Latest news with #RobertCaro
The Independent
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Robert A. Caro named first-ever Founders Historian Laureate by The New York Historical
Robert A. Caro's latest literary honor is very close to home. The Pulitzer Prize-winning historian has been named the first-ever Founders Historian Laureate by The New York Historical, the venerable museum and cultural center where Caro's archives are stored and a research room is named for him. Caro, a lifelong New Yorker, visits on occasion to sign copies of his books, including his classic work on municipal builder Robert Moses, 'The Power Broker,' the subject of a recent exhibit at the museum. Caro, 89, is also known for his series of Lyndon Johnson biographies and is currently writing the fifth and final volume. No release date has been announced. He will be formally honored at a Sept. 17 gala, where The New York Historical also will present a History Makers Award to Grammy-winning conductor Gustavo Dudamel, who next year is to become the musical and artistic director of the New York Philharmonic. He had led the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 2009. 'We feel deeply privileged to name Robert A. Caro our Founders' Historian Laureate — a singular distinction in our 221 years of institutional history — for his luminous writing,' the museum's board chair, Dr. Agnes Hsu-Tang, said in a statement released Wednesday. 'We honor Robert A. Caro and Gustavo Dudamel for their virtuosity in presenting the truth of human voice — Robert A. Caro for his commanding biographies of Robert Moses and President Lyndon B. Johnson, and his profound analysis of their roles in 20th-century America; and Gustavo Dudamel for his awe-inspiring artistry and for activating the power of music to make social change.'
Washington Post
4 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Robert A. Caro named first-ever Founders Historian Laureate by The New York Historical
NEW YORK — Robert A. Caro's latest literary honor is very close to home. The Pulitzer Prize-winning historian has been named the first-ever Founders Historian Laureate by The New York Historical , the venerable museum and cultural center where Caro's archives are stored and a research room is named for him. Caro, a lifelong New Yorker, visits on occasion to sign copies of his books, including his classic work on municipal builder Robert Moses, 'The Power Broker,' the subject of a recent exhibit at the museum. Caro, 89, is also known for his series of Lyndon Johnson biographies and is currently writing the fifth and final volume. No release date has been announced.
Associated Press
4 days ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Robert A. Caro named first-ever Founders Historian Laureate by The New York Historical
NEW YORK (AP) — Robert A. Caro's latest literary honor is very close to home. The Pulitzer Prize-winning historian has been named the first-ever Founders Historian Laureate by The New York Historical, the venerable museum and cultural center where Caro's archives are stored and a research room is named for him. Caro, a lifelong New Yorker, visits on occasion to sign copies of his books, including his classic work on municipal builder Robert Moses, 'The Power Broker,' the subject of a recent exhibit at the museum. Caro, 89, is also known for his series of Lyndon Johnson biographies and is currently writing the fifth and final volume. No release date has been announced. He will be formally honored at a Sept. 17 gala, where The New York Historical also will present a History Makers Award to Grammy-winning conductor Gustavo Dudamel, who next year is to become the musical and artistic director of the New York Philharmonic. He had led the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 2009. 'We feel deeply privileged to name Robert A. Caro our Founders' Historian Laureate — a singular distinction in our 221 years of institutional history — for his luminous writing,' the museum's board chair, Dr. Agnes Hsu-Tang, said in a statement released Wednesday. 'We honor Robert A. Caro and Gustavo Dudamel for their virtuosity in presenting the truth of human voice — Robert A. Caro for his commanding biographies of Robert Moses and President Lyndon B. Johnson, and his profound analysis of their roles in 20th-century America; and Gustavo Dudamel for his awe-inspiring artistry and for activating the power of music to make social change.'
Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Times
This LBJ biography helps explain deep US fear of vote rigging
On long car journeys we've been listening to Robert Caro's monumental four-volume biography of Lyndon Baines Johnson. Some books are better encountered read aloud than on the page, and this is one of them: brilliantly narrated with all the accents and voices, and Caro's often labyrinthine sentence constructions untangled by intelligent voice-modulation. Surely no other figure in modern history has ever been so fairly and comprehensively explained, and no other life more exhaustively chronicled. But one aspect of American politics, described early in the former president's ascent to power, and then later, has both shocked and educated me. Vote-rigging. It was endemic. In 1960, when LBJ ran alongside John F Kennedy for the presidency, votes from LBJ's home state of Texas proved vital, possibly critical, in getting Kennedy over the line. Caro spells out where those votes came from: blatant electoral fraud organised by Texan power-brokers linked to LBJ. Caro neither condones nor suggests that most Americans would condone; but a strong impression arises that these things happen, outrage can subside when the political establishment is disinclined to rake over the coals, and (though a stink was at first kicked up over the presidential fraud) America is capable of finally shrugging. Many years later, when Joe Biden beat Trump, the latter's conviction that he was cheated of victory appeared an obsessive and paranoid fantasy. It was. But now I understand why Americans with long memories might question whether all their elections really are free and fair. Reading about Greece's success in pulling itself out of the deep economic pit created by the country's having lived beyond its means, one cannot but admire its impressive current prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Our own descent into the pit is occurring more gently and in an altogether more dignified manner, but it's the same pit. So much so that Greece can already borrow on more favourable terms than the world will accord the UK. We British have been in the habit of importing royalty from Greece. I do wonder whether we might consider importing political leadership too. Way back in the mists of obscure 20th-century parliamentary history, your diarist was on the standing committee examining the bill that privatised Britain's principal airports, formerly state-owned. I argued then for obliging any new private owner to promote free competition, as it struck me that a franchise for a monopoly of retail provision would command an eye-watering price which airport owners should not be allowed to extract. Fast-forward 40 years and my friend Alice is at Stansted on August 8, flying to Spain and wishing to buy €80. 'Landside', she finds only one currency exchange dealer. They explain they charge a commission on the exchange. A determined person, Alice argues. The lady behind the counter takes pity on her and finally agrees to drop the commission. Alice asks for €80. As you will know the pound is worth more than the euro. She is charged £95.29. This is scarcely believable. So much so that I asked Alice to check. She has sent me the receipt. And I cannot but conclude they charged her 95 pounds for 80 euros. I've been checking rates on the high street. I cannot find any dealer who will give a customer back fewer euros than the pounds they hand over the counter. In some cases they will charge little more than £70 for €80. What has gone wrong? Last year The Sun reported that 'travellers could lose … £200 when they take away €1,000 at Stansted airport'. Do we have no regulatory authority able to police this banditry? Not long after the death ten days ago of Dame Stella Rimington, once the head of MI5, a little trill on the pan-pipes alerts me to an incoming WhatsApp. It's from a friend who used to work for a well-known recruitment agency. 'We once hosted her at our agency, my boss interviewing her for a client event. It was a memorable conversation. My boss began: 'We're headhunters, so we need to understand people. Stella, what do you do when you want to understand people better. How do you approach this?' 'I tap them,' replied Rimington.'
Washington Post
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
Robert Caro, Salman Rushdie and Sandra Cisneros honored by Authors Guild
NEW YORK — Robert Caro , Salman Rushdie and Sandra Cisneros were honored Monday night at an Authors Guild dinner gala that celebrated the written word and its vital role in the preservation of democracy. 'The world we live in is a house on fire and people we love are burning,' said Cisneros, the fiction writer, poet and pacifist who was presented the Baldacci Award for Literary Activism. Caro, the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, is this year's winner of the Preston Award for Distinguished Service to the Literary Community and Rushdie, the novelist and determined critic of censorship, received the Champion of Writers Award for his 'steadfast commitment to free expression.'
