Inventing Paradise: The Power Brokers Who Created the Dream of Los Angeles

by Paul Haddad

Inventing The Power Brokers Who Created, Bought, and Sold the Dream of Los Angeles traces the improbable rise of Los Angeles through the prism of six visionaries who had outsize influence on the city’s Phineas Banning, Harrison Gray Otis, Henry Huntington, Harry Chandler, William Mulholland, and Moses Sherman. In the late 1860s, Los Angeles was a violent, dusty, 28-square-mile pueblo with a few thousand souls, largely unchanged since its founding in 1781. By 1930, its size had swelled to within 96% of its current 468 square miles, housing a staggering 1.2 million people. In just 50 years, L.A. had joined the ranks of other world-class cities. With research that debunks many myths about the City of Angels and a wildly entertaining narrative, author Paul Haddad ( Freewaytopia and 10,000 Steps a Day in L.A. ) sheds new light on the fascinating birth of modern Los Angeles. Power came from a select few, whose triumphs, scandals and correspondence are well documented in Inventing Paradise , • The founding of the San Pedro and Wilmington ports by Phineas Banning during the Civil War era, giving Los Angeles an international seaport • The Otis-Chandler-Sherman cabal that led to the annexation of the San Fernando Valley, Hollywood, and dozens of other communities • How Harry Chandler pushed eugenics to create “white spots” • Henry Huntington's and Moses Sherman's trolley systems and the extortion-type practices that led to their expansion • How L.A.’s power elite peddled the lie that the Owens Valley River used to flow into Los Angeles and rightfully belonged to the city • William Mulholland’s game-changing construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, which raised the city’s population ceiling from 250,000 to 2.5 million. Haddad also covers the heavy costs that came with creating paradise in such a short period of time, including car dependency, environmental problems, and deep-seated inequities between wealthy white Angelenos and people of color due to racist policies. All have left an imprint on present-day Los Angeles. Los Angeles is known as the City That Should Not Exist—and yet it does. Through Inventing Paradise , Haddad shows readers that Los Angeles is not a paradise found, but a paradise that was willed into existence, owing to the collective vision of these six Gilded Era-born tycoons.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Audiobook

404 pages, Hardcover

Published June 18, 2024

About the author

Paul Haddad is the author of several books about his native Los Angeles, including the L.A. Times Bestseller "Inventing Paradise: The Power Brokers Who Created the Dream of Los Angeles," "Freewaytopia: How Freeways Shaped Los Angeles," and "High Fives, Pennant Drives, and Fernandomania: A Fan’s History of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Glory Years (1977-1981)." His book "10,000 Steps a Day in L.A.: 57 Walking Adventures," also an L.A. Times Bestseller, has published two editions. As a writer and contributor, his work has appeared in such media as the L.A. Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post, The Times (UK), LAist, ESPN, NPR, and HuffPo. He is also the author of three novels. An MFA graduate of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, Haddad has been nominated for multiple Emmys as a documentary producer.

Reviews

[Gilbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written and easy to follow, I see this book easily being a great reference book for how LA was built; you get what it states it provides!

[Susan Liston · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw this author speak and he was terrific. I didn't love the book, but that's on me, what it concentrates on is not what I am particularly interested in, real estate, the streetcar wars, the LA water situation, etc.is not my prime cup of tea. But it is good to know all this stuff if you want to be proficient in the history of LA, I personally just don't need to know such detail. But if you do, then by all means, this is the book for you.

[Karl.bromley · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up. Required reading for anyone interested in Los Angeles history.

[Alex Gravina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not especially enlightening about Los Angeles. It's basically a list of political events rather than a piece on why LA developed

[Matt Huffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone who cares about how Los Angeles came to exist should read this book.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating book. If you grew up in Southern California, as I did, or live there, you will perhaps be familiar with some of the characters and what they contributed to the city’s development. I learned so much more than I already knew about the history of Los Angeles, how things came to be, how places got their names, the interaction of the prominent figures, the controversies. Well worth reading - and maybe re-reading. Highly recommend, particularly if you live in California.