"[This book] tells the hidden story behind the shaping (and mis-shaping) of twentieth-century New York and makes public what few have known: that Robert Moses was, for almost half a century, the single most powerful man of our time in New York's history, the shaper not only of the city's politics but of its physical structure and the problems of urban decline that plague us today. In revealing how Moses did it - how he developed his public authorities into a political machine that was virtually a fourth branch of government, one that could bring to their knees Governors and Mayors (even the mighty La Guardia) by mobilizing banks, contractors, labor unions, insurance firms, even the press and the Church, into an irresistible economic force - [the author] reveals how power works in all the cities of the United States. Moses built an empire and lived like an emperor. He personally conceived and completed public works so huge that he was the greatest builder America (and probably the world) has ever known. Without ever being elected to office, he dominated the men who were; even his most bitter enemy, Franklin D. Roosevelt, could not control him.-Back cover."
"Robert Moses was one of the most powerful men in New York City during the 20th century. He was an appointed official who mobilized banks, contractors, labor unions, insurance firms, the press and even churches to succeed."@en

The power broker Robert Moses and the fall of New York