A friend who knew I was a reader gave me a book, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert A. Caro. It is the largest book I had ever read, 1166 pages with long paragraphs and small type on every page. Even lifting the book was a challenge. However,”Power Broker” has been called one of the greatest biographies of the 20th century and even won a Pulitzer prize. I couldn’t stop reading.
Robert A.Caro’s book was originally published in 1975, but its story can be enjoyed so many years later. “Power Broker” is the meticulously researched story of Robert Moses, a brilliant hard-working man who supervised the building of many of the highways and parks in New York City. Moses’s assets are recounted in detail in the book as are his prejudices and poor decisions. I have visited New York City many times but never knew this story. I loved this book so much that I even skipped several favorite TV shows just to read.
“Power Broker” is actually a series of shorter stories that ultimately lead to the conclusion of a man’s life. Robert Moses was not an elected official; he was an appointee who was so capable and ambitious that he became powerful. Several New York mayors answered to him. Interestingly, according to the book, although Moses was known (in part) for his highways, he never drove a car. He had drivers and used his car as a traveling office.
As we read about the politics of New York City, in the midst of a Presidential election in 2024, we see that all the claims about the importance of the 2024 election are really nothing compared to the politics and consequences of times past.
Here is one of the author’s descriptions of Robert Moses’ energy and dedication and his demands after he was appointed the first commissioner of a citywide parks department:
“Moses had given his men their orders. They were to weed out – immediately—those headquarters employees who would not or could not work at the pace he demanded. The weeding out would be accomplished by making all employees work at that pace – immediately.”
And then later:
“But if the shaping of New York Robert Moses was an elemental force, he was also a blind force; blind and deaf, blind and deaf to reason, to argument, to new ideas, to any ideas except his own.”
Readers are given many examples to substantiate both quotations. Yes Robert Moses worked day and night when given responsibilities and became a New York City hero. Robert Moses was also a man who did not appreciate the daily lives of people less well off and less well-educated than him.
Robert Moses was a power in New York until his late 70s. He died at 92. He did not like this book, according to press reports, (but the critics and I did.)
