Blurb
The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York is a Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Robert Moses by Robert Caro. The book focuses on the creation and use of power in local and state politics, as witnessed through Moses' use of unelected positions to design and implement dozens of highways and bridges, sometimes at great cost to the communities he nominally served. It has been repeatedly named one of the best biographies of the 20th century, and has been highly influential on city planners and politicians throughout the United States.
First Published
1974
English
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Mckenzie.jordan
Incredibly deep and thorough, the life of Robert Mosses, is used as a narrative for the life of New York City (and state) in the first half of the 20th century. From the 1920’s to the 60’s Moses was the one of the most powerful men in the entire city (and at some points) in the state and country- entirely unelected. Not only does Caro tell the story of Moses and New York, but he also includes notable and immersive portraits of other’s in the Metropolis, from the Irish Tammany Politician turned populist Governor (and failed Presidential Candidate) Al Smith to the poor farmers of Long Island whose lives were destroyed to make way for Moses’ Parkways for “The People”. The book is also an in depth study of Power and how it can be obtained, used, destroyed, and how it affects those who achieve it. Moses’ story is part wunderkid genius and part brutal tragedy as we see and idealist slowly become corrupted by the quest for power- What starts as aspiring slowly turns into a nightmare of unaccountable power, vast corruption, and an egomaniacal Moses at the heart of it. The book works so well on so many levels, any body who is a fan of books like “I Claudius” or anyone interested in the dynamics of power will enjoy this story regardless of its 1200 pages.
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