The Power Broker

The Power Broker is very good but his LBJ series is phenomenal. When I recommend it to people I say it's like The Odyssey of American History and Politics. It's the best non-fiction series I've ever read and I almost exclusively read NF.

Another vote for The Power Broker. A fascinating, if daunting, book.

You may find The Power Broker (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Power_Broker) by him interesting as well :)

The following have all had a significant effect on my worldview. You can find more information at [1]. - The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany - Thinking, Fast and Slow - Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind - Crime and Punishment - The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York - Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies - The Precipice: Existential Risk and the Future of Humanity - Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead - Franny and Zooey - Master of the Senate - Atlas Shrugged - Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed - Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides’s Trap? - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics - The Scout Mindset: Why Some People See Things Clearly and Others Don't - Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Thinking Humans - Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage - Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World - Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones - Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow…

48 Laws of Power The Power Broker History of Western Philosophy

'The Power Broker' by Robert Caro is ostensibly a biography, but it's actually about how power works. The protagonist starts out employing idealistic methods, but falls flat on his face, and comes to delight in any means of achievement. I found that once I understood the protagonist's raw goal-seeking, and the dynamics that emerge from it, I started to recognize similar dynamics at many levels of society and government. Barack Obama read it at 22 and said it was mesmerizing and that it shaped how he thinks about politics.

The Power Broker and all volumes of The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert Caro. The best books I've ever read. I effectively re-read them all every year or two.

Recommend: 1) The Power Broker - About Robert Moses, the most powerful city planner in New York from the 1930s to the 1960s. Great if you're interested in city planning, how people gain and exercise power, and the real politik of government. 2) The Jungle - Remembered as an exposé of meatpacking, but really more than that. Phenomenal story about early 20th immigrants to Chicago trying to take part in the American Dream but struggling to survive. Surprisingly relevant today. 3) The Big Con - Fascinating look at con artists in the first half of the 20th century.

+1 - one of my favorite books and one of the best books on the use of power in american government that currently exists. His series on Lyndon Johnson is also incredible.

"The Power Broker" by Robert Caro, great bio of Robert Moses, a man who had a tremendous influence on how NYC looks now, it's a great study of power, politics, and the history of NYC.

I'm reading a few. The Power Broker (really good, but really long). The dictators handbook (good, but repetitive). Deep thinking (easy and enjoyable if you're interested in AI). Investment Science (very good if you're interested in math finance).

"The Power Broker" by Robert Caro. Nobody has ever captured the nature of power on an individual level to the depth and breadth that Caro did on this book. (except perhaps his epic treatment of Lyndon Johnson) Over something like 1,100 pages you get to track the career of an aspiring reformer as he transitions to skilled and trusted government official, to someone who manages to grow to the point that he is more powerful than the Governor and Mayor of New York during NY's economic peak -- despite never having been elected to anything. Then you get to witness his decline and ultimate fall. This is probably the best biography ever written. It may take you six months to read, but its time well spent.

I recently finished this book and I have to agree. An exceptionally well written historical artifact. A critical, but not prescriptive, description of power.

"The Power Broker" by Robert Caro. At first glance, it's a 1,000-page, detailed biography of a (in)famously effective city planner Robert Moses. At its core, it's a lucid examination of the anatomy of power. It has completely changed how I think about power, where it comes from (whether it's at work or in the greater market/world) and how it is retained and lost. It's also a great antithesis to junk-food journalism and online reading that we've become addicted to. Caro's research is thorough and his writing is inspiring.

Robert Caro's The Power Broker about Robert Moses, the most powerful unelected government official in U.S. history. Caro, a Pulitzer winning journalist, is a wiz at writing, so you'll enjoy each page. But more importantly, even though Robert Moses was a bad buy, you don't have to be bad to learn to get what you want, in an organization, by ignoring superficial power structures, and focusing on the real ones. Plus you'll learn a ton about how NYC was built out in the depression.