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Can a book be both endlessly enthralling and gratuitously tedious simultaneously? Apparently, it can.
They say that biographers identify with their subject, and Robert Caro was not untouched by the megalomania that drove Robert Moses. The worst problem was his tendency to belabor his points, as if his readers were slightly dim and couldn't be trusted to get a point the first time, or remember it. How many times should it be necessary to say that the West Side Highway would cut off New Yorkers' ac ...more
They say that biographers identify with their subject, and Robert Caro was not untouched by the megalomania that drove Robert Moses. The worst problem was his tendency to belabor his points, as if his readers were slightly dim and couldn't be trusted to get a point the first time, or remember it. How many times should it be necessary to say that the West Side Highway would cut off New Yorkers' ac ...more
Dec 04, 2024
Elizabeth
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Recommended to me by David Solomon, the CEO of Goldman Sachs.
Would give it more stars if I could! Caro deserved the Pulitzer, for sure.
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 th ...more
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 th ...more
Excellent biography of a unknown New York City Power Broker
that welded a surprising amount of power for an non elected official. Somewhat chilling at times with the depiction of
city politics and how little known men can vastly alter the lives of many, many people simply by being smart (and unscrupulous.)
that welded a surprising amount of power for an non elected official. Somewhat chilling at times with the depiction of
city politics and how little known men can vastly alter the lives of many, many people simply by being smart (and unscrupulous.)
Sooo long. Super interesting, but hard when the author so clearly disdains his subject, even if justified. Glad I finally finished!
Aug 19, 2011
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