Los Angeles: Biography of a City by John, LaRee Caughey

Abstract

Reviews 171 She is kidnapped by a band of Comanches, friends of Devers, and held for an indeterminate time. In a wild battle scene in which Devers and the other villains are killed, MacAshen rescues the still-chaste Karryl, and they get married and begin replenishing the earth. There are several subplots, all fully as cliche-ridden and equally unreal. Song of the Pedernales is just another variant of a James Fenimore Cooper Leather-stocking tale. There is even a Natty Bumppo, an old trapper and guide named Fall, friend of the beautiful couple. The villain is part Indian, the hero and heroine are the best Southern American types, and the chase and rescue scenes are right out of Cooper. And Cooper in The Prairie describes better a setting which he has not seen than Mortimer does a setting which he has seen. In the 1920’s and and 1930’s I traveled every road in the Pedernales and Blanco River valleys many times, in a slow Model-T Ford. Mortimer’s place names are accurate, but the topography he describes resembles only slightly the Hill Country I know. And there are some more important points to consider. The characters speak casually of meeting on “the Uvalde” or “the Brady.” I cannot find mention of any Texas streams with these names. Mortimer writes of “the Pedernales’ particular variety of cacti, the tall w’hite blooms sentinel-like in their solitude” ; he obviously is describing the yucca, which is not a cactus plant. He calls a crew of cowboys a “waddy”; this word is some­ times used for an individual cowboy, but not for a crew. He calls a ranch boss the “wrangler,” a term which was limited to the horse herder. Mr. Mortimer needs to study Ramon Adams’ Western Words. And there is no mention of the cattle trails to the North which were an essential part of rangeland life during the time of the novel. Historical novels ought to be accurate in detail, specific in setting, and believable in plot. Mr. Mortimer achieved none of these criteria. His novel does not fulfill its promise. ORLAN SAWEY, Texas A&I University in Kingsville Los Angeles: Biography of a City. By John and LaRee Caughey. (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1976. xiv + 509 pages, illus., suggested readings, index, $14.95.) Few would dispute the brief that Los Angeles is indeed a remarkable city. In support of that proposition, the Caugheys have compiled a highly readable anthology “of selected writings threaded on historical guidelines [which] tells the city’s kaleidoscopic story,” which should convince any diehard doubters. As a pioneer work, the book has much to recommend it. 172 Western American Literature Firstly, the selections have been well chosen. Ranging from the earliest natives, the Gabrielinos, to present-day ecological and environmental con­ cerns, the included material is concise, contained and pointed in each instance. There is no fluff or padding. To make the 114 selections more meaningful, they have been grouped into appropriate categories under the umbrella of broad chronological or era headings. This is the warf of the book. Cogent and graceful commentaries preface each individual selection, which provides the text’s woof. The end result is a textured fabric that is highly personal: the anthology is Los Angeles as beheld by the Caugheys. It is an affectionate and compassionate view, socially aware and issue oriented. Although the book is rooted in historical writings, only 33 contributions are derived from original sources; the balance are all monographic or secondary. But that is no criticism, for the authors chosen for inclusion have established popular reputations or are trained historians. And one cannot fault the overall coverage. The expected subjects are touched upon: Spanish, Mexican and American early years, water, disasters, Sister Aimee, real estate booms, movies, war and peace, smog, the Dodgers, Watts, free­ ways, and the like. But what is surprising are some omissions. Religion, other than Sister Aimee, gets short shrift; so does “culture” in the finest sense of that word, other than a brief bow to the Music Center. City politics are also slighted; philanthropy ignored. A bit of prejudice (or should one say favoritism) is evident...