Editing Caleb Carr (section)

===1990s===

Carr returned to New York to begin researching and writing what would prove his breakthrough novel, ''[[The Alienist]]'', published in 1994. The book became an international bestseller and has been translated into more than 24 languages. Winner of the 1995 Anthony Award<ref name=":11" /> for best first novel (although technically it was his second), the book, set in 1896 New York City follows the exploits of a small band of individuals determined to catch a serial killer. The book was also nominated for the 1995 Bram Stoker award.<ref name=":32">{{Cite web|url=http://horror.org/awards/stokerwinnom.htm#1995|title=Horror Writers Association – Past Bram Stoker Award Nominees & Winners|website=horror.org|access-date=April 10, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202142043/http://horror.org/awards/stokerwinnom.htm#1995|archive-date=February 2, 2017}}</ref>

Carr's lifelong interest in violence, which initially fed his study of military history, expanded into a study of serial killers with the advent of the Son of Sam murders of 1976–1977.<ref name=":0" /> (Once again, this was not a mere fascination with brutality, but with the underlying causes of violence and with people—especially military leaders—who seek to limit killing.) Later, as ''The Alienist'' began taking shape in his imagination, Carr immersed himself in the history of the New York City neighborhoods in which he had grown up and biographies of its notable figures of the Nineteenth century.<ref name=":3" /> He also sought the counsel, during a series of meetings, with Dr. [[David Abrahamsen]], the psychiatrist who examined [[David Berkowitz]] after his capture and "unraveled the mind" of the Son of Sam killer.<ref name=":0" /> Carr sold the movie rights for ''The Alienist'' to Paramount based on an early draft of the book.<ref name=":0" />

Returning to Hollywood, Carr wrote the pilot for a dystopian vision of the far future, ''[[The Warlord: Battle for the Galaxy|The Osiris Chronicles]]'', for Paramount Television. After a vigorous auction, sale of the broadcast rights went to CBS. Once again, however, the execution of the production was deeply disappointing to Carr, and the show was not picked up. Consulted by Paramount TV as to what could be done to salvage the pilot, Carr told Paramount that, if left to work on his own with the assistant editor, he could produce a new cut of the show for a television movie that would at least be moderately successful, especially abroad. Paramount agreed, and the movie, titled ''[[The Warlord: Battle for the Galaxy]]'' (1998), did indeed prove a modest success, particularly in foreign markets.<ref name=":10" />

At the same time, he appeared on the History Channel's ''Jack the Ripper: Phantom of Death'' (1995) as an expert commentator; additionally he was a guest commentator on PBS's ''American Experience: New York Underground''. He was also a featured commentator in [[Ric Burns]]' 1999 documentary New York: A Documentary History. Back in Los Angeles, he performed a page-one rewrite of [[William Wisher Jr.]]'s script for a prequel to ''[[The Exorcist (film)|The Exorcist]]'' for [[Morgan Creek Productions]], resulting in a screenplay that attracted the legendary [[John Frankenheimer]] to direct, [[Liam Neeson]] to star, and the famed cinematographer [[Vittorio Storaro]] to shoot. But when Frankenheimer suddenly died and was replaced by [[Paul Schrader]], who insisted on his own version of the script, Neeson abandoned the project and Carr, deeply disillusioned, returned to New York for the last time. He was given partial story credit for the two films eventually produced from the script, ''[[Exorcist: The Beginning]]'' and ''[[Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist]]'', although, in a subsequent interview with the ''[[LA Weekly]]'', Carr emphasized that the movies bore little to no relation to his story.<ref name=":10" /><ref name=":24">{{Cite web|url=http://www.laweekly.com/news/hell-hath-no-fury-2138663|title=Hell Hath No Fury|last=Foundas|first=Scott|website=[[LA Weekly]]|access-date=April 10, 2016|date=August 12, 2004}}</ref>

For his next novel, Carr brought back the principals from ''The Alienist'' to solve another serial murder case in ''[[The Angel of Darkness]]'', published in 1997. The sequel not only sold more copies than its predecessor, it received more critical acclaim. This time, the killer at the center of the hunt is a female murdering infants. The narrator for this adventure is Stevie Taggart, the street urchin Dr. Laszlo Kreizler saved from jail years earlier. When asked about the subject matter, Carr stated, "You want to believe that there's one relationship in life that's beyond betrayal—a relationship that's beyond that kind of hurt—and there isn't. The simple fact is, if the mothers that we see in the press are doing this kind of stuff, then the numbers who are actually doing it are probably much higher."<ref name=":1" />

In 1996 he wrote a piece in the ''[[World Policy Journal]]'' titled "Terrorism as Warfare: the Lessons of Military History".<ref>{{Cite journal|jstor = 40209499|title = Terrorism as Warfare: The Lessons of Military History|last1 = Carr|first1 = Caleb|journal = World Policy Journal|year = 1996|volume = 13|issue = 4|pages = 1–12}}</ref> He also published widely recognized essays on the Somalia intervention ("The Consequences of Somalia"<ref>{{Cite journal|jstor = 40209313|title = The Consequences of Somalia|last1 = Carr|first1 = Caleb|journal = World Policy Journal|year = 1993|volume = 10|issue = 3|pages = 1–4}}</ref>) on the corruption and what he saw as the immorality of the CIA ("Aldrich Ames and the Conduct of American Intelligence"<ref>{{Cite journal|jstor = 40209359|title = Aldrich Ames and the Conduct of American Intelligence|last1 = Carr|first1 = Caleb|journal = World Policy Journal|year = 1994|volume = 11|issue = 3|pages = 19–28}}</ref>), and the pointlessness of trying to pursue purely "humanitarian" military interventions, which the Clinton administration was trying to establish as a doctrine ("The Humanitarian Illusion"<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/16/opinion/the-humanitarian-illusion.html|title=Opinion &#124; the Humanitarian Illusion|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 16, 1993|last1=Carr|first1=Caleb|access-date=February 6, 2017|archive-date=March 9, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309214717/http://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/16/opinion/the-humanitarian-illusion.html|url-status=live}}</ref>), along with numerous other security and military policy pieces. In recognition of these efforts, Random House appointed Carr editor for the Modern Library War series. Carr was also a member of their Modern Library Board. As such, in 1998 and 1999, he participated in the "100 best" project, voting on the 100 best novels and 100 best non-fiction works of the 20th century.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.modernlibrary.com/about/the-modern-library-board-members/|title=The Modern Library Board Members|publisher=Modern Library|access-date=April 10, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307045349/http://www.modernlibrary.com/about/the-modern-library-board-members/|archive-date=March 7, 2016}}</ref>