The Power Broker
Robert Moses and the Fall of New York
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The Power Broker
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Narrated by:
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Robertson Dean
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Written by:
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Robert A. Caro
About this listen
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.
What the critics say
1975, Francis Parkman Prize, Winner
1975, Pulitzer Prize — Biography, Winner
"Caro has written one of the finest, best-researched and most analytically informative descriptions of our political and governmental processes to appear in a generation." (Nicholas Von Hoffman, The Washington Post)
"This is irresistibly readable, an outright masterpiece and unparalleled insight into how power works and perhaps the greatest portrait ever of a world city." (David Sexton, The Evening Standard)
What listeners say about The Power Broker
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Kevin Beaudette
- 2024-10-03
Very comprehensive look at New York planning
I work in construction and planning so I found a lot of this to be interesting and well told. I found that there were some chapters later in the book that were much longer than necessary and eventually became repetitive
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ryan Stafford
- 2024-09-30
Great story and great narrator
Amazing Biography of an incredible Man, with such an interesting history. Listed to the story 3 times over the last couple years. Robert Caro is an incredible writer.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Angela Augsbury
- 2024-11-05
History repeats!
Amazing work with such incredible details about the history of New York City! On the US election day I finished this seminal work and am awestruck by the same themes that were discussed in this book and dominating this election cycle of immigration, the economy, racism, sexism, housing, democracy and the rule of law. Most every issue we are facing today has been argued over again and again which may give a modicum of confort if my candidate does not win. One sad fact for this Canada is why Mr. Ford doesn't take a few days to study this book and understand what Mr. Caro illumed some 50 years ago, building more highways only leads to more traffic.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Michael Tipping
- 2023-06-15
It’s as good as they say
Loved it. Can’t believe the man was real. So many impossible feats. And such an a-hole!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Matt K
- 2022-06-23
great!
best biography ever written. good narrator as well. listened multiple tines over the years.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Adam Thompson
- 2024-04-29
One of a kind
Great book with a great narrator. I could follow everything and it was never boring. Really long, too.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Justin E.
- 2023-02-23
Required reading
Want to better understand the mess of the 21st century? Listen to this tale of the 20th and it’ll all make sense
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- J. Leigh
- 2023-11-17
Richly thick
Couldn’t get through this in regular book form - so dense and just long. Truly cracked it in audio version with brilliant narrator to match the quality of the narrative and depth of research. The second half in particular is filled with episodes that will leave you gob smacked and wanting your own concrete tour of NYC.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Arjan Sahota
- 2023-11-12
In Awe
One of the best biographies ever written on any person, on any subject, at any time, in any place.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 2022-11-06
The greatest biography of all time
After finishing this monster of a biography in about 3 months I can confidently say it is the best non-fiction book I have ever read and probably the best biography I will ever read. it manages to paint the perfect picture of an individual in an incredibly fair and honest way, never resorting to unfounded ad-hominem attacks. It is brilliantly well researched without seeming dull or uncessesary. Every chapter is brilliantly written with an ability to carve out an engaging story from real events like a great work of fiction. Despite its long length it never dragged on. Now that it's finished, I feel happy to have read it, but empty knowing that I must find something else to read that even compares.
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1 person found this helpful