By Literary Hub | Created at 2026-09-16 13:43:04 | Updated at 2026-09-16 16:26:07
3 hours ago
As Lit Hub’s resident Caro-head, I’m committed to bringing you regular updates on the historian’s progress on his Years of Lyndon Johnson series (searching “Folta Caro” on Lit Hub turns up more results than I remember). And if on Monday night you heard the sound of many nerds simultaneously explaining something urgent to their partners, it was because we just got some new info about Caro’s writing.
The fifth book and hopefully final book in Caro’s series on LBJ, America, and power is still in the works—he estimated in 2011 it would only take two to three years. From interviews and stray comments, we know that he’s written and then rewritten a section on the Civil Rights Movement, has completed the sections on Medicaid, and is still struggling with the Vietnam piece of LBJ’s story (understandably).
The last place I expected to hear news about book five was on Instagram. @robertcaroofficial has only posted nine times before Monday, and only reposts of interviews, trailers, and ephemera. But this week Caro posted a reel from his office, which I’m sure spiked web traffic among ex-talk show hosts and 30-somethings with strong opinions about roads.
The video starts with Caro patting a suitcase that he says has the outline for “the rest of the book.” An outline so voluminous that it has to be lugged around in a suitcase is the kind of thing that Caro fans go crazy for. Save a thought for the trees, but I simply can’t get enough of seeing the amount of paper this man generates.
Caro then points across the table to the 1,100 pages he’s written “so far”—double spaced and then marked up with pencil, classic Caro. At that length, this book is looking like it’ll be a real tote bag breaker. The rest of the transit nerds and I need to do more push-ups. If we all get swole enough, we can tear down the BQE with our bare hands.
As much as I love to see Caro descending like Orpheus into the wicked world of posts, the man’s got writing to do. To quote the comment section: “Finish it Bob jfc!!! 😂” and “No time for videos, please finish writing ⏱️”.
As much as I hate to hand it to the commenters, they’re right.
Meanwhile if you’re a Lit Hub fan with money to burn, get in touch with me about getting a Lit Hub Caro Watch helicopter so that I can more directly monitor the situation. But I guess I’d also settle for a sticker for my bike.
Images from @robertcaroofficial
