Sign-In
Cart
Smogtown: The Lung-Burning History of Pollution in Los Angeles
Paperback
Environmental StudiesRegional: West
ISBN13: 9781590204023
Publisher: Abrams Press
Published: Oct 13 2015
Pages: 400
Weight: 0.80
Height: 1.20 Width: 5.30 Depth: 7.90
Language: English
The smog didn't come from the outside--it came from within.
On July 26, 1943, a mysterious haze blanketed downtown Los Angeles. Office workers rubbed their eyes, traffic cops vanished into the fog, and rumors swirled of enemy sabotage. But the truth was far more insidious: the smog was a byproduct of Southern California's own booming, car-obsessed, suburban lifestyle.
In this gripping history, journalists Chip Jacobs and William J. Kelly trace the rise of Los Angeles's air pollution crisis--from its murky beginnings to its explosive political and environmental consequences. Smogtown is a tale of civic ambition, corporate denial, scientific manipulation, and the everyday people caught in the toxic cloud.
Brimming with compelling anecdotes, historic photos, and sharp cultural insight, Smogtown is both a cautionary tale and a journalistic classic--essential reading for anyone interested in the intersection of environment, politics, and urban life.
Inside you'll find:
- A vivid chronicle of L.A.'s smog battles from the 1940s through the 21st century
- Profiles of the bold reformers, bureaucrats, and polluters who shaped the fight
- Shocking health consequences and environmental costs
- Revelations about how L.A.'s smog story mirrors global environmental struggles
Also in
Regional: West
Born of Lakes and Plains: Mixed-Descent Peoples and the Making of the American West
Hyde, Anne F.
Hardcover
Tin Can Coast: A History of Industry, Greed, and Fishing in the Golden State
Ogilvy, Joseph
Hardcover
Where the Deer and the Antelope Play: The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Likes to Walk Outside
Offerman, Nick
Paperback
City on the Edge: Technology, Politics, and the Fight for the Soul of San Francisco
Weber, Jonathan
Hardcover
Brave the Wild River: The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped the Botany of the Grand Canyon
Sevigny, Melissa L.
Paperback
We Pointed Them North: Recollections of a Cowpuncher
Abbott, E. C. Teddy Blue
Smith, Helena Huntington
Paperback
Season of the Witch: Enchantment, Terror, and Deliverance in the City of Love
Talbot, David
Paperback
Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water, Revised Edition
Reisner, Marc
Paperback
Cowboys, Mountain Men, and Grizzly Bears: Fifty of the Grittiest Moments in the History of the Wild West
Mayo, Matthew P.
Paperback
Bay Curious: Exploring the Hidden True Stories of the San Francisco Bay Area
Allen-Price, Olivia
Paperback
Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis
Egan, Timothy
Paperback
Zodiac: The Shocking True Story of the Hunt for the Nation's Most Elusive Serial Killer
Graysmith, Robert
Paperback
A Place Called Yellowstone: The Epic History of the World's First National Park
Wilson, Randall K.
Paperback
Los Angeles Central Library Pops: Celebrating a Century of the Light of Learning
Rice, Christina
Hardcover
An American Genocide: The United States and the California Indian Catastrophe, 1846-1873
Madley, Benjamin
Paperback
Aloha Rodeo: Three Hawaiian Cowboys, the World's Greatest Rodeo, and a Hidden History of the American West
Smith, Julian
Wolman, David
Paperback
A History of Montana in 101 Places: Sites and Stories from the Montana Historical Society
Brown, Christine
Kohl, Martha
Baumler, Ellen
Paperback
Bring Me the Head of Joaquin Murrieta: The Bandit Chief Who Terrorized California and Launched the Legend of Zorro
Boessenecker, John
Hardcover
A State of Change: California's Forgotten Landscapes (Revised and Updated)
Cunningham, Laura
Hardcover
Lost Kingdom: Hawaiia's Last Queen, the Sugar Kings, and Americaa's First Imperial Venture
Siler, Julia Flynn
Paperback
Appetite for America: Fred Harvey and the Business of Civilizing the Wild West--One Meal at a Time
Fried, Stephen
Paperback
Chief Joseph & the Flight of the Nez Perce: The Untold Story of an American Tragedy
Nerburn, Kent
Paperback
Monsters of the Rocky Mountains: Stories about Bigfoot, Lake Monsters, and Other Legendary Creatures
Freeburg, Jessica
Fowler, Natalie
Paperback
Outlaw Tales of Utah: True Stories Of The Beehive State's Most Infamous Crooks, Culprits, And Cutthroats
Rutter, Michael
Paperback
Wakara's America: The Life and Legacy of a Native Founder of the American West
Mueller, Max Perry
Hardcover
Wonderlandscape: Yellowstone National Park and the Evolution of an American Cultural Icon
Clayton, John
Paperback
The Castle on Sunset: Life, Death, Love, Art, and Scandal at Hollywood's Chateau Marmont
Levy, Shawn
Paperback
Spooky Colorado: Tales Of Hauntings, Strange Happenings, And Other Local Lore, First Edition
Schlosser, S. E.
Hoffman, Paul G.
Paperback
Leave It for the Children: A Visual History of the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra
Lamontagne, Samuel
Kae, Darol Olu
Hardcover
Zodiac: The Shocking True Story of the Hunt for the Nation's Most Elusive Serial Killer
Graysmith, Robert
Paperback
Deep Time in the Mono Lake Basin: Nature and History Over the Last 10,000 Years
Marks, Robert B.
Hardcover
Outlaw Tales of Idaho: True Stories Of The Gem State's Most Infamous Crooks, Culprits, And Cutthroats
Stapilus, Randy
Paperback
September 2026 Revision: What to see in Palm Springs - Sights, History & Stories
Stark, John
Paperback
Sunny Skies, Shady Characters: Cops, Killers, and Corruption in the Aloha State
Dooley, James
Paperback
Life Without Reservations: Growing Up at the Famed Ambassador Hotel 1921 to 1938
Benjamin, Carlyn Frank
Gilmour, Lisa Benjamin
Paperback
River Master: John Wesley Powell's Legendary Exploration of the Colorado River and Grand Canyon
Kuhne, Cecil
Paperback
The Whole Country Was... 'One Robe': The Little Shell Tribe's America
Vrooman, Nicholas C. P.
Hardcover
Spooky Yellowstone: Tales Of Hauntings, Strange Happenings, And Other Local Lore
Hoffman, Paul G.
Schlosser, S. E.
Paperback
Deadliest Sea: The Untold Story Behind the Greatest Rescue in Coast Guard History
Thompson, Kalee
Paperback
Saving the Big Sky: A Chronicle of Land Conservation in Montana
Wright, John B.
Bugbee, Bruce A.
Kiesling, Robert J.
Hardcover
While Idaho Slept: The Hunt for Answers in the Murders of Four College Students
Appelman, J. Reuben
Paperback
The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race Against an Epidemic
Salisbury, Gay
Salisbury, Laney
Paperback
Finding Everett Ruess: The Life and Unsolved Disappearance of a Legendary Wilderness Explorer
Roberts, David
Paperback
Tearing Down the Orange Curtain: How Punk Rock Brought Orange County to the World
Jackson, Nate
Kohn, Daniel
Hardcover
Black Cowboys of the Old West: True, Sensational, And Little-Known Stories From History
Wagner, Tricia Martineau
Paperback
Hush of the Land: A Lifetime in the Bob Marshall Wilderness
Maggi, Eva-Maria
Elser, Arnold Smoke
Paperback
This Is Chance!: The Great Alaska Earthquake, Genie Chance, and the Shattered City She Held Together
Mooallem, Jon
Paperback
A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906
Winchester, Simon
Paperback
What Happened at Tassajara: Stories of the First Zen Buddhist Monastery in the West, 1968--1971
Chadwick, David
Paperback
Together in Manzanar: The True Story of a Japanese Jewish Family in an American Concentration Camp
Slater, Tracy
Hardcover
The Earth Is All That Lasts: Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, and the Last Stand of the Great Sioux Nation
Gardner, Mark Lee
Paperback
This Land: How Cowboys, Capitalism, and Corruption Are Ruining the American West
Ketcham, Christopher
Paperback
Lewis and Clark Among the Nez Perce: Strangers in the Land of the Nimiipuu
Pinkham, Allen V.
Evans, Steven R.
Paperback
Where the Deer and the Antelope Play: The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside
Offerman, Nick
Hardcover
Regarding Paul R. Williams: A Photographer's View of a Trailblazing Architect
Ireland, Janna
Hardcover
Alaska's History, Revised Edition: The People, Land, and Events of the North Country
Ritter, Harry
Paperback
Navigating Western Colorado: Early Expeditions and the Birth of Transportation on the Frontier
Bailey, David P.
Paperback
Myths and Legends of Yellowstone: The True Stories behind History's Mysteries
Therriault, Ednor
Paperback
The White Boy and the Indians: A Memoir of Reservation Life, the Depression, and the Okies
Jennings, Paul Austin
Paperback
The Last Ride of the Pony Express: My 2,000-Mile Horseback Journey Into the Old West
Grant, Will
Hardcover
Theodore Roosevelt in California: The Presidential Adventure That Saved the Wilderness
Chris Epting
Paperback
Death in Rocky Mountain National Park: Accidents and Foolhardiness on the Continental Divide
Minetor, Randi
Paperback
Life Without Reservations: Growing Up at the Famed Ambassador Hotel 1921 to 1938
Benajmin, Carlyn Frank
Gilmour, Lisa Benjamin
Hardcover
Black Lives in Alaska: A History of African Americans in the Far Northwest
Reamer, David
Hartman, Ian C.
Paperback
Tassajara Stories: A Sort of Memoir/Oral History of the First Zen Buddhist Monastery in the West--The First Year, 1967
Chadwick, David
Hardcover
Black Rock Dead: True Tales From One of Nevada's Most Treacherous Deserts
Preston, Christina
Brooks, Christopher
Paperback
Mysteries and Legends of Utah: True Stories of the Unsolved and Unexplained
O'Reilly, Michael
Paperback