The Power Broker

Robert Moses and the Fall of New York

by Robert A. Caro

Paperback, 1246 pages

English language

Published Dec. 3, 1975

ISBN:: 978-0-394-72024-1
Goodreads:: 1111

One of the most acclaimed books of our time, winner of both the Pulitzer and the Francis Parkman prizes, The Power Broker tells the hidden story behind the shaping (and mis-shaping) of twentieth-century New York (city and state) and makes public what few have known: that Robert Moses was, for almost half a century, the single most powerful man of our time in New York, the shaper not only of the city's politics but of its physical structure and the problems of urban decline that plague us today.

In revealing how Moses did it--how he developed his public authorities into a political machine that was virtually a fourth branch of government, one that could bring to their knees Governors and Mayors (from La Guardia to Lindsay) by mobilizing banks, contractors, labor unions, insurance firms, even the press and the Church, into an irresistible economic force--Robert Caro reveals how power works in all the cities of the United States. Moses built an empire and lived like an emperor. He personally conceived and completed public works costing 27 billion dollars--the greatest builder America (and probably the world) has ever known. Without ever having been elected to office, he dominated the men who were--even his most bitter enemy, Franklin D. Roosevelt, could not control him--until he finally encountered, in Nelson Rockefeller, the only man whose power (and ruthlessness in wielding it) equalled his own.

2 editions

73pctGeek reviewed The Power Broker by Robert A. Caro

Long, but worthwhile

3 stars

A potted history of a city, and a multitude of mini biographies are all contained within a shockingly in-depth biography of a single man. A man who shaped one of the biggest cities in the world in large, literally concrete ways. This is an amazing work, and I cannot begin to understand how Caro managed to pull this all together into a cohesive, readable book.

It is long, at times tedious, often shocking, and always illuminating, but definitely most interesting if you have more than a passing familiarity with New York City. I have only visited once, and thus miss a lot of the subtleties of Moses’ machinations. Nevertheless, this was a rewarding book to read, and I wish it were possible for me to visit NYC again (not happening on this timeline), and pay attention to all the places mentioned.

Caro is an adept writer, at first …

Caro is an adept writer, at first coaxing admiration from the reader for the young Moses, which quickly cools to a disdain for the forceful and underhanded means in which mature Moses conducts much of his dealings. However, by the end, while the author seems sympathetic to the elderly man, this feeling did not transfer to me. I felt nothing but contempt for the old man mourning his loss of power.

While Caro is a fine writer, this book is from 1974, and some language he uses is absolutely past its sell-by date. Disconcertingly so. Nevertheless, it’s an utterly overwhelming book, and a staggering accomplishment by an author.