was convenient. On the other hand, he had some moral boundaries: No assassinations or coups. And I trust that that Robert Caro would have found out.
Your Book Review: The Outlier
July 08, 2022 · Original source
I also don’t think this book succeeds purely as a biographical portrait of its subject. After I finished Robert Caro’s The Years of Lyndon Johnson, I felt like I really knew LBJ. But even after finishing all 628 pages of this book, Carter remains a mystery to me. I can tell you everything he did during his presidency, but I still don’t feel like I really understand him. What motivated Jimmy Carter? How did he develop his seemingly unshakeable confidence? Why did he even want to be president in the first place? (Ted Kennedy’s high-profile fumble of this question famously contributed to his primary loss, but Carter never really answers it either.)
Inline links: high-profile fumble
Your Book Review: Public Citizens
June 23, 2023 · Original source
Paradoxically, this book manages to be simultaneously boring and too concise. It’s over in less than 200 generously-spaced pages, and I frequently had to look stuff up on the internet to get a full understanding of what was going on. I get the sense that the author is trying to give this book mass appeal, but come on: anyone who’s willing to read a nerdy book like this is willing to read an additional hundred pages or so. Besides, Robert Caro and Ron Chernow have proven that people will read thousand-page tomes if the story is compelling and the details are juicy.