series runs to more than 3,000 pages - is a quality that has wearied his detractors while inspiring special devotion among fans like Mr. ![]() Caro’s penchant for leaving nothing out - the still-growing L.B.J. “I don’t want to bother Caro and go up to him and say, ‘Of course, you must know me from the Masturbating Bear and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, who will poop on you,’” he said, referring to comedy bits that were staples of “Late Night With Conan O’Brien,” the NBC show he hosted from 1993 to 2009. “I want to make sure I have as many answers as I can for you.” O’Brien said, flipping through his notes, when asked what year he saw Mr. It included the time he attended a Caro reading at the Barnes & Noble in Union Square around the release of “Master of the Senate,” volume three in the L.B.J. O’Brien arrived at the restaurant for our interview carrying a sheaf of notes filled with dates and facts tracing his obsession. O’Brien then asked him to dinner, without cameras. The host sent word that he would be willing to interview the author in his hometown, New York City. “I keep getting other people who are great. “I pretty much made this thing as a bear trap to catch Robert Caro,” Mr. O’Brien came up with a plan to land his prey: a relatively sober streaming interview program called “ Serious Jibber Jabber.” Guests have included the best-selling nonfiction author Michael Lewis, the historian Evan Thomas and the data journalist Nate Silver. “If there were over-large ears and fake gallbladder scars that we could wear instead of wizard hats while waiting in line to get the book, we would do it.”Īfter having been rejected numerous times, Mr. “The Lyndon Johnson books by Caro, it’s our Harry Potter,” Mr. Caro, 82, has said he is closing in on completing the fifth and final volume, and the pompadoured comic is among those eagerly awaiting its publication. The later works in the epic series, which have been published at a rate of roughly once a decade, have more than lived up to the promise of the first, in Mr. They shared their new enthusiasm during a trip away from campus. He received the book as a Christmas present from his father and soon fell under its spell, as did his roommate, Eric Reiff. Caro’s biography of President Johnson, was published in 1982, when Mr. “The Path to Power,” the first installment of Mr. Later invitations also resulted in polite refusals. ![]() It was the equivalent of putting a penny in a well and never hearing the splash.” ![]() “We’re talking about authors, and I’m thinking, ‘Let’s get Robert Caro on - I’ll do two segments with him,’” Mr. ![]() O’Brien, 55, started to realize his love for the biographer-historian was perhaps unrequited some eight years ago.Īt the time, he had recently made the move to TBS after 17 years as a late-night host at NBC - a run that had come to an end with his brief stint behind the desk of “The Tonight Show.” Newly ensconced at “Conan” in the lower-stakes environs of basic cable, he had the freedom to give serious airtime to guests who would have gotten five-minute segments during his network days.
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