Tumblr Should Read the Power Broker
So 99 Percent Invisible is a podcast by Roman Mars. It talks about the design of everyday things, like postage stamps and walking trails and gas ranges. It's the sort of stories that tumblr likes. You can check out the podcast here. Roman Mars also has a thing about flags, as you can see here:
But I'm not really here to talk about why you should listen to 99 Percent Invisible in general (though hey, I like it). I'm here because I've failed after a decade to leave this website. Also, 99 Percent Invisible is reading The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York and you, tumblr, should join the readalong.
Okay. What is The Power Broker? It's a 1,336 page biography of Robert Moses by Robert A. Caro.
Why am I suggesting that Tumblr read The Power Broker?
- You all would love to hate the subject.
I'm sure some of you already do! Robert Moses stands for bureaucratic power and the midcentury city planning that prioritized cars over people. He was never elected to any office but was able to shape one of the largest cities in the world. And Robert Caro, the author, carefully notes how he was able to amass power. Also, he hated Robert Moses. You can think of it as an extremely long and detailed call out post. On that note.
- It's extremely well researched.
Look. I think, after James Somerton and the scourge of AI printed materials, there's a lot of people that are feeling lied to. We want to see people do the work.The research.The footnotes. We want someone to be willing to turn over every rock, and spend years on a single project. Robert Caro is the author we need right now. He is thorough. He is willing to work diligently, reading every memo, talking to everyone involved who would talk to him. And by God, there will be footnotes.
- Tumblr is the land of hyperfixation
The main stopping point for The Power Broker is that it's long. So? That's like 705,000 words. I know at least some of you monsterfuckers have written that many words in a year and read them in a weekend. And you'd be reading it along with other people, so there'd be some sort of accountability. If there was ever a social media website where I think people would be willing to go down a very deep and detailed rabbit hole on civil engineering, it would be Tumblr. Also maybe Metafilter. They've probably already read The Power Broker, though.
Being really into The Power Broker is a very dad thing to do. Getting all of the (gender neutral) Tumblr girlies into The Power Broker and giving it a very Tumblr treatment would be very entertaining. Transmascs, you can think of being into the Power Broker as a non-toxic way to affirm your masculinity. Haven't you ever wanted to commit to the bit so hard that you end up reading a seminal piece of midcentury American nonfiction? Now's your chance.
Okay, you've convinced me. What do I do?
- Acquire the Power Broker. Honestly, I'd probably just check your local used book store. I don't think it ever came out in ebook.
- Read the Power Broker at your own pace. I'm not your real dad.
- Listen along to whatever 99 Percent Invisible has cooked up. I have no idea what they're planning. I'm not affiliated with them in any way. But they do have an episode up already.
- Profit? IDK. If you feel like posting, tag it correctly and I might reblog.
