In the introduction to The Power Broker, Caro introduces his subject: Robert Moses. He begins with an anecdote, describing Moses’s attempts to raise money for his university swim team. When told not to approach certain alumnus, he threatened to quit. His bluff was called, and he resigned. Later, a newly sworn-in mayor of New York City tried to trick Moses into reducing his power and authority. Moses again threatened to resign, but this time, he got what he wanted. The difference between the two scenarios, Caro suggests, is that the latter incident shows how much “power” Moses accumulated.

Caro describes the huge influence Moses had over shaping New York in the 20th century. He was the visionary behind parks, dams, schools, bridges, parkways, highways, housing developments, and government buildings. He even oversaw the reshaping of the Manhattan shoreline, rebuilding the city in his image. Over decades, nothing was built in the state without his approval, and civic leaders visited him from across the country to learn how he overcame the bureaucratic impediments that limited other cities’ building works.

Though hugely influential and idealistic, Moses was also corrupt and wasteful.