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The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 974.7040924
EAN: 9780394720241
ISBN: 0394720245
Label: Vintage
Manufacturer: Vintage
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 1344
Publication Date: July 12, 1975
Publisher: Vintage
Release Date: July 12, 1975
Studio: Vintage
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Editorial Review:
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.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - Biography at its very best...
Robert Caro's The Power Broker, a biography of Robert Moses, contains every attribute of a Shakespearean tragedy. Moses was brilliant, driven, an over-achiever, but possessed a deeply flawed character which aroused feelings of both esteem and disgust. Like all of Shakespeare's tragic protagonists, he was capable of both good and evil. Fully able to redeem himself, he instead moved unheedingly towards his doom. That 30+ years of unquestionable power within New York State's political, corporate, ... Read More
Rating: - A brief review for a big, important, thorough and ground breaking book.
This book, written by Robert Caro - probably the best living biographer, was his first book. It is a massive, thorough, detailed, engaging study of how one man - Robert Moses - planned, shaped and built - the modern city of New York.
It is about the acquisition of power and its utilization by one man in order to bring his vision of New York City to fruition.
Robert Moses - the primary subject of the book - together with the notion of power, and New York City itself as well ... Read More
Rating: - More than a simple biography
I have been waiting to read this book for a very long time, and the wait was well worth it. Mr. Caro presents a massive, well-researched piece on one of New York's most influential (and controversial) public officials. I am a sucker for great detail, and so I enjoyed Caro's painstakingly detailed portrait of how a young, idealistic reformer evolved into the ruler of a huge bureaucratic empire. What Caro makes very clear is how Robert Moses became so corrupted by power (and self-importance) that he failed ... Read More
Rating: - Damning, erudite and compelling
Robert Caro's biography reads like an extraordinary work of investigative journalism - damning, erudite and compelling - that surely would have been appreciated by Robert Moses had he not been the subject.
It is a fascinating study of the evolution of government in New York City and Robert Moses' ability to shape laws as the "best bill drafter in Albany" and to seize upon prevailing trends and work the levers of the City, State and Federal governments to his advantage. It is during the Great Depression ... Read More
Rating: - How Big Bob the Builder shaped New York
After 40 years of writing biographies, Robert A. Caro deserves an all time winning award in history. In 1974 he wrote the biography of Robert Moses, Big Bob the Builder in New York. It is an incredible biography. By focusing on one person, Caro succeeds in revealing the peculiarities of this particular epoch in New York. It is a detailed account of how power works in New York between 1934 and 1968. The book is about personalities, Robert Moses of course, but also about the Rockefellers, Al Smith (the governor of New ... Read More
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