Moses concealed his true ambition for parks behind repeated protestations of wanting nothing

Evidence

Over and over during 1923 and the beginning of 1924, as Smith watched Moses driving himself in his service, he asked Moses what he wanted. Over and over again, Moses said, “Nothing.” And then, one day, there was something. The something was parks. — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 626

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: Caro’s classic structure: the refusal of everything is a screen for the one thing he truly wants; secrecy about ambition as the precondition for acquiring unprecedented power.
• SHARE: For any fan of The Power Broker this three-line pivot is a beat worth savoring aloud—the whole thesis of Moses compressed into one paragraph.
• XREF: connects to: Ambition was not the whole motive driving young Moses — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 274

Broader Connections

• Ambition was not the whole motive driving young Moses #qualifies (0.75) — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 274