Stealing the Lightbulbs for the Power Broker

The first great book I read when I was a freshman in college was The Power Broker by Robert Caro, a biography of Robert Moses, who built and simultaneously destroyed New York City in the mid-20th century. I don't think I quite realized the book was great, though, because I didn't have much to compare it to. I probably thought most college books were that wonderful. But still, it made an impression, since I remember it to this day.

I was reminded of the book tonight when I heard part of an interview with Caro on Fresh Air. The whole thing is worth a listen but the part I want to describe is how Caro got access to Moses' voluminous files, which Moses had refused to give him.

It turned out Moses had left carbon copies behind in a Parks Department warehouse-of-sorts and a friend of Caro's had a key, so he spent months reading the rows of filing cabinets. But the workers in control of the storage room were still loyal to Moses, who had been the Parks Commissioner (among his many other titles in the city hierarchy), and each time Caro and his helper would leave to use the restroom or get lunch, the parks workers would remove the overhead light bulbs that were the only light source in the room.

Caro and his assistant got around this problem by bringing their own stash of light bulbs each day.

This anecdote works as a metaphor for Caro's doggedness. It makes a less positive metaphor for the workers who stole the light bulbs.

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An earlier post contained a lengthy quote from part one of Caro's biography of Lyndon Johnson, and reminds me again what a reporter and writer he is, and the truths he has told that matter so much.