Episode · Dwarkesh Podcast · 2022-11-08
Books mentioned on Kenneth T. Jackson - Robert Moses, Hero of New York?
I had a fascinating discussion about Robert Moses and The Power Broker with Professor Kenneth T. Jackson.
Kenneth T. Jackson recommended The Power Broker by Robert A. Caro. Dwarkesh Patel discussed The Panorama of the City of New York by Marc H. Miller and others.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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The Power Broker
The Power Broker by Robert A.
Recommended“I think The Power Broker was the best book I ever read and in broad strokes, it's correct. Robert Moses had more power than any urban figure in American history.”
Where to get it
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The Panorama of the City of New York
The Panorama of the City of New York by Marc H.
Discussed“So it's interesting to look back on a time when we could actually get a lot of public works built very quickly and very efficiently and see if maybe we got our characterization of the people at the time wrong. And that's where your 2007 book comes in.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (2) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
Passing The Power Broker
“Many people will have heard of Robert Moses and be vaguely aware of him through the popular biography of him by Robert Caro, The Power Broker, but most people will not be aware of the extent of his influence on New York City.”
Passing The Power Broker
“In fact, when The Power Broker received an award, the Francis Parkman Prize from the Society of American Historians, it turned out we lived near each other in the Bronx. And I drove him home and we became friends and social friends.”