Working

This is sort of a mini-memoir by the great biographer who is too busy finishing the presumably last volume of his LBJ biography to write a true memoir. Most of the book has been previously published and there is a moderate amount of repetition. Even so, Caro's stories about his research and several of his most difficult interviews are both entertaining and instructive. I was amused that he would write "SU" for "shut-up" in the notes he took while interviewing someone since he needed a period of silence to draw out a response. I did essentially the same thing during meetings at work, and I am reminded of trial attorneys, comedians, actors, politicians, and musicians who need to work to create the pregnant pause - "wait for it ...".