Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant
Review: A brilliant book that I even found a quick read despite its heft. It does have some minor flaws. The writing is slightly hysterical in spots. And I DO NOT buy the premise that Moses was a good-hearted man at the start, who was corrupted by power after he'd dirtied his hands. I think he was arrogant and power hungry from the start. Incidentally, anyone who still harbors the illusion that the Kennedys were (are!) out for the public good should consider (on p. 1014) that when Moses purchased land owned by Robert Kennedy and his sisters Jean, Eunice and Patricia, for public works with municipal funds, even though all surrounding land was valued at $9.58 per square foot, Moses paid the Kennedys $62.88 per square foot. Moses the kiss-up, making spoiled rich kids even richer. Your tax dollars at work! Unlike Lyndon Johnson, Moses was still alive when this book by Caro was published. In a "New Yorker" article a couple years ago, Caro said Moses slammed Caro in almost every speech Moses gave after its publication. I'm glad Moses had his history thrown in his face with this book.
Rating:
Summary: great to read on the subway, but only if you've got a seat
Review: Although I have lived in NYC most of my life, I never understood how it got this way until I read Robert Caro's book. It was beautifully written, even dramatic. If you consider yourself a "real" New Yorker, I urge you to read this book- it will inform your every day life. It also makes terrific subway reading- but it's a little heavy to read while standing.
Rating:
Summary: LANDMARK bio of R. Moses,and 20th Century New York City!!
Review: I first read this behemoth of a book way back as a New York neo-phyte in 1975, and over the years have browsed through it many times,always in awe. Anyone can drive through, visit, and even live in a great city, and state too, without really knowing how it came to look and be that way. Mr. Moses was a major player in building the UN headquarters, the 1964 World's Fair, Shea Stadium,Lincoln Center,Throgs Neck Bridge, NYstate parkways,the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, Orchard and Jones Beaches,on and on. He even helped design the signs at the beaches,and the dancing elephant sculptures at Central Park zoo. He knew,worked with, and bullied every NYC mayor, and governor,of his day,and even battled FDR himself...Much of the public housing in NYC was developed by Moses too...This book seems incredible,but a great writer and historian like Mr. Caro actually pulls it off Summa Cum Laude!!
Rating: 
Summary: Important but flawed book
Review: One cannot over state Robert Moses' impact on New York's very landscape. Nor is it possible to underestimate his almost rapacious ability to amass political power, his skill at manipulating the political system, nor the degree to which he was able to out maneuver and bully elected officials to his will. As someone who has spent ten years making a living in politics there can be no doubt that Moses was the maestro of politics with an unmatched ability to call the tune. For this reason, this is a must read for those interested in politics. That said, Caro goes too far in attacking Moses on a broad front, often on charges that are spurious. At the same time, he does not sufficiently acknowledge the contributions Moses made to the City and the Nation. This book follows a problematic habit of Caro of needing to paint his subjects in a purely negative light, attacking them viciously and always underestimating their positive contributions. On the unfair attacks, Caro charges Moses with ruining NYC riverfront by running highways along them. While that is true as a matter of fact, he fails to explain that, at the time, driving was seen as recreation and every American city followed the identical path. On another score, Caro criticizes Moses because his highways generated traffic thus requiring the creation of more highways. Again the charge is unfair. Traffic studies were at best primitive and the effects of traffic multiplication were little understood. At the same time, Caro fails to appreciate the sheer scope of Moses vision and the works he built. Nor, while he attacks Mosses' manipulation of the process, does he ever deal with the really tough question of whether another way to build great public works exist other than with a man like Moses. For all that, Caro's book is still an essential read for those interested in the art of politics and power as well as urban planning. While the book is long, occasionally over written, and shares with Caro?s other works a rather unfortunate tendency towards melodrama. it still offers the reader much that they cannot learn elsewhere. Moses was an artist who used America?s greatest city as his canvas. Sadly, his masterpiece showed signs of early wear and mistakes by the artist.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Great Ones
Review: If you want to understand America and American cities, you must read three books: "Common Ground" by J Anothony Lukas. "The Death and Life of Great American Cities" by Jane Jacobs. And this one.
Rating:
Summary: Biography at its best!
Review: I loved this book! I have always been interested in Long Island history and no one played a larger role in carving so much of its landscape that Robert Moses. Caro provides insight in Moses' early years as an ambitious college student full of energy and ideas to spark efficiency and beauty. Caro also deals with Moses' rise to power and actions taken with that power. Truly Moses had more say than anyone else in New York for a number of years. The reader learns that Moses used this power both positively and nagatively. We see a visionary who create a playground on the grandest scale. Jones Beach IS the jewel of Long Island because Moses had the confidence to dream big (and leave his budget by the wayside). The chapter of his discovery of making the beach a reality is just marvelous. I will never forget the image of Moses walking on the deserted sand dunes dreaming of what could (and would) be. Yet we see a very different man who willingly destroyed the pleasant community of East Tremont since it was in the way of his vision. Care paints a picture that is both critical and respectful. An interesting anecdote from the book. Anyone familiar with the parkways of Long Island has likely wondered what Moses was thinking. We learn that the man who designed so many of Long Island's roads never even had a driver's liscence. This book is well worth reading, if the length seems daunting, you will be caught up in this great life story very quickly!
Rating:
Summary: This is a most memorable book.
Review: Robert Caro remade my New York State geography, my New York State political beliefs, in writing this scathing biography of Robert Moses. I read this book 15 years ago, and ever since then I have never seen a highway in the same way as I did before. You don't have to come away hating Moses; you will, however, come away with a new understanding of how our modern world of highways, parkways, and public lands were created. This is an indispensable book for anyone interested in the history of the 20th century. It is absolutely required reading for anyone who enjoys history, urban development, or biography. The Power Broker is an unforgettable book.
Rating:
Summary: One of my all-time favorites
Review: There are so many great things about this book, from its structure to its lessons on urban planning, to its portrait of power politics in New York. Robert Moses, the man who did not know how to drive, kills public transportation in NY to build the modern auto-centered city. This book is a fascinating portrait of a fascinating and hugely influential man. And the writing is marvelous: crisp, precise, it's a model for top-notch nonfiction writing. If you have any interest in how New York got to be the way it is now, you must read this book.
Rating:
Summary: The Power Broker
Review: Have you ever thought you really understood something and thereafter learned that you didn't understand at all? This was my experience while reading The Power Broker by Robert Caro. The clarity and breadth of this book made me feel if suddenly the curtain had been thrown back to reveal the real reasons for government actions that can appear so unreasonable. I had previously read and enjoyed Caro's LBJ biographies(I hopefully await the third volume)but I believe The Power Broker is his best work. If someone can refer me to the New Yorker article by Caro regarding Moses' reaction to the book, I will be grateful. davidk@nashville.com
Rating:
Summary: A Book Worthy of the Subject
Review: Until I read The Power Broker, I really had no idea who Robert Moses was. I knew very little about urban planning, New York City politics, or public works. Caro handles the subjects so thoroughly that the lack of familiarity mattered not at all. Moses was obviously a giant of a man. He accomplished great things and made colossal blunders; he was a man of great vision who was blind to the effects his policies had on the less fortunate. The contradictions are laid out in full detail in this monster of a book. It is hard to comprehend the work that Caro must have put into this book; it stands as the definitive biography of Moses and the textbook of urban policy in America.
| 
