rich
21-Apr-10, 17:46
I just spent a couple of months reading Robert Caro's monumental biography of Robert Moses. (The Power Broker)
Robert Moses was the master-builder of New York. From the 1930s to the 1960s he was the most powerful man in the city. Yet he was never elected to office.
Robert Caro was his nemesis. A fearless - some would say - obsessive seeker of the real truth about Moses.
Robert Caro is the greatest living historian of the United States. He is currently producing a quadruple decker history of Lyndon Johnson. I have read three volumes so far and I can't wait for the fourth.
The last one I read was "Master of the Senate." It is the indispensible guide to what was really going on in the Obama election and in the recent health care bill (a travesty!) To understand the Senate you have to understand LBJ.
Caro writes long. Exceptionally long. Thousands of pages per book. And yet his readers are glued to the unfolding tale. Reading Caro can give you carpal tunnel syndrome. It is worth it, believe me.
Here's a taste of what Caro is all about.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPgGIm3XEHk&feature=related
Robert Moses was the master-builder of New York. From the 1930s to the 1960s he was the most powerful man in the city. Yet he was never elected to office.
Robert Caro was his nemesis. A fearless - some would say - obsessive seeker of the real truth about Moses.
Robert Caro is the greatest living historian of the United States. He is currently producing a quadruple decker history of Lyndon Johnson. I have read three volumes so far and I can't wait for the fourth.
The last one I read was "Master of the Senate." It is the indispensible guide to what was really going on in the Obama election and in the recent health care bill (a travesty!) To understand the Senate you have to understand LBJ.
Caro writes long. Exceptionally long. Thousands of pages per book. And yet his readers are glued to the unfolding tale. Reading Caro can give you carpal tunnel syndrome. It is worth it, believe me.
Here's a taste of what Caro is all about.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPgGIm3XEHk&feature=related