Chip Jacobs is a Los Angeles-area author and journalist. His most recent book is Smogtown: the Lung-Burning History of Pollution in Los Angeles (The Overlook Press/Penguin Group USA) with William J. Kelly. The Independent Book Publishers (IPPY) Awards and Green Book Festival honored this social history with silver medals, and the city of Santa Monica bestowed it with the Green Prize for Sustainable Literature. Booklist magazine, which gave Smogtown a starred review, named it one of the best environmental books of 2008. The Los Angeles Times/Tribune syndicate called the work “sexy,” Publishers Weekly crowned it “powerful” and “accessible,” with others tabbing it “meticulous,” “highly engaging” and “provocative and zany.” It was an official pick of Los Angeles magazine, among other publications. Prior to Smogtown, Jacobs penned Wheeling the Deal: The Outrageous Legend of Gordon Zahler, Hollywood’s Flashiest Quadriplegic. (Behler Publications) Critics have praised Jacobs’ biography of his uncle as a “brilliant and uplifting” story told with “dramatic flair and detached fairness.” The book, which made the winner’s circle at the Hollywood Book Festival, was offered a film option. Besides these books, Jacobs’ popular profile of former Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alatorre is included in the anthology Voices of the U.S.-Latino Experience (Greenwood Publications).

Chip is currently at work on a true-crime book based on this story and a historical novel touching this, so please check back for updates.

On the journalism side, Jacobs’ work has appeared in The Los Angeles Times, the Daily News of Los Angeles, L.A. Weekly, the New York Times online, CNN, The Chicago Tribune, the Orlando Sentinel, Southland Publishing, newgeography.com, among other outlets. Jacobs’ specialities are investigative, environmental and feature writing, and his stories have had their effect. They’ve prompted investigations by the California Attorney General and other agencies, triggered Congressional action on environmental fraud, contributed to the prosecution of a Los Angeles Councilman, exposed graft at the region’s transit and redevelopment authorities, inspired laws relating to water pollution and state-owned housing, and re-opened the unsolved murder case of a former mayor. He’s also explored the wonders of Tommy Burgers, neighborhood dumpsters, Vicodin thieves, crusading grandmothers, and a dorky mogul’s revenge. For his efforts, he’s been honored by the Los Angeles Press Club, the California Newspaper Publishers Association, the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies and The Los Angeles Times.   

Jacobs grew up in northeast Pasadena. In 1985, he graduated from the University of Southern California with BAs in journalism and international relations. In 1988, he graduated from The American University in Washington, D.C. with an MA in international relations, emphasizing national security issues. He is the recipient of numerous academic honors. Jacobs broke into journalism in 1990 at The Los Angeles Business Journal. His passions today include Trojan football, the Beatles, electric guitar, forgotten literature, running and super-sugary breakfast cereals. He lives in Southern California with his wife, a USC public relations professor, and their two children.