The Five Books of (Robert) Moses

In the Bible, the Israelites experience in Egypt had become horrible. Moses leads them out. However, they have a long trek in the wilderness before they reach the promised land. Eventually, they do reach Zion shortly after Moses dies. The author here just could not resist the putting Robert Moses in the roll, having the book end with Robert Moses dying shortly before his group of people reach Zion National Park.

The Five Books of (Robert) Moses is a very long book. It is over a thousand pages and the audiobook lasts over 60 hours. The narrative bounces around in time and place. The time from early 1900s until early 1970s is fairly historically accurate with a few embellishments. Attention is paid to the life of Robert Moses and his brother Paul. Robert creates his political fiefdom in New York and is able to push through public works projects regardless of who gets impacted. He destroys the city with his many highways. He also has a bad relationship with his brother Paul who has had investments go sour and been cut off from his inheritance. 

The other historical timeline is the story of the college civil rights movement and the Columbia University sit ins. The novel goes in depth with characters that are involved with these aspects of the civil rights movement. The particular characters may not be historical, but the details of the movement are well covered.

Then there is the hard-core fiction. A dirty bomb is set off in the city. Both Paul Moses and one of the civil rights students have some involvement. The city is gradually getting more and more dangerous to live in, with parts being evacuated. Eventually, the government creates "Rescue City" in the Nevada desert to relocate people that can't relocate themselves. This is structured to be just like New York City. Food and supplies are flown in. Officials are there to help out the residents. The military is also in place to keep order. There is the anticipation that people can go back when New York is safe again. However, for the time being, the only way in or out is via government charter. What could go wrong?

The government hires a private contractor to supply the city. They eventually use unmanned airplanes. The military moves out. Rescue City results to mob and gang rule. There are also some strange experiments done on people. Some people end up there without knowledge of why they are there. Others can experience what other people are feeling. There are various extreme methods of keeping people in line. Eventually, some groups start expeditions out of the city. However, this is a perilous operation, with many dying, and some resorting to cannibalism to survive.

The various stories gradually unfold. Many of the historical parts are told as "memories", often while one of the characters is the middle of a horrible situation. (The book is filled with various types of depravity.) It takes a while to figure out what is going on, but it all starts to fit together in the end.