The Power Broker is Robert Caro’s biography of Robert Moses, the man who built most of modern New York without ever being elected to anything. I found it through Dwarkesh Patel’s video essay on Caro’s books, which he made while preparing to interview Caro. The essay also covers Caro’s books on Lyndon Johnson and how he turned the Senate majority leader into a job with actual power.
Caro’s books are the best-written accounts of how political power actually works.
I’m also wondering if there are similar personas in India and Kerala. Lots of things to read when I’m post-AGI.