Robert Caro on 99% Invisible

I promise not to keep talking about The Power Broker, and the 99% Invisible podcasts about it. But just one more, okay?

The first non-preview episode about the book just aired, covering the introduction and first two sections, and then the hosts talked to the author, 88-year-old Robert Caro. 

He seemed genuinely moved that they are devoting a so many segments to his book, and that they understand the book so well. 

Caro told a number of anecdotes about his life leading up to the time when he wrote the book and the process of writing it. Probably the most memorable one involves interviewing Robert Moses at home with the great man seated in a leather chair between two picture windows overlooking the beach and parkway named for him.

Toward the end of the podcast, Roman Mars throws out the idea that it's possible none of us would remember who Moses was if it weren't for Caro's book. He would just be a name on some plaques. 

Which is ironic, because Moses realized after half a dozen interviews that Caro was not writing a hagiography and cut him off from future contact. But Caro's in-depth portrait of Moses as a reporter saw him — after seven years of research and writing — led to Moses's name living on, whether for good or ill, and guaranteeing that as long as New York City and the parks of New York State exist, he's at least not going to be forgotten.

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Photograph of Robert Caro by Larry D. Moore (CC BY 4.0).

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Earlier posts about The Power Broker:

A Year of The Power Broker

Power at Its Best

Stealing Lightbulbs for the Power Broker

Loving The Power Broker