Book Description
A rich, colorful history of California centering on the untold story of America 's biggest farmer, J.G. Boswell, who controls more than $1 billion worth of water rights and real estate in the heart of the state.
J.G. Boswell is the biggest farmer in America. Over the past fifty years he has built a secret empire while thumbing his nose at nature, politicians, labor unions and every journalist who ever tried to lift the veil on the ultimate "factory in the fields." Now eighty years old, with an almost pathological bent toward privacy, Boswell has spent the past few years confiding one of the great stories of the American West to Mark Arax and Rick Wartzman. The King of California is the previously untold account of how a Georgia slave-owning family migrated to California in the early 1920s, drained one of America 's biggest lakes in an act of incredible hubris and carved out the richest cotton empire in the world. Indeed, the sophistication of Boswell 's agricultural operation--from lab to field to gin--is unrivaled anywhere.
Much more than a business story, this is a sweeping social history that details the saga of cotton growers who were chased from the South by the boll weevil and brought their black farmhands to California. It is a gripping read with cameos by a cast of famous characters, from Cecil B. DeMille to Cesar Chavez.
Customer Reviews:
Great friggin book........2007-10-10
I'm not feeling real verbose so just let me say that this book illustrates so much more about US history than the mere subject of cotton suggests. The Boswell story is the American story of our moving further and further away from democratic, egalitarian principles in the pursuit of various notions of efficiency.
Great book. A great non-fiction companion piece would be "Wealth and Democracy" by Kevin Philips.
The king of California.......2006-11-04
This book is way too long and somewhat redundant and boring. The basic story is good, but the author takes too much time and too many pages to tell it.
History, Biography and Expose?.......2006-06-23
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in politics, agriculture, or water rights. It is a well-written and very readable.
It follows four generations of the Boswell family to trace how they assembled the largest industrial farm in the world. Along the way, the authors explore the history of the San Joaquin valley and those who came there to farm it, those who left and those who got left behind. For every group that made a fortune, there were many others who were disappointed. There are plenty of interesting stories of Washington and Sacramento politics, and stories of common people following dreams.
The book examines the effect of large scale farming on farm owners, on those who work the farms now and those who worked them in the past. It provides some good background on the politics of water rights and government involvement in farming, and on the involvement of agriculture in local, state and federal politics.
If you are interested in the politics and history of water in the western states, Cadillac Desert by Marc Reisner is one of the best books I have read on any subject.
Overstuffed but Worth Reading.......2005-11-26
I grew up in Fresno, in the shadow of agribusiness. The story behind "King of California" is a fascinating and important one but I'm not sure this "biography" does it justice. I disliked the awkward mixture of history and journalism. Is this an expose, a biography or history? Its never really clear and the way the book is organized, around the four seasons, is particularly opaque. What does it mean to call a section, "winter?" when it is covering history spanning decades and contains interviews with living people? That said, the material is fascinating. From the role the Boswell's played in taming Tulare Lake, to the development of modern cotton farming, the politics of agriculture and the way big business in general got access and results in subsidies and favorable policy. Early on, Tulare Lake and by extension, the San Joaquin Valley in its pre-U.S. days is described with a vividness I've rarely read elsewhere. However, the description of the Boswell's roots in racism and its legacy in the Central Valley is definitely worth telling but I think it gets too little space here and competes with so many other subjects. Frankly, I'm surprised that this book has gotten the acclaim that it has. While its clearly well researched, the writing is spotty lucid in some places and sensationalized elsewhere. I think the book tries to cover far too many topics; Water politics, cotton farming, racism in California, family history, corporate intrigue, labor issues, flood control and company towns. Had it narrowed it focus to just water, cotton and corporate intrigue, I think it would have been a far more powerful book.
Surfaced and Harpooned.......2005-04-26
This far-reaching book is quite an accomplishment in biography and investigative journalism. Arax and Wartzman cover the history of the immense Boswell farming company of California, and the two guys named J.G. (the founding uncle and the current chairman, his nephew) who built the company into the largest cotton operation on Earth. Through cutthroat competitive instincts and political wheeling-and-dealing, the Boswells amassed tens of thousands of acres in California's Central Valley, and were instrumental in eliminating what was once the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi, as the former Tulare Lake was transformed into a festering network of levees, canals, and cesspools dedicated to the mass production of cotton. Thus, the Boswells built the area's environment, culture, and economics for their own profitability.
The book also serves as a great exploration of the business of factory farming, detailing the racism and poverty experienced by Black and Mexican workers, as well as the shifty agricultural and hydrological politics of Big Ag in California - as the Boswells and their competitors/allies buy politicians, stack laws and regulations in their favor, and claim flood control as a reason to alter the natural course of rivers and to completely drain the vast Tulare Lake. Best of all, we see how big business really works out West, with the hypocrisy of so-called rugged outdoorsmen (actually pampered CEO's) who incessantly rail against government interference while also taking in millions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies that are meant to help the little guy. This book is immensely informative but does often get tied up in unnecessary details, such as descriptions of petty political shenanigans in the construction of a nearby dam. But the motto of the Boswell clan has been that a whale can't be harpooned if it doesn't come to the surface (a legacy of silence and obfuscation), but Arax and Wartzman have deftly cracked into the wall of secrecy surrounding the Boswells and their often ill-gotten empire, [~doomsdayer520~]
Book Description
This digital document is an article from OnEarth, published by Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. on January 1, 2004. The length of the article is 463 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: The King of California.(Book Review)
Author: Anthony Jaffe
Publication:
OnEarth (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2004
Publisher: Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.
Volume: 25
Issue: 4
Page: 40(1)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Average customer rating:
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Ken Griffey Jr.: The Home Run Kid (Baseball Superstar)
Larry Stone
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Book Description
When deciding which athletes to profile, our editors take into account not only a player's statistics, but also his character. SPI takes care to select athletes who are known to be community minded and can serve as role models.
The biographical material on each athlete covers him from his earliest days to the present.
Book Description
Agents representing actors across a wide spectrum of show business opportunities give candid career advice in this one-of-a-kind guide.
Based on interviews with sixty industry professionals, this book takes you behind the scenes to show how performers' representatives do their work day to day: how they help actors in the business of finding employment, and how they explore and define opportunities in specialized fields for ethnic, teen, juvenile, senior, and other categories of performers.
Some agents focus on one niche of the market-jobs in commercials or soap operas-some specialize in modeling, and still others cover a broad range of stage and film work. The author profiles people working in various-sized agencies in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Houston, Miami, Seattle, and other cities. Also discussed is using the Internet to find leads.
Customer Reviews:
Incite to the Other Side.......2000-10-12
Hurtes does a great job collaborating professional directors' opinions in order to portray the "other side" of the story- the people who choose who makes it and who doesn't. I want to be an actress, and this book helped me discover what to truly look out for when auditioning for a role. The book contains great stuff for any artist, be you an actor, model, dancer, etc. I would recommend this to any hopeful artist who needs a little incite!
Book Description
In large chain bookstores the "religion" section is gone and in its place is an expanding number of topics including angels, Sufism, journey, recovery, meditation, magic, inspiration, Judaica, astrology, gurus, Bible, prophesy, evangelicalism, Mary, Buddhism, Catholicism, and esoterica. As Wade Clark Roof notes, such changes over the last two decades reflect a shift away from religion as traditionally understood to more diverse and creative approaches. But what does this splintering of the religious perspective say about Americans? Have we become more interested in spiritual concerns or have we become lost among trends? Do we value personal spirituality over traditional religion and no longer see ourselves united in a larger community of faith? Roof first credited this religious diversity to the baby boomers in his bestselling A Generation of Seekers (1993). He returns to interview many of these people, now in mid-life, to reveal a generation with a unique set of spiritual values--a generation that has altered our historic interpretations of religious beliefs, practices, and symbols, and perhaps even our understanding of the sacred itself.
The quest culture created by the baby boomers has generated a "marketplace" of new spiritual beliefs and practices and of revisited traditions. As Roof shows, some Americans are exploring faiths and spiritual disciplines for the first time; others are rediscovering their lost traditions; others are drawn to small groups and alternative communities; and still others create their own mix of values and metaphysical beliefs. Spiritual Marketplace charts the emergence of five subcultures: dogmatists, born-again Christians, mainstream believers, metaphysical believers and seekers, and secularists. Drawing on surveys and in-depth interviews for over a decade, Roof reports on the religious and spiritual styles, family patterns, and moral vision and values for each of these subcultures. The result is an innovative, engaging approach to understanding how religious life is being reshaped as we move into the next century.
Download Description
In large chain bookstores the "religion" section is gone and in its place is an expanding number of topics including angels, Sufism, journey, recovery, meditation, magic, inspiration, Judaica, astrology, gurus, Bible, prophesy, evangelicalism, Mary, Buddhism, Catholicism, and esoterica. As Wade Clark Roof notes, such changes over the last two decades reflect a shift away from religion as traditionally understood to more diverse and creative approaches. But what does this splintering of the religious perspective say about Americans? Have we become more interested in spiritual concerns or have we become lost among trends? Do we value personal spirituality over traditional religion and no longer see ourselves united in a larger community of faith? Roof first credited this religious diversity to the baby boomers in his bestselling A Generation of Seekers (1993). He returns to interview many of these people, now in mid-life, to reveal a generation with a unique set of spiritual values--a generation that has altered our historic interpretations of religious beliefs, practices, and symbols, and perhaps even our understanding of the sacred itself. The quest culture created by the baby boomers has generated a "marketplace" of new spiritual beliefs and practices and of revisited traditions. As Roof shows, some Americans are exploring faiths and spiritual disciplines for the first time; others are rediscovering their lost traditions; others are drawn to small groups and alternative communities; and still others create their own mix of values and metaphysical beliefs. Spiritual Marketplace charts the emergence of five subcultures: dogmatists, born-again Christians, mainstream believers, metaphysical believers and seekers, and secularists.
Customer Reviews:
A window into today's faithful?.......2005-09-26
Written with a 'hands on' approach, Spiritual Marketplace takes the reader on a exploration of what drives America's faith. The classic Catholic & Protestant models no longer seem to be working the way the used to. And yet Americans continue to identify with some sort of faith. The latest trend of describing oneself as 'spiritual not religious' is reflected in a market which prusues and explores alternatives to traditions that no longer seem to fit today's lifestyle. Roof offers great insights. The book keeps the reader engrossed and curious. Definitely worth the investment.
A Great Value for Pursuing a Ministry to Empty Nesters!.......2000-08-31
Baby Boomers have hit the empty nest stage of their lives with a bang! For decades marketers and ministers have tried to understand how to reach out to Baby Boomers. With the advent of the empty nest stage of the lives of Boomers where often they function as a sandwich generation between aging parents and their children who are struggling to be adults, another great opportunity has presented itself. Therefore, as one who feels that congregations and parachurch ministries need to include intentional ministry to persons in the empty nest stage of their adult lives, I find this book to be valuable.
This book charts the emergence of five subcultures of Boomers: dogmatists, Born-again Christians, mainstream believers, metaphysical believers and seekers, and secularists. The value of this book is in its ability to provide you with an understanding of these five subcultures that is not based on shallow, pop research, but on in-depth suveys and interviews over a ten-year period.
One of the changes going on in Baby Boomers connections with congregations is that long-term loyal adults are dropping out when they become empty nesters, and those who left during their twenties and have not yet come back to a congregational community are now coming back as empty nesters. However, those who are coming back often find that congregations are not looking for them. They are looking for young adults, single adults, and senior adults.
Both Deep and Wide.......2000-08-08
This book both informed and affirmed something inside me. By calling the book the spiritual marketplace instead of the religious marketplace, the author immediately reveals the issues for a generation raised on modernity, but which nonetheless knows when it is spiritually hungry. It is almosts too simplistic to equate spirituality with inner experience and religion to outward beliefs, but it's good for a starter. The search culture seems to opt for community based on common inner experience rather than on "truth once revealed". A case in point is a cohort of "born again" boomers whose inner experience draws them into fellowship, but whose modern views shock the old guard who still equate spiritual fullfillment with a proper set of beliefs. Roof's findings make me cheer for the human spirit, the compass of which will always point north when distractions are out of the way. By listening to the stories and the data in Roof's book, I feel more hope that we really CAN find our way home.
The Long Arm of God........2000-01-21
Best and most lasting is knowing one has embraced faith. Roof's message is not new. Humanity has a long history of time spent on the elusive "quest" -- that long (and continuous) trail ever treading toward spirituality. A fulfilling goal. Yes I would recommend "Spiritual Marketplace." As an aside I will share a few personal observations. A friend and his friend, an older gentleman known locally as the 'Hermit of Cold River,'were both skeptical of all man's institutions. They eventually turned to a life time of living in the wilds of the earth's oldest mountain range, the Adirondacks, almost a century ago. There they found meaning in their life and discovered their greatest joys. I recommend reading LIFE WITH NOAH. A narrative of joy, a story of rediscovering one's values. Between pages of survival and adventure living in the outdoors one is treated with some beautiful prose. Backpacking pilgrimages have been taken into the Cold River valley just to capture God's grace and a fraction of the inner peace these men found among nature.
Book Description
Supervising others is a special challenge many people are called to do in their professional careers. The New Supervisor prepares those meeting this new leadership responsibility to gain confidence and project the right attitude from Day One. A best-seller for many years, The New Supervisor has been newly revised by Wil McKnight to include updated examples and an added focus on productivity and getting results.
Customer Reviews:
Good for newbie Supervisor and as a refresher.......2005-06-24
This book is well laid out with basic statement on how to function in the new supervisory position and some practical examples of situations you may find yourself addressing. There are questions to help you notice areas that you may have just scanned over. It may take only 55 minutes to read, however it will take some time to naturedly gain the skill sets.
I found several sections valuable in this shop. Especially the section on "supervising People Who Used to Be Peers." This constantly happens here.
Book Description
Like a mentor-on-call, this best-selling book brings a wealth of wisdom and information to the new supervisor. It's clearly organized into four logical parts that focus on the biggest concerns: understanding the basics of supervisory responsibilities, developing personal effectiveness, managing many personalities, and working with groups.
Customer Reviews:
About this Book-.......2004-11-11
Like a mentor-on-call, this best-selling book brings a wealth of wisdom and information to the new supervisor. It's clearly organized into four logical parts that focus on the biggest concerns: understanding the basics of supervisory responsibilities, developing personal effectiveness, managing many personalities, and working with groups.
"This concise, well written guide is ideal for our new supervisors. I consider it required reading for all of my foremen training candidates." Production Superintendent, Shell Oil
"As a new supervisor, I found this book to be ideal. I was able to evaluate my effectiveness as I completed each chapter. I continue to keep it handy as a desk reference." Nursing Supervisor, Kaiser-Permanente
Book Description
Stepping Up: A Roadmap For New Supervisors meets the needs of first-time supervisors by providing them with an accurate, real-life picture of what it means to be a supervisor, the expectations for the position, the skills and knowledge required, and what it takes to succeed in the role. The content is based on the authors' more than 25 years of experience of training first-line supervisors, and has been validated in both the public and private sector.
For HR departments, trainers, and consultants, Stepping Up is an easy-to-facilitate workshop comprising a facilitator's guide--complete with PowerPoint slides and supporting materials--and an interactive participant's workbook with a useful self-assessed questionnaire that pinpoints areas for growth. The workshop is suitable for both new and aspiring supervisors.
Contents:
Defining the role of supervisor
Challenges for the first-time supervisor
Common pitfalls
Performance Equation
Supervisory competencies
Self-assessment
Your personalized roadmap
Book Description
The Stepping Up Facilitator’s Guide offers you the tools and guidance you need to prepare and implement an effective one-day workshop for first-time and aspiring supervisors. This proven workshop gives you the tools and materials you need to present an accurate, real-life picture of what it means to be a supervisor, the expectations for the position, the skills and knowledge required as a supervisor, and the path to effectively supervise others.
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- The Last Man on the Moon: Astronaut Eugene Cernan and America's Race in Space
- The Life and Legend of E. H. Harriman
- The Making of a Blockbuster: How Wayne Huizenga Built a Sports and Entertainment Empire from Trash, Grit, and Videotape
- The Man Who Changed How Boys and Toys Were Made: The Life and Times of A. C. Gilbert, the Man Who Saved Christmas
- The Man Who Ran the Moon: James E. Webb, NASA, and the Secret History of Project Apollo
- The Marshall Fields: The Evolution of an American Business Dynasty
- The Maverick and His Machine: Thomas Watson, Sr. and the Making of IBM
- The Princess Trilogy: Boxed Set
- The Princess Who Changed the World
- THE PRIVATE LIFE OF THE QUEEN
Books Index
Books Home
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