The Great Los Angeles Swindle: Oil, Stocks, and Scandal During the Roaring Twenties

For those of who grew up in Los Angeles during the 1960s, much of the past was obscured, unless you went to the Huntington Library or had access to good oral history from those who lived in the City of Angels while it was growing up, in the 1920s and 30s. My parents never told me of the great oil land grabs, although they were a big part of Angeleno lore. My mother the historian was more aware of the auto companies' diabolical shutdown of the street-car system in the late 1940s, and of the Hollywood Blacklist period, than of the land-and-resource grabbers.Tygiel has thoroughly researched this history of the pitchmen and speculators who ripped through fertile Los Angeles looking for black gold. Sleazy-though-lovable salesmen, corrupt (and virtuous) district attorneys, town fathers-- all are portrayed here by an unbiased journalist and student of L.A. history who should do more books on the subject.I am a fifth-generation Californian who has lived in New York for many years, and I thirst for more history of my hometown (Los Angeles) at every turn. Jules Tygiel has sated that thirst for the time being with his cogent take on the LA of the (fictional) Chinatown era. Now, he should get a three-book deal to write even more about the period, which I shall earnestly await.

This book reads like a well-written detective story, with fascinating characters, unforseen plot twists, and a breezy narrative style. It is, unbelieveably, a true story, which makes it even more mind-boggling.For native Angelenos, another fascinating feature of the book is the history of the city's development. This was a formative period when city fathers were just beginning to aspire to civic greatness. Tygel has woven LA's history through the book and dropped in wonderful historical tidbits.

Con-men, scandal -- this well-written narrative history of Los Angeles in the 1920s reads like a great movie. Recommended!