Suggested Reading: "The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York" by Robert A. Caro (1974)

The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert A. Caro

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Every summer, my local library holds a book sale where you can usually find several good bargain books to keep you busy until the following summer. Last summer as I was browsing the tables, one of the librarians, who happens to be a friend of mine, and he knows my penchant for New York City history, comes up to me and says something along the lines of "Dude, here's one for you," as he hands me this MONSTER book. I take it and read the cover - "The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York." I recognize it immediately as I've read about it elsewhere, what an amazing and inclusive book it is. I thank my friend and finish shopping, making a few more selections in the process, pay for my literary finds ("The Power Broker" setting back a cool $1.00) and proceed home, putting "The Power Broker" on the shelf to read "later."

About a month or two later as September is about to become October, I decide the time is right to begin reading "The Power Broker," so one day I take it off the shelf and begin, with some hesitation due to it's overwhelming size, to read. As I am doing so, I'm thinking to myself that it will take several months to read this 1162 page monster. There are an additional 100 pages of notes, index, further reading(!) lists, etc. I do NOT know, however, that it will take me nearly 8 months to read this thing. If you choose to tackle the legacy of Robert Moses contained in this book, be prepared, for it is not light reading in any sense of the word. It is at times mind-numbingly dull. At other times it is a page turner in its amazing revelations of "How New York City Works." Most of all it is an education - an education as to how New York was built and shaped and became, at least from a physical standpoint, the envy of the world throughout most of the late 20th Century as THE model for urban planning - a city of structural efficiency - and beauty.

This might be one of the most well researched books ever written on the history of one man. Author Robert A. Caro's exhaustive 7-year effort to document and expose the life of the "Master Builder" of 20th Century New York City infrastructure, housing and parks, the legendary and controversial Robert Moses, won him a Pulitzer prize for his efforts shortly after the books publication back in 1974. Moses was still alive to see the book published and no doubt read it himself, his sharp old mind devouring it much more quickly, no doubt, than I. One wonders what he thought of it after reading it - for it paints a two-sided picture of the man: One side as genius - driven to build and better a city. The other side: Greedy and manipulative - and racist to boot. And not really greedy so much for money, as for personal wealth, as an almost all-consuming greed for POWER...the ability to control men and policy. The ability to manuever men to do his bidding through the use of connections - who he knew and what he could get from them or for them.

This is the story of a man with a vision: A vision of New York City as HE saw it - covered with parks. And grand Parkways and bridges to move the ever-increasing quantity of automobile traffic coming into and out of New York City. Robert Moses envisioned amazing parks and Parkways all over Long Island and during the course of decades, he built them. As the years progressed from the 1930's through the 1950's, Robert Moses' power within New York City grew to the point he was one of the most powerful men in the city. The only problem was - he was not an ELECTED official - he had been appointed to his positions of power, and was free to step down at any time - a move he threated to several New York City Mayors during those decades whenever he thought it was a good power play to do so. Of course he never stepped down until much later in his career. After he helped shape and re-shape the entire city.

The grand builder of parks and bridges might have gone to his grave a well respected man of influence and power and accomplishment (and actually, he did, it was just "tarnished" a bit) had he not overreached and pushed his way into another area of urban development - the Title I programs of the 1950's and 60's. These were the great "Urban Renewal" programs - or "Slum Clearance" programs as they were more commonly known. Moses found himself (more accurately WORKED himeslf) into a position as to be in charge of these programs, and thus their power and dollars as well, in New York City. He was holding up to 12 positions simultaneously in the city's power base elite - he was a mover and shaker - and a man who got things done. And people in New York knew this and loved him for it. But Title 1 and slum clearance programs and all that went wrong with these projects in New York during the 50's and 60's would, coupled with other public revalations of how he conducted his business affairs and his seemingly rascist but hidden from public views and considerations towards urban development, would eventually, along with a few other catestrophic career mis-steps, help to undermine Robert Moses' power base, eventually stripping him of all the power he'd assumed through a decades-long rise to it's upper eschelon. The New York City Press, the powerful newspapers in the city who helped make his legend publicly, would also have an equal hand in his eventual demise in public popularity.

This book is not light reading by any means and may be a bit overwhelming for some readers. But for anyone seriously interested in the history of New York City, especially early-mid 20th century happenings, this is essential reading. It is not a stretch to say that Robert Moses helped shape the physical body of New York City during his decades in power. This book details how that happened: His slow, consistent and often ruthless rise to power through his dealings with government officials at all levels. Reading this book you will learn details of local New York City government, New York State government and U.S. government, as all three entities combined help to run the city, and Moses manuevered through all three levels, often at will, through the use of his connections and power, to accomplish his goals, making political allies and not a few political enemies along the way. These were often times complicated dealings and author Caro's detailing of them is exhaustive. By the time you finish this book you will have a much greater understanding of "how things got done" in 20th-century New York City. Things often times got done...or didn't get done...because Robert Moses said they would...or would not. It was, for many, many years, as simple...and as complicated...as that. The book, one of the best I've ever read, details why and how that came to be. "The Power Borker" is not for everybody, but a for those who crave an ever-more complete understanding of New York City history, this is one of the key pieces of that history that you will ever read. Highly, highly recomended reading.