Smogtown: The Lung-Burning History of Pollution in Los Angeles by Chip Jacobs

Smogtown: The Lung-Burning History of Pollution in Los Angeles Reviews

• 
  Chris

  A panorama of the Los Angeles skyline used to often resemble a poorly developed roll of film, cut through the middle with a view-obscuring brown smudge. Welcome to "Smogtown: The Lung-Burning History of Pollution in Los Angeles," in which Chip Jacobs and William J. Kelly demonstrate that our current air quality is a free-breathing dream compared to the nightmare that enveloped the city for a good portion of the last century.
  
  The authors trace smog's invasion back to a gray day in 1943 when visibility was so low that Angelenos -- fearing chemical attack -- rushed from their jobs and crashed their cars in the haze. Thus began a series of epic battles in the fight against air pollution: urban growth vs. nature, weather vs. industry, home rule vs. federal regulation, and the automobile vs. the health of the citizenry. The very attractions that lured people to Los Angeles in the 1940s and 1950s -- picturesque mountains, warm winters, thriving commerce and development -- were the same things that made their eyes tear up and forced their children to play inside. As scientists struggled to identify the causes of the toxic air, politicians and bureaucrats tried to regulate without causing too much trouble for local manufacturing. City officials grew so desperate that they accepted suggestions by mail from anyone with an idea to stop the noxious assault.
  
  "Smogtown" is a regional history for the layperson, focusing slightly more on civic drama and scandal than hard science and legislative details. The cover promises "A Cautionary Tale of Environmental Crisis," and the archival photos show "smog suits" for sale on downtown streets and children clutching dolls in their own miniature gas masks. Jacobs and Kelly bring a combination of alt-weekly sensibility and public service gravitas to their account. Evidenced by chapter titles like "Bouffants & Stethoscopes" and "The Wizard of Ozone," the authors apply humor to a grave subject, though entertaining thematic organization sometimes trumps clear chronology. However, the book is not lacking in historical heft. Instead, style delivers substance in true Hollywood fashion, with character-driven plots draped in glamour and sensation. Whether we learn about photochemical pollution via a renegade Caltech scientist or travel with a group of Beverly Hills socialites as they embrace environmental activism, the history of smog has never been so sexy.
  
  We see moments of hope in the struggle against smog, L.A.'s "unofficial billboard": prohibition of trash burning, the requirement that automakers revamp their engines to reduce emissions, carpool lanes, mass transit funding and the electric car. Unfortunately, triumphs are often offset by new villains -- in what nature writer Jenny Price calls the "social geography of air" -- pollution generators who target low-income neighborhoods lacking political clout. While there has been real progress -- cars now emit 1% of the exhaust seen in the 1960s -- global warming is the new threat. Jacobs and Kelly place blame on our reluctance to sacrifice public enemy No. 1: the automobile.
  
  - Originally appeared in the LA Times on 11/2/08
• 
  Amber

  Strong overview of environmental pollution in southern California.
• 
  Omar

  An important piece of American environmental history. The air pollution crisis is a precursor and counterpart to the global warming crisis, as both are driven by the same behaviours and auto emissions, for example. The book gets stars for its insights, in spite of the editorial rough edges (some repetitions throughout that could have been slimmed down).
• 
  Payal Sahoo

  This colorful history of smog in Los Angeles begins in the 1940s and ends with a warning call for action, in which the city was going through a very horrible situation.
  
  Smogtown provides a compelling case history of one city’s experience with its self-created scourge that, in turn, reveals much about modern society at large. It all began on July 8, 1943, when a blinding, confounding haze spread around unsuspecting Angelenos, birthing a decades-long battle against a toxic, shape-shifting monster.
  
  The side effects were horrible and wide-reaching: increased car accidents and cancer rates, ruined crops, suicides and even smog-induced mental conditions, the formation of an imaginary lump that aroused the need to swallow constantly.
  
  Awareness increased in the early ’70s when doctors compared inhaling air on the most smog-ridden days as “two of cigarettes a day.”
  
  Jacobs and Kelly cover many familiar events and figures. They are clearly passionate about the subject and give a very thorough history.I personally love this book and and feel really engaging while reading this.
• 
  Beth Gardiner

  Smogtown is without a doubt the definitive book on L.A.'s long struggle with air pollution. Not only that, it's also a real page-turner. The story Chip Jacobs and William Kelly tell in such gripping fashion starts on the day in 1943 when a strange yellow-brown cloud rolled into town, prompting mystified Angelenos to wonder whether Japan might have launched a gas attack. Needless to say, it hadn't, and Smogtown traces the yearslong detective story of the scientist who finally figured out where that cloud, and the many that followed it, had come from. The tale continues through decades of politics and activism, explores the impact California's fight against pollution has had on the rest of the country, and shows us why clean air and a stable climate are now inextricably linked priorities. Smogtown is not only deeply informative, it's also a great read. I highly recommend it! -- Beth Gardiner, author of Choked: Life and Breath in the Age of Air Pollution
• 
  Bookish Girl

  I am staying in LA since last 3 years but I never heard about the bad history about Smog and then my friend suggested me this book and as the cover says it all, I decided to read this.
  Honestly, in the start, it was boring and not that gripping but as soon as i read to 50-60 pages, I was involved in this book completely.
  Before shifting to LA, I lived in India and I know how pollution is affecting the environment in India. I am always concerned about nature and this book was a perfect choice for me.
  
  There is everything about LA and the Smog beast and how it created a havoc in the city.
  There is a little disappointment with the grammatical mistakes but the content is superb. It looks like authors have worked hard for the research work.
  
  There are pictures in th book which may tear you down but its the real life incident. Through this book, authors are conveying the message to prevent environment from air pollution and smog. Great work!
• 
  Lindsey Applegate

  If you love history then you'll love this book. The smog beast wafted into downtown Los Angeles on July 26, 1943 and covered the whole city. Nobody knew what it was. People seemed to disappear in the mysterious haze.
  
  Who all were responsible for this? Could it be the Japanese?
  Maybe a reckless factory?
  Was it the automobile industry?
  
  The truth was much worse because it came from within. It came from Southern California's burgeoning car-addicted, suburban lifestyle.
  
  Chip Jacobs and William J. Kelly highlight every detail so amazingly. The book describes the bold personalities involved, the involvement of science, the bad politics game,
  the terrifying health costs, the attempts at cleanup, and how the smog battle helped mold the modern-day culture of Los Angeles.
  
  It deserves a five star for detailed content and hard research.
• 
  Somya jain

  Smogtown is such a fantastic book on L.A.'s fight with air pollution. The story Chip Jacobs and William Kelly tell in such an engaging way is really good, it starts on the day in 1943 when the Angelenos felt something strange that covered the clouds making them wonder.
  At first, they though Japan have launched a gas attack but the truth was different.
  Smogtown further describe the story of the scientist who finally figured out the reason behind the Smog.
  The tale throws a light on politics too, what role politics play in such situations. Writing a book on history of LA is really a good message because this havoc impacted the rest of the country too and made everyone realised why clean air and a good climate should be the top priority. Well written and detailed book.
• 
  Kristine

  This is definitely a niche book — you have to have an unusually high level of interest in Southern California air quality to make it worth your while. While the history of the fight against smog in LA can be interesting, the authors felt the need to try to jazz it up with florid prose and silly terminology (Smognoscenti? Get it? It’s a combination of “smog” and “cognoscenti!”). The book also suffers with age, which is not the authors’ fault, but simply the danger of writing about such a topical and ever-evolving subject matter.
• 
  Salimah

  An exhaustive (pun kind of intended) history of one of Los Angeles' defining characteristics--as iconic as Hollywood and all it represents--its smoggy sky. Chip Jacobs and William J. Kelley make the convincing case that environmental justice is racial and socioeconomic justice and that capitalism is often just as nefarious as its made out to be. They manage to make the chronology of choices regarding the health of its citizenry and the earth across political administrations at various levels read like the most nail-biting true-crime saga, which, let's be honest, it is.