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 …
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 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.
