Los Angeles and the Automobile: The Making of the Modern City

OK, I have to issue a full disclosure here; the author is my brother. But that said Scott has written a great little book. We grew up in LA and had always heard stories about how the auto companies ruined public transportation in LA in order to sell more cars. Scott decided to check that story out while he was studying for a PhD in history at UCLA. The result is this book. So if you want to know the truth about how LA came to be the automobile centered city it is, read his book. Cheers!

Why did the urban transportation system in Los Angeles die? This book takes a very multifaceted approach and looks beyond the automobile as its cause. The title is a little misleading. The book covers the downfall of public transpiration in California and how the car impacted life in southern California. There is actually very little urban analysis done here but it covers the public policy of early 1900's very well. You get a sense for how the municipalities and federal government responded in California and see the way in which the auto shaped those policies. The auto was very influential in the downfall of public transportation and I was surprised to see how many auto related interests owned stakes in public transport companies. For those just getting started on urban history this is a good book to start with and he sites the great source on suburbs Crabgrass Frontier (well worth the time to read). Very well written and fun especially if you grew up around LA.