The Power Broker
Robert Moses and the Fall of New York
Robert A. Caro
- PULITZER
- PRIZE
- WINNER
- •
- A
- modern
- American
- classic,
- this
- huge
- and
- galvanizing
- biography
- of
- Robert
- Moses
- reveals
- not
- only
- the
- saga
- of
- one
- man’s
- incredible
- accumulation
- of
- power
- but
- the
- story
- of
- his
- shaping
- (and
- mis-shaping)
- of
- twentieth-century
- New
- York.One
- of
- the
- Modern
- Library’s
- hundred
- greatest
- books
- of
- the
- twentieth
- century,
- Robert
- Caro's
- monumental
- book
- makes
- public
- what
- few
- outsiders
- knew:
- that
- Robert
- Moses
- was
- the
- single
- most
- powerful
- man
- of
- his
- time
- in
- the
- City
- and
- in
- the
- State
- of
- New
- York.
- And
- in
- telling
- the
- Moses
- story,
- Caro
- both
- opens
- up
- to
- an
- unprecedented
- degree
- the
- way
- in
- which
- politics
- really
- happens—the
- way
- things
- really
- get
- done
- in
- America's
- City
- Halls
- and
- Statehouses—and
- brings
- to
- light
- a
- bonanza
- of
- vital
- information
- about
- such
- national
- figures
- as
- Alfred
- E.
- Smith
- and
- Franklin
- D.
- Roosevelt
- (and
- the
- genesis
- of
- their
- blood
- feud),
- about
- Fiorello
- La
- Guardia,
- John
- V.
- Lindsay
- and
- Nelson
- Rockefeller.But
- The
- Power
- Broker
- is
- first
- and
- foremost
- a
- brilliant
- multidimensional
- portrait
- of
- a
- man—an
- extraordinary
- man
- who,
- denied
- power
- within
- the
- normal
- framework
- of
- the
- democratic
- process,
- stepped
- outside
- that
- framework
- to
- grasp
- power
- sufficient
- to
- shape
- a
- great
- city
- and
- to
- hold
- sway
- over
- the
- very
- texture
- of
- millions
- of
- lives.
- We
- see
- how
- Moses
- began:
- the
- handsome,
- intellectual
- young
- heir
- to
- the
- world
- of
- Our
- Crowd,
- an
- idealist.
- How,
- rebuffed
- by
- the
- entrenched
- political
- establishment,
- he
- fought
- for
- the
- power
- to
- accomplish
- his
- ideals.
- How
- he
- first
- created
- a
- miraculous
- flowering
- of
- parks
- and
- parkways,
- playlands
- and
- beaches—and
- then
- ultimately
- brought
- down
- on
- the
- city
- the
- smog-choked
- aridity
- of
- our
- urban
- landscape,
- the
- endless
- miles
- of
- (never
- sufficient)
- highway,
- the
- hopeless
- sprawl
- of
- Long
- Island,
- the
- massive
- failures
- of
- public
- housing,
- and
- countless
- other
- barriers
- to
- humane
- living.
- How,
- inevitably,
- the
- accumulation
- of
- power
- became
- an
- end
- in
- itself.Moses
- built
- an
- empire
- and
- lived
- like
- an
- emperor.
- He
- was
- held
- in
- fear—his
- dossiers
- could
- disgorge
- the
- dark
- secret
- of
- anyone
- who
- opposed
- him.
- He
- was,
- he
- claimed,
- above
- politics,
- above
- deals;
- and
- through
- decade
- after
- decade,
- the
- newspapers
- and
- the
- public
- believed.
- Meanwhile,
- he
- was
- developing
- his
- public
- authorities
- into
- a
- fourth
- branch
- of
- government
- known
- as
- "Triborough"—a
- government
- whose
- records
- were
- closed
- to
- the
- public,
- whose
- policies
- and
- plans
- were
- decided
- not
- by
- voters
- or
- elected
- officials
- but
- solely
- by
- Moses—an
- immense
- economic
- force
- directing
- pressure
- on
- labor
- unions,
- on
- banks,
- on
- all
- the
- city's
- political
- and
- economic
- institutions,
- and
- on
- the
- press,
- and
- on
- the
- Church.
- He
- doled
- out
- millions
- of
- dollars'
- worth
- of
- legal
- fees,
- insurance
- commissions,
- lucrative
- contracts
- on
- the
- basis
- of
- who
- could
- best
- pay
- him
- back
- in
- the
- only
- coin
- he
- coveted:
- power.
- He
- dominated
- the
- politics
- and
- politicians
- of
- his
- time—without
- ever
- having
- been
- elected
- to
- any
- office.
- He
- was,
- in
- essence,
- above
- our
- democratic
- system.Robert
- Moses
- held
- power
- in
- the
- state
- for
- 44
- years,
- through
- the
- governorships
- of
- Smith,
- Roosevelt,
- Lehman,
- Dewey,
- Harriman
- and
- Rockefeller,
- and
- in
- the
- city
- for
- 34
- years,
- through
- the
- mayoralties
- of
- La
- Guardia,
- O'Dwyer,
- Impellitteri,
- Wagner
- and
- Lindsay,
- He
- personally
- conceived
- and
- carried
- through
- public
- works
- costing
- 27
- billion
- dollars—he
- was
- undoubtedly
- America's
- greatest
- builder.This
- is
- how
- he
- built
- and
- dominated
- New
- York—before,
- finally,
- he
- was
- stripped
- of
- his
- reputation
- (by
- the
- press)
- and
- his
- power
- (by
- Nelson
- Rockefeller).
- But
- his
- work,
- and
- his
- will,
- had
- been done.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
