#305 Robert Caro on power, poverty, ruthlessness, & obsession

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May 29, 2023

Delve into the ruthlessness of Lyndon Johnson's political strategies, shaped by his father's struggles. Discover the complexities of power through Robert Caro's insights, highlighting the often unseen influences of figures like Robert Moses. Explore the transformative journey of writers, marked by dedication and obsession, reflecting on personal experiences that shape identity. Anecdotes link ambition and character, revealing the connection between literature, self-discovery, and the relentless pursuit of excellence.

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ANECDOTE

Lyndon Johnson and His Father

Lyndon Johnson's father overpaid for a failing ranch, leading to financial ruin.
This instilled in Lyndon a deep fear of failure and a drive to win.

INSIGHT

The Birth of a Vote Counter

Lyndon's father's optimism and inability to face hard truths led to his downfall.
Lyndon learned to meticulously count votes, a skill honed by witnessing his father's mistakes.

ANECDOTE

Kennedy vs. Johnson

JFK understood political compromise, while LBJ relentlessly pursued victory, regardless of the cost.
This ruthlessness stemmed from his deep-seated fear of losing.

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Means of Ascent

The Years of Lyndon Johnson II

Robert A. Caro

In 'Means of Ascent,' Robert A. Caro delves into the life of Lyndon Johnson during his most challenging years, from his 1941 defeat in a special election for the U.S. Senate to his controversial victory in the 1948 senatorial election. The book highlights Johnson's relentless ambition, his service in World War II, and the foundation of his fortune. The central drama revolves around the 1948 election, where Caro reveals the true story of how Johnson, with significant political chicanery and vote fraud, won by just 87 votes. This volume is part of Caro's comprehensive series on Lyndon Johnson and is characterized by its detailed investigation and engaging narrative style[2][4][5].

The Path to Power

The Years of Lyndon Johnson I

Robert A. Caro

This book retraces Lyndon Johnson's early life, from his childhood in the impoverished Texas Hill Country to his early years in Washington, D.C., first as a congressional aide and then as a congressman. It explores Johnson's relentless ambition, his ability to mesmerize and manipulate powerful figures, and his complex relationships with family, contemporaries, and influential politicians like Sam Rayburn and FDR. The book also delves into Johnson's secret love affairs and his strategic cultivation of wealthy and powerful allies. Caro's exhaustive research and immersive writing style provide a vivid portrait of Johnson's formative years and the environment that shaped his political career.

Working

people talk about what they do all day and how they feel about what they do

Studs Terkel

In 'Working,' Studs Terkel conducts in-depth interviews with people from diverse occupations, ranging from gravediggers to studio heads. The book provides a snapshot of American working life in the early 1970s, highlighting the emotional and physical aspects of work. It explores themes of job satisfaction, the search for meaning, and the impact of work on individuals' lives. The interviews are edited to preserve the voices and stories of the subjects, offering a powerful and original perspective on work and its significance in human experience.

Master of the Senate

Robert A. Caro

Master of the Senate is the third volume in Robert Caro's biography series, The Years of Lyndon Johnson. The book focuses on Johnson's rapid ascent in the U.S. Congress, especially his time as Senate majority leader from 1949 to 1960. It explores how Johnson transformed the Senate through his political acumen, manipulating Senate rules, building coalitions, and securing legislative victories. The book also delves into Johnson's battle to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1957, his relationships with other senators, and his strategies for maintaining power within the Senate. It provides a comprehensive look at how legislative power works in America and Johnson's role in shaping the Senate into a more effective legislative body.

The Power Broker

Robert Moses and the Fall of New York

Robert Caro

This book is a monumental biography of Robert Moses, who was the single most powerful man in New York City and State during his time. It explores how Moses accumulated and wielded power, shaping the city through his public works projects, including highways, bridges, and parks. The book delves into Moses's early life, his idealistic beginnings, and his transformation into a powerful figure who dominated New York's politics without ever being elected. It also highlights the social and environmental impacts of his projects and his eventual fall from power. The biography is renowned for its detailed and nuanced portrayal of power dynamics in urban politics[2][4][5].

What I learned from reading Working by Robert Caro.

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Listen to one of my favorite podcasts: Invest Like the Best: Sam Hinkie: Find Your People

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[3:40] You can't get very deep into Johnson's life without realizing that the central fact of his life was his relationship with his father.

[8:00] It was the hill country and his father's failures that taught him how terrible could be the consequences of a single mistake.

[8:45] Lyndon Johnson wouldn't understand. He would refuse to understand. He would threaten you, would cajole you, bribe you or charm you. He would do whatever he had to do, but he would get that vote.

[9:00] What mattered to him was winning because he knew what losing could be. What its consequences could be.

[9:50] Robert Caro books I've read:

The Power Broker

The Path to Power

Means of Ascent

Master of The Senate (currently reading)

[11:00] About what I wanted to do with my life and my books (which are my life)

[11:40] I am a reflection of what I do. — Steve Jobs

[23:20] There are certain moments in your life when you suddenly understand something about yourself. I loved going through those files, making them yield up their secrets to me.

[24:10] Turn every page. Never assume anything. Turn every goddamn page.

[27:50] Robert Caro snaps: No, that's not why highways get built where they get built. They get built there because Robert Moses wants them there.

[28:15] Robert Moses had power that no one understood. Power that nobody else was even thinking about.

[29:50] There are sentences that are said to you in your life that are chiseled into your memory.

[34:00] Three of the editors took me to some fancy restaurant and told me they could make me a star. Bob Gottlieb said, Well, I don't go out for lunch but we can have a sandwich at my desk and talk about your book. So of course I picked him.

[37:15] Robert Moses was a ruthless genius with savage energy.

[38:30] Ambitious people are rare, so if everyone is mixed together randomly, as they tend to be early in people's lives, then the ambitious ones won't have many ambitious peers. When you take people like this and put them together with other ambitious people, they bloom like dying plants given water. Probably most ambitious people are starved for the sort of encouragement they'd get from ambitious peers, whatever their age.

— Paul Graham’s essays. (Founders #275-277)

[42:30] in a couple of sentences these two men —idols of mine — had wiped away five years of doubt.

[42:50] There is not a more mysterious craft than entrepreneurship.

[48:15] I now had a picture of Lyndon Johnson's youth, that terrible youth, that character hardening youth.

[54:00] I wasn't fully understanding what these people were telling me about the depth of Lyndon Johnson's determination, about the frantic urgency, the desperation, to get ahead, and to get ahead fast.

As if the passions, the ambitions that he brought to Washington, strong though they were, were somehow intensified by the fact that he was finally there, in the place where he had always wanted to be.

I wanted to show the contrast between what he was coming from the poverty, the insecurity —and what he was trying for.

[55:15] I wanted to make the reader see the contrast between what he was coming from and what he was trying for. Something on the way to work had excited him and thrilled him so much that he'd break into a run every morning.

[56:15] And as Lyndon Johnson came up Capitol Hill in the morning, he would be running.

Well, of course he was running—from the land of poverty to this. Everything he had ever wanted, everything he had ever hoped for, was there.

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