Lung-Burning History That Turned Green from Color to Cause

The smog beast wafted into downtown Los Angeles on July 26, 1943. Nobody knew what the cloud-bank was, as secretaries rubbed bloodshot eyes and traffic cops seemed to disappear in the acrid, mysterious haze. Was it a chemical shelling on US mainland by a member of the Axis, a reckless factory spewing danger from a smokestack? The truth was far worse. The poisonous air came from within, from Southern California’s burgeoning car-addicted, suburban lifestyle that was supposed to be a model for the world. Now every breath could feel a little apocalyptic.

Smogtown is the story of pollution, chaos, and the epic fight by a metropolis on the rise to vanquish the aerial toxins barraging its skies. With wit, verve, and a fresh look at history through never-before-compiled sources, it highlights the bold personalities involved, the corporate-tainted science, the terrifying health costs, the Buck Rogers-like attempts at cleanup, and how the smog battle contoured the modern-day identity of Los Angeles. In this tale of the twentieth century's first true climate crisis,

there are scofflaws and plenty of dirty deals, plus murders, suicides, spiritual despair, and an ever-present paranoia about a mass disaster. With Southern California still the air pollution center of the planet, this book is a cautionary drama for those who think global warming can be easily tamed. It holds lessons about the intractability of human behavior and the double-edged sword of the automobile culture. Brimming with historic photographs, forgotten anecdotes, and new revelations about L.A.’s murky past, Smogtown is a journalistic classic.

Reviews & Praise

— “[A] remarkably entertaining and informative chronicle of the birth and—so far—inexorable evolution of smog…This book is just amazing, a gripping story well told, with the requisite plucky scientists (including Arie Haagen-Smit, a Dutch biochemist who was “the Elvis of his field”), hapless politicians, and a nebulous biochemical villain who just will not be stopped.” —Booklist (Starred review)

— “…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…(this) book is not lacking in historical heft. Instead, style delivers substance in true Hollywood fashion, with character-driven plots draped in glamour and sensation … the history of smog has never been so sexy…” — Los Angeles Times

— “This colorful history of smog in Los Angeles begins in the 1940s and ends with a warning call for action. Self-proclaimed “survivors” of “L.A.’s greatest crisis,”…Jacobs…and… Kelly dredge up the story of smog in all its hazy—and sometimes humorous—permutations … the authors offer a zany and provocative cultural history.” — Kirkus Review

— “Finished with a particularly powerful, forward-looking epilogue, this friendly, accessible history should appeal to any American environmentalist.” — Publishers Weekly

— “…a meticulous chronicle of the city’s signature airborne grime and of the civic and social forces that emerged to stop it…the authors toss in a dose of gallows humor and a light brushing of melodrama…the point of Smogtown is well made: that the truth really is inconvenient …The story of Smogtown is that of a city vying against time to reconcile incommensurables…” —Bookforum

— “The narrative that emerges is more than a tale of a region and a populace besieged by smog; it is also a parable for a nation beset by environmental and social problems…a well-researched cultural history (that) expose(s) both hapless guesses and dogged persistence on the way to smog literacy.” — Slate

— “Writing in a hip, lively style, [Jacobs and Kelly] recount the efforts…to rid L.A. of the smog with a can-do spirit and an unlimited faith in science, technology, and human ingenuity…[An] intriguing social history of an environmental problem that won’t go away. Recommended.” — Library Journal

— A “seminal book” — Patt Morrison, award-winning Los Angeles Times columnist

— An “essential book” — KPCC/Southern California Public Radio

— ”…a literary, scientific and (ideologically) winning (book), known as the atmospheric…Silent Spring” — Shanghai Book Award

— “A climate classic a remarkable…exposé and memoir about air quality, politics and health in Southern California’s smog belt” — ChinaDialogue

— “… a well-documented, highly engaging, and widely relevant account of southern California’s battle with “the beast”…Smogtown is not your typical “green’s” diatribe…Exposes…how a prodigious population explosion and growing consumption “essentially…turned nature against itself.” — Sustainablog

— “…thoroughly entertaining from start to finish…It’s a dramatic story, playing out like it was written for the screen, with clear protagonists and villains—and humor peppered throughout…a gripping tale that will keep you eagerly turning the pages …” – Earth First

* A BOOKLIST MAGAZINE TOP ENVIRONMENTAL BOOK OF THE YEAR

* INDEPENDENT BOOK PUBLISHERS (IPPY) AWARD SILVER MEDAL, BEST ENVIRONMENTAL/ECOLOGY WORK

* GREEN BOOK FESTIVAL SILVER MEDAL, BEST NON-FICTION

* CITY OF SANTA MONICA GREEN PRIZE FOR SUSTAINABLE LITERATURE

* LOS ANGELES MAGAZINE OFFICIAL PICK, AMONG OTHERS

* LIBRARIES

* SACRAMENTO BEE AND AMAZON BESTSELLER

* SMOGTOWN MANDARIN – BESTSELLER & MULTI-AWARD WINNER

Media & Appearances

* “CALIFORNIA: IT’S GOING TO BE OK. THIS IS STILL OUR MOMENT” – LOS ANGELES TIMES

* HOW LOS ANGELES BECAME SMOGTOWN – NPR – LOS ANGELES (LARRY MANTLE’S AIRTALK SHOW)

* “A SORDID TALE OF LA’S FOREVER WAR ON SMOG” – LOS ANGELES TIMES