The Power Broker

Name: The Power Broker
Author: Robert A. Caro
ISBN: 9780394461861

by Robert A. Caro

An unprecedented exploration of political power, urban planning, and the un-elected mastermind who reshaped New York City at the expense of hundreds of thousands of lives.

An anatomy of raw power in modern democracy.

For over four decades, Robert Moses held an unprecedented monopoly on power in New York State without ever being elected to public office. As the master builder of public works, he reshaped the physical landscape of the metropolis with bridges, parks, beaches, and vast expressways.

Through seven years of painstaking investigative journalism, Robert A. Caro exposes how Moses accumulated power, evicted whole neighborhoods, favored automobiles over public transit, and permanently altered the social fabric of the world's most prominent city.

Archival footage of mid-century New York highway construction and urban skyline.

“

One of the most impressive and critical studies of power in American history.

KODAMA / EDITORIAL NOTE

The author 1935 — Present

Robert A. Caro

Robert A. Caro is a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist and biographer. Renowned for his meticulous archival research and exhaustive interview techniques, Caro spends decades immersed in his subjects to uncover the mechanics of political influence.

Starting as an investigative reporter for Newsday, Caro revolutionized biographical writing with The Power Broker and subsequently dedicated his life to writing The Years of Lyndon Johnson, a multi-volume masterwork on political power.

ABOUT ROBERT A. CARO

Also the author of the multi-volume biography The Years of Lyndon Johnson and Working: Researching, Interviewing, Writing.

A few things that make the book even more intriguing.

Seven years of research and interviews.

Caro conducted hundreds of interviews with family members, politicians, and engineers, including seven extended face-to-face sessions with Robert Moses himself.

It was originally over a million words.

The original manuscript was so massive that it had to be cut by over 300,000 words to fit into a single publishable volume.

Required reading for urban planners.

Decades after its publication, the book remains required reading in political science, journalism, and urban planning courses worldwide.

Moses tried to stop its impact.

Upon publication, Robert Moses released a 23-page statement attempting to refute Caro's findings, which only fueled public interest in the book.

On screen

Adaptations & Screen Attempts.

Despite the immense popularity of the book, adapting a 1,200-page political epic has proven to be a unique challenge for Hollywood.

1999

New York: A Documentary Film

Directed by Ric Burns, this acclaimed PBS documentary series draws heavily on Caro's work to explore Robert Moses's impact on New York's highways and parks.

HBO

HBO Miniseries Development

HBO optioned the book for a miniseries with Oliver Stone attached and later with Peter Morgan (The Crown) writing, though the project never reached production.

Watch

The story behind the book.

Robert A. Caro in conversation about researching, writing, and dissecting political power in The Power Broker.

ARCHIVE FILM Robert A. Caro · New York · 1974

Historical footage of New York's bridges, urban development, and transportation infrastructure.

Legacy

A masterclass in political power.

The Power Broker fundamentally changed how the public understands American municipal politics. It revealed that true power in a democracy does not always rest with elected officials, but often in the hands of those who control infrastructure, bureaucracy, and public authorities.

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