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"The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York" by Robert Caro This is an incredibly long biography of a man who figured out how to build an urban em
by cl42 2y ago
"The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York" by Robert Caro
This is an incredibly long biography of a man who figured out how to build an urban empire. While he wasn't an "entrepreneur" per se, he figured out how to generate huge amounts of revenue via tolls/bridges, how to manage and manipulate public policy, and how to attract the best urban planning talent.
... and you can then read about how it all fell apart.
Regardless of your opinion on Robert Moses / NYC, it's an incredibly fascinating read or (~90-hour) audio book.
- jbullock35 2y agoThe Power Broker is a superb choice for OP. This comment should be closer to the top of the thread.
- squeedles 2y agoAbsolutely also recommend! Took a while to get through it but Moses figured out how to hack government and civil engineering projects. He literally changed the New York State constitution, used bond contracts to build a defensive barrier around himself, and for better or worse then built half of the public works projects in the US himself or through his disciples.
- _aavaa_ 2y ago99% invisible recently did it as a book club. You can listen to a much shorter chapter-by-chapter summary and discussion about it: https://99percentinvisible.org/club/ https://99percentinvisible.org/club/
- gainda 2y agosecond this: i was trying to follow along with the 99 percent invisible book club but i fell behind due to life events. i picked it back up during the holidays with about 25% left to go. Caro does an amazing job writing in an engaging, compelling way about topics that would otherwise feel dry coming from a different writer. i look forward to getting into his LBJ books in the future.
- dayvid 2y agoThis is a top answer. Robert Caro goes into excruciating detail on how he accomplished most public works projects. I especially appreciate him covering the grey or dark sides of getting deals done as most really hard things have some unpleasant sides to them.