The Power Broker is an incredible biography of a classically "Great man." Robert Caro does a fantastic job as a biographer, emphasizing not just the obvious evils and misguided intentions of Robert Moses but also his important accomplishments. Caro is cold and calculated about the lasting damage Moses did to New York in one moment and is funny or empathetic to his position in the next. His research is enviously thorough and comprehensive, it appears he talked to nearly everyone in Moses's life. Caro unconventionally and sometimes jarringly jumps around the timeline of Moses' endeavors, but he really makes it work as a story telling tool and I enjoyed the overall story immensely.

This book is also a compelling indictment of the press and its failure to hold public officials to account. The frightening stories of the journalists and newspapers of Moses' day are simultaneously cringeworthy and recognizable to a modern reader who is taught that journalists are the arbiters of truth and yet also hyper-partisan and not truth seeking. Caro certainly highlights how messy human motivations are in an eternal tension with the truth. We're all guilty of it, so reporting like this serves as a good reminder.

Caro's wonderful storytelling introduced me to another historical figure to dive into: Al Smith, Governor of New York, Tammany politician, jovial everyman character, and one time Presidential candidate. This book inserts what is almost a mini-biography of Mr. Smith, and yet he's such a compelling character that I want to learn more.

As a final note: my impetus to read (well... listen to) this tome came from 99% Invisible, one of my favorite podcasts. I want to thank Roman and Elliott for introducing me to it. Their "break down" summaries were helpful and most of their conversations were broadly interesting, but I thought they drew the wrong lessons from many parts of the book. I know they have each read this book several times and spent many years developing their conclusions, which I respect, so it's quite possible I'll reevaluate with more time to dwell on it myself. That said, the break downs were a big commitment and I'm not sure I'd recommend following along. I'll carve out an exception for their interviews of Robert Caro himself, you can't miss those.

WOW, WOW, OH MY GOD, This is one of those books that has you calling everyone you know telling them how they must read this book. Its absolutely mind boggling,facinating, amazing and really quite scary what this evil genius accomplished. Truth is SO much stranger than fiction! This is one of those books where your a different person when you finish the book then when you start(,and thats not due to the time factor involved in reading this big ass sucker)

For many years Ive been noticing this super highly rated, pulitzer prize winning book in my on line excavations. The subject of the book didnt quite seem to really be my cup of tea, but since reading caros lyndon johnson books, I was ready to read anything by him. I read most of my books audibly, so I was really dissapointed when I couldnt find it on audible. I searched for sometime and had pretty much given up on it. Like a gift from the gods I found that audible added it about a month ago,( despite the fact it was written in the 70s). I snapped it up immediatly! put all my other books aside and dove right in.
The author Robert caro of lyndon johnson biography fame and adulation Is one of my favorite authors.( The wait for his last book on johnson is killing me) That was the extra motive for dropping every thing else to take on this 1200 page cinder block of a book. Once started you will only stop to catch your breath. Read customer reviews on amazon or here to get more reviews of overwhelmed readers with blown minds.

Robert Moses' the person can eat a massive turd but his talent as a dreamer and problem solver is inspirational. In some ways it captures what I want to be as an engineer... Minus the tunnel vision, close minded intellectual arrogance, corporate corruption and numerous hate crimes.

A masterpiece of investigative journalism and storytelling, and I can't wait to drag Cordelia round some big old roads in April.

Monumental work by Robert Caro - now more widely known for his excellent (and still ongoing) series of biographies on Lyndon Johnson. But this book launched his career, and reading it allows one to see why. Exhaustively researched, Caro leaves no stone unturned in his dual biography of Moses and New York City from the 1920s-1960s. As he has done with the LBJ books, Caro interviewed everyone that he could find who was remotely affiliated with, or affected by, Moses in any way. The result is a masterful biography.

So many politically powerful men appear in this book: FDR, Dewey, Lehman, La Guardia, Nelson Rockefeller, Al Smith. Moses was in power for so long (essentially, 1924-1968; officially, 1934-1968) that he tangled with everyone who had a say in how NYC or the state of New York was run. His imprint on the region is still felt today thanks to the many parks, bridges, expressways, and parkways that Moses had built. Many of those are not going away anytime soon.

So why only four stars? As much as I enjoy Caro's writing style, I sensed that here he focused so closely on Moses that he excluded everyone else at times. Sort of like a moth getting too close to a burning candle, it gets engulfed in the flame, Caro seemed to think that all of NYC operated solely around Robert Moses. I doubt that was the case. Many of the people that he had fights with were heavyweights in their own rights. While Caro makes a tight case for Moses being a dominating force, he did not win every battle that he fought, and eventually his power began to wane as he over-reached himself starting in the mid-1950s. Caro fails to mention this, but I cannot help but think that, once Moses was duped out of his Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority chairmanship, one of the reasons that he was not able to regain power is due to how poorly he treated so many people for so long: running roughshod over them, failing to even consider alternate or competing points of view, talking down and arrogantly towards others. He had to have created a substantial amount of hostility amongst many people, but Caro does not touch on this possible aspect.

Grade: A-

A massive, magisterial work on the man who built the roads, parks, etc. in New York. I'd been meaning to read this book for a long time because the author's continuing books on Lyndon Johnson are superb. The Power Broker did not disappoint. At times this bordered almost on too much information and there were certainly some thematic redundancies. But these are mere quibbles. There is a real sense of 'being in the room' while events are occurring. Caro, likewise, is able to explain legal, structural and political nuance so that they become a moving part of the narrative. There are some side mini-biographies that are wonderful, most notably the portrait of Al Smith. Yet, this is a story, after all, of Robert Moses and if I had to recommend one book about evil genius, it would not be The Prince, but, instead, The Power Broker. Highly recommended.

I can’t believe I finished this book. I can’t believe the reporting my fellow yale 23 Robert Caro had to do for this book. I can’t believe Robert Moses. I can’t believe how terrible my trip to jfk next week will be bc of Robert Moses (and also lots of other things he was a very prolific asshole). I can’t believe how great this city is probably both in spite of and because of Robert Moses.

LBJ part 1? More likely than you think

Simply the best book on politics ever. Caro gives the reader the real nuts and bolts of local power, how things get done in America and who does them. Plus, its beautifully written.

Despite its intimidating length, Cato never fails to be engaging and informative. There is also an astonishing amount of detail lacing every step of the narrative

The Power Broker is Robert A. Caro's first book, and despite the brilliance of his Years of Lyndon Johnson series, it's still his best. Ostensibly a biography of Robert Moses, the building and public works commissioner of New York from the '20s through 1969, it's many things: a detailed account of urban planning and inner-city strife, a sweeping chronicle of New York politics and official wrangling, a study of the impact of indifferent government and careless bureaucrats on everyday lives. As with Caro's other works, it's principally a portrait of power in action, a grand tragedy in the Shakespeare or Orson Welles sense of an idealist who abandons his early reformist spark to gain and exercise power for its own sake. Moses backs projects that range from mostly beneficial (state and city parks, bridges) to ones that inconvenience or actively harm New Yorkers (the chapter on New York's subway system comes to mind), all for the sake of maintaining his private fiefdom against all comers. We only occasionally see glimpses of private Moses, especially his estranged brother and all-too-loyal wife, but the public Moses is compelling enough that it doesn't harm the work. It's hard to put into words how impressive, immersive and insightful a read this book is; even if the subject sounds boring, check it out immediately.

I'm sure you're asking yourself, why should I read 1100-some odd pages about a crafty parks commissioner who built a bunch of roads or something? Can I even think of 10 things more boring to read about than civil service standardization or public authority bond contracts?

Robert Moses was probably the most powerful non-elected public servant in US history, a man who had absolute control over construction projects in NYC for almost 20 years (and over projects that stood for at least 50 years) and who defied mayors, governors, the press, and the public for four decades atop his perches in the twelve public posts he created and held simultaneously. The story of how he deftly built, and arrogantly lost that power is told magnificently in The Power Broker.

If you have any interest in urban planning & development, public housing, transportation, power & influence, or American history, put this on your reading bucket-list!!

Wow, what to say about this book? 1,200 pages about a bunch of long dead megalomaniacs, led by Robert Moses, a tunnel visioned urban planner who, if it wasn't big highways ploughed right throw New York City, he was hardly interested. It tells the story of how he screwed over a city I don't care about by ignoring non-whites and mass transit, while being the shadow government behind New York City politics for more than 50 years. An unelected bigot, beholden no one and completely on his own.

And, despite the fact it took me over 2 years to read it, I enjoyed every page of it. One of the reasons for the delay was because it was a library book and it was under such demand, I never could renew it. I finally bought my own copy (which I will donate to my library now), so I wasn't at the mercy of the library. It is, as you might imagine, impeccably researched and written with verve and, in places, real anger at the shortsightedness of this "visionary" planner. He did get a few interviews with the man himself, until, I imagine, Moses realized this wasn't going to be a puff piece, when he pulled the plug.

But it was a fascinating glimpse behind the power curtain and man, is it ugly. He goes into all kinds of details and, trust me, it is all very readable. Somehow. It truly is a magical book that I am so glad to have read. Now, on to his massive (and unfinished!) LBJ biography!

Nothing to say that hasn’t been said in the 50 years before me, but goddamn what a ride. It really should be required reading for all New Yorkers.