Robert Caro.
ROBERT CARO
THE POWER BROKER: ROBERT MOSES AND THE FALL OF NEW YORK (1974)
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize.
Robert Moses (born 1888) was the mastermind of the urban development of New York City during the 20th century. Rising to great power as an (unelected) official in the New York State government, he was responsible for decades of infrastructure development.. This included huge freeways, massive public housing schemes, and several spectacular bridges. He created and led several semi-autonomous public bodies, which were able to raise bonds and embark on great construction projects with little external input or oversight.
Bryan Appleyard wrote of the book in the Sunday Times: ‘One of the great biographies of all time ... [by] one of the great reporters of our time ... and probably the greatest biographer. He is also an extraordinary writer. After reading page 136 of his book The Power Broker, I gasped and read it again, then again. This, I thought, is how it should be done ... said to be one of the greatest nonfiction works ever written ... Every MP, wonk and would-be wonk in Westminster has read [Robert Caro's The Years of Lyndon Johnson], because they think it is the greatest insight into power ever written. They’re nearly right: it’s the second greatest after The Power Broker.’
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Robert Caro (born 1935) is a much admired journalist and author. He has won many awards including two Pulitzer Prizes for Biography. He was born in New York City, the son of Jewish parents. He became a prolific writer from a young age. At Princeton his senior thesis ‘Heading Out: A Study of the Development of Ernest Hemingway Thought’ ran to 235 pages and caused the University to introduce a maximum length for senior theses.
