The Power Broker

AMAZING read

This is such an amazing listening experience! If this was fiction you would say it was way too far fetched. Truth is so much stranger. Of my 300 audible books this is in the top 5. For those of you who have been lucky enough to read.. Master of the Senate.. this is the book end for that fab series on lyndon johnson. It was robert caros purpose to expose the workings of power on the local and national level, hence this award winning masterpiece of research and writing, taking almost 10 years to write, AND the lyndon johnson series, the last of which were still waiting for impatiently. I learned so much about power, politics and how the world really works by reading caros masterpieces. If you dont like long books- Be forewarned it is long, really long! I wouldnt cut a single word out of it though. It was actually been cut and edited back to fit in a paperback form. A must read, as far as I'm concerned

54 of 55 people found this review helpful

Superb Narration of an Essential Story

Where does The Power Broker rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Probably among the top two or three. It does all that I ask of audiobooks. It permits me to read long books that I don't have time to read otherwise; keeps me intellectually engaged; and provides a narrator whose grasp of the material is reflected in the nuanced way in which he or she reads.

What did you like best about this story?

Robert Moses literally shaped New York City's 20th and 21st century destiny. Robert Caro pieces together the story of how and why Robert Moses did so to weave a universal story of power and how it is acquired and maintained, a personal story of a man of greatness and severe deficiencies, and an essential study of urban planning and government, and their ways, means, and impacts.

What about Robertson Dean’s performance did you like?

Robertson Dean's straightforward, intelligent, heartfelt, measured performance was incredible. He seemed to fully understand all that he was reading -- familiar with all the names and ideas found there -- and I wondered how many times he had read the text before the performance. His pacing was also perfect -- not too fast, not too slow.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me furious. I hadn't realized that the lack of amenities -- park areas, playground areas -- in Harlem and other principally black neighborhoods was not the result of benign neglect but of active racism. Having grown up there and now being a mother myself, I now see that the teenaged boys who lived in cramped, unpleasant apartments had no other recourse than to hang out in the streets and expose themselves to bad influences and predators -- the odds were so stacked against them from that aspect of their existence alone. I also hadn't realized to what extent the funds that might have improved schools and hospitals -- facilities that were crumbling in the 1950s through 1970s -- were channeled instead to the highways and bridges that Moses masterminded. And I was inspired by those who successfully -- and unsuccessfully -- fought against Moses' incursions into thriving neighborhoods, and fascinated to see how Moses' power eventually and suddenly crumbled.

Any additional comments?

I don't know if this would be as compelling to the reader who isn't able to visualize the places under scrutiny -- Randall's Island, Triboro Bridge, Jones Beach. But if you are familiar with New York and don't really understand how this city became the way it is now, you must listen to this book. The story of Robert Moses is -- not at all metaphorically but in the most concrete sense -- the story of New York, the city and the state.

22 of 22 people found this review helpful

Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely

A story of an idealist, Robert Moses, who becomes jaded and calloused by the system, who learns to work the system to gain power, and who then proceeds to collect more and more power over his long career. This power corrupts him quickly and completely. You will despise the man and his methods while being fascinated by his cleverness. I debated on whether to give this excellent book 4 or 5 stars, and I only opted for the lower rating because of the length. Moses stayed in power for over 40 years. and there was plenty of material for Caro to write about. After a while, the incidences and conflicts become a bit repetitive. I think It would have held my undivided attention better if some of the repeated stories had been cataloged but not told in their entirety. Caro tells the stories masterfully, and some may wish he related even more. I would have preferred a few less.

15 of 15 people found this review helpful

A spectacular history of New York City

Robert Moses is a classic example of the enigmatic political giant. Simultaneously, a genius and heartless dictator, it is difficult for me to make up my mind about his true value. The book is spectacular in portraying both his unbelievable accomplishments and the heartless manner in which he achieved them. Although he did build many public works, it appears that these parkways, expressways and bridges, although visually monumental, were ultimately damaging to the healthy growth of New York City. It’s clear that he built all of these structures for the facilitation of the automobile. His total dedication to the automobile, his genius and his stubbornness are aptly portrayed in one small vignette: When he designed and constructed all of the Parkways in New York, he made all of the bridges that crossed them, less than eleven feet of clearance. He acknowledged that this would prevent the passage of any busses. This has prevented the use of these Parkways for public transportation and would have helped reduced traffic congestion. It’s clear that he wanted visible monuments to himself because he refused to have any tunnels constructed. His solution to traffic congestion caused by his bridges was to build more bridges even though the evidence was that bridges were the cause of the problem not the solution. Had he spent one tenth the money and effort on public transportation, the horrible traffic congestion and urban sprawl that resulted would have been eliminated. As a study in the attainment in power, this book is superb and is easily on the same level with Machiavelli’s, “The Prince”. Although Moses achieved so much, it is hard to like a man who was so arrogant and condescending to everyone. He was the living example of how absolute power corrupts absolutely. One strange omission was the sage of the Brooklyn Dodgers. As a Brooklyn Dodger fan, I was disappointed that Caro didn’t point out that Moses singlehandedly forced the Dodgers to move to California. This is a great book and one that is both educational and exciting.

27 of 28 people found this review helpful

Every LI'er (NY'er/American) should know this book

I was born on Long Island in the year after Nelson Rockefeller finally brought to an end Robert Moses' decades of almost unfathomable power. I grew up in the landscape and society he did so much to create: amid his roads and his parks, and the suburban sprawl and ennui they made possible (indeed inevitable). My forbears were the poor Irish who came over to work for the rich Barons whom he fought, defeated, and later allied with. My family's upward mobility was won largely through the construction trades that his projects bankrolled and shaped. Hecksher State Park, Jones Beach, the Southern State Parkway, the Long Island Expressway, the Long Island Railroad that he nearly killed – these shaped my youth; they helped shape me, and millions of others of my generation and our successors.

I never quite understood how and why my society came to be this way until I finally tackled Caro's masterful biography cum history. I'd tried and failed before to read it, but it wasn't until I tried this wonderful audio version that I was able to absorb the whole of it. Robertson Dean's reading is a bit deliberate at times – I was grateful for Audible's Narration Speed feature, and listened to much of it at 1.25 times normal – but he does wonderful work in navigating Caro's sometimes dense prose, especially in the long exegeses of urban planning, legal niceties, economics, natural history, engineering, and on and on, which are crucial to understanding Moses' methods and impact.

Not that Caro neglects the human element. Indeed, the character portraits of figures like Fiorello LaGuardia, Joseph Papp, the dogged reporters who did so much to cut Moses' image down to size in the '50s and '60s, and especially of the criminally neglected Al Smith, are each worth the price of admission.

He's equally thorough and insightful in his portrayal of the wider society: the elites who Moses fought and later controlled, the neighborhoods he ended up destroying, and especially the press he played like a cheap fiddle (the New York Times especially does not come out of this book smelling too rosy).

I only wish Caro had come back to this subject in succeeding decades and brought his intrepid scholarship and insight to the history of post-Moses era; but he chose instead to spend the next 40+ years on LBJ. After experiencing this amazing more-than-biography, I look forward to tackling that even larger opus, probably with Audible's help.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

AN ASTOUNDING UNFORGETTABLE TRIUMPH !!!!

Sound over the top? Its not. This is that oh so rare super-book that leaves you gasping at its unimaginable stupendednes . Doubt it? check out its amazon ratings or try to find an award it hasnt won. You may recognize Caro from his masterful Lyndon Johnson multi-book bio which includes MASTER OF THE SENATE. or his just released volume of said- titled The Passage Of Power

You may not have heard of Robert Moses before but once you read this you'll wonder how thats possible ! I really don't know what else to say other than its a masterpiece that's not to be missed and its in the top 5 of my 900 titles. Very long book but worth every word! Well narrated and a MUST READ if there ever was one.

OH hbo is making a mini series of this book that should be coming out in a year or 2

17 of 18 people found this review helpful

A masterpiece

In the Jewish religion on Yom Kippur, the day of atonement,there is a reckoning. All of your good deeds are written down and the all of the bad deeds. they are placed on a scale and you are so judged. This book is Robert Moses' day or reckoning. All of the good deeds and bad deeds are recorded over more than 66 hours of audio and judged by Robert Caro, master biographer. In the process we learn as much about Robert Caro and his values as Robert Moses. Mr. Caro is able to make the most mundane traffic planning commitee meetings into Shakesperian drama and power struggles. And there are a lifetime of planning and building documented here. In fact, we learn very little of Robert Moses personal life, aside from the fact he was mean to his older brother Paul and cheated him out of his birthright.
On the other hand we learn about all of the power struggles and maneuvering that went into the planning and building of Jones Beach and the development of Long Island. We learn of Moses ability to drive a stake and take possession of homes, lands and other people's ideas to achieve his goal of parks and public works. How he would sell his soul to the devil for power. How he utilized public resources and facilites fro his own devices.And how he knowingly displaced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes, unnecessarily for his title one projects and super highways and bridges.
Along the waty we learn everything there is to know about New York politics and power struggles, inclusive of the years 1920 to 1970. Including, Alfred Smith, Franklin Roosevelt, Herman Lehman, Fiorello Laguardia, Nelson Rockefeller, Robert Wagner and John Lindsay.
Mr .Caro has invested 10 years of his life into investigating and interviewing every one involved with at least 82 years of Mr. Moses 91 year life. Even after listening to the entire book it is difficult to know how to judge Mr. Moses. Almost no one else in the History of the world had such single mindedness and drive to acquire power through bulilding parks, bridges and roads, rather than by obtaining high offices or fighting wars. As Mr. Caro points out there is no comparable person in recorded history.
This is by far the most edifying book I have ever read, and I would say the best book I have listened to or read. I guess I will have to listen to the Lyndon Johnson series to fill the void in my life.

16 of 17 people found this review helpful

A must-know for New Yorkers

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

If you grew up in the New York area, as I did, whether you've even heard of him or not, Robert Moses had a dramatic impact on your life. Virtually every highway in NY and Long Island is where it is because Moses said it should be and most parks are either there because of Moses or look that way they do because of him.

Moses was a controversial figure, to be sure, and Caro pulls no punches in criticizing him thoroughly and harshly in many cases (a Moses sympathizer might argue that the entire book is one long hit piece). But the book also brilliantly chronicles the story of one of the great bureaucrats in the world history; a man who simply know how to get things done and get them done his way, come Hell or high water. Elliot Spitzer once said that if a Moses biography would be written today, it would be entitled

What did you like best about this story?

The way Caro traces the development of Moses' personality from young good government idealist to power-obsessed king of his own feifdom.

Which scene was your favorite?

The confrontation with Wagner on inauguration day over the appointment to the city planning board summed up Moses in a single incident.You could hate the man and have more power than the man, but you still couldn't resist doing what he ordered you to do.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This is not really a funny or sad book, though some of the anecdotes are pretty funny.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Landmark, the best of many genres.

Where does The Power Broker rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top 3. Quite simply the greatest combined work of public administration, urban planning, political biography, and big city politics ever. For any young man or woman who is considering a career in public service, read this first. It is superior to any single graduate course in public administration of political science, and provides an important tutorial on how the real world works. The audio version is wonderful

What other book might you compare The Power Broker to and why?

Caro's LBJ series is the only serious competitor in the field of 20th century political biography.

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

Spoiler alert; one example of the power of Robert Moses was how he was able to push around Governor and then President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Too much detail, too little power.

As an historian, Robert Caro is comprehensive to a fault. From this exhaustive biography of Robert Moses to his multi-volume encyclopedia of the life of Lyndon Baines Johnson, Caro has shown an aptitude for assembling historical detail. And even for writing it down in relatively accessible, popular prose.

But in my opinion, the real achievement of a great biographer is to sift through the welter of detail that make up the subject’s life, cull out the inconsequential minutiae, and distill the crucial material into an epiphany that illuminates the person’s life and explains the impact that it has had on ours.

Robert Caro is capable of such biographical alchemy when he wants to be. In the introduction to this book, he does a good job of summarizing who Moses was, why he was important, and what was, or is, the essential fraudulence that mars his otherwise monumental life’s work. But once you start into the body of the book, Caro’s compulsion for detail, his inability to exscind trivia, wear heavily upon the reader’s patience.

In the end, I believe that half the book could have been twice as compelling; If Caro had been willing to do the job of discriminating between fact and substance, and select the quintessence of Moses’ life from the quotidian episodes that make up every human life.

22 of 25 people found this review helpful