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The King of California: J.G. Boswell and the Making of a Secret American Empire
The fascinating story of a cotton magnate whose voracious appetite for land drove him to create the first big agricultural empire of the Central Valley of California, and shaped the landscape for decades to come.
J.G. Boswell was the biggest farmer in America. He 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." 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.
J.G. Boswell was the biggest farmer in America. He 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." 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.
592 pages, Paperback
First published October 20, 2003
156 people are currently reading
1137 people want to read
About the author
Mark Arax
12 books99 followersIn the world of journalism, Mark Arax stands out as a rarity. On one hand, he is a skilled investigative reporter who unearths secrets from the depths of shadow governments. On the other hand, he is a gifted writer whose feature stories and books are distinguished by the “poetry of his prose.”
His Los Angeles Times stories revealing state sanctioned murder and cover-up in California prisons were praised by The Nation magazine as “one of great journalistic achievements of the decade.” Fellow writers at PEN and Sigma Delta Chi have singled out the lyrical quality of his writing in award-winning stories on life and death in California’s heartland. In a review of his most recent book, “West of the West,” the Washington Post called Mark a “great reporter…. tenacious and unrelenting.”
Like the legendary Carey McWilliams, Mark digs deep in the dirt of the Golden State, finding tragedies hidden from most Californians. With equal passion, he chronicles the plight of both farm workers and farmers. His stories on the land are told from the close up of a native whose own family narrative is found in the same soil. His grandfather Aram's first job in America was picking the fruits and vegetables of the San Joaquin Valley; his father, Ara, was born on a raisin farm outside Fresno.
Mark’s first book, “In My Father’s Name,” is a stirring memoir that weaves together the history of his Armenian family and hometown of Fresno with his decades-long search to find the men who murdered his father in 1972. A full-page review in the New York Times Sunday Book Review saw Mark’s journey to wrest the truth from his haunted past as a kind of "Moby Dick" struggle.
His second book, the bestselling “The King of California,” co-authored with Rick Wartzman, tells the epic story of the Boswell farming family and the building of a secret American empire in the middle of California. Named one of the top ten books of the year by the L.A. Times and the San Francisco Chronicle, "The King of California" won a 2004 California Book Award and the 2005 William Saroyan International Writing Prize.
His third book, a 2009 collection of stories called “West of the West: Dreamers, Believers, Builders and Killers in the Golden State,” received critical acclaim in the Atlantic Monthly and Los Angeles Times and a starred review in Publishers Weekly, which compared Mark’s “sure and supple essays” to the great social portraits of Joan Didion and William Saroyan.
"It is Arax's personal connection to the land,” the review noted, “that pushes his collection past mere reportage to a high literary enterprise that beautifully integrates the private and idiosyncratic with the sweep of great historical forces."
A top graduate of Fresno State and Columbia University, Mark left the Los Angeles Times in 2007 after a public fight over censorship of his story on the Armenian Genocide. He has taught literary non fiction at Claremont McKenna College and Fresno State University and served as a senior policy director for the California Senate Majority Leader. The father of three children who lives on a suburban farm in Fresno, Mark still throws a mean batting practice to his Little League players.
His Los Angeles Times stories revealing state sanctioned murder and cover-up in California prisons were praised by The Nation magazine as “one of great journalistic achievements of the decade.” Fellow writers at PEN and Sigma Delta Chi have singled out the lyrical quality of his writing in award-winning stories on life and death in California’s heartland. In a review of his most recent book, “West of the West,” the Washington Post called Mark a “great reporter…. tenacious and unrelenting.”
Like the legendary Carey McWilliams, Mark digs deep in the dirt of the Golden State, finding tragedies hidden from most Californians. With equal passion, he chronicles the plight of both farm workers and farmers. His stories on the land are told from the close up of a native whose own family narrative is found in the same soil. His grandfather Aram's first job in America was picking the fruits and vegetables of the San Joaquin Valley; his father, Ara, was born on a raisin farm outside Fresno.
Mark’s first book, “In My Father’s Name,” is a stirring memoir that weaves together the history of his Armenian family and hometown of Fresno with his decades-long search to find the men who murdered his father in 1972. A full-page review in the New York Times Sunday Book Review saw Mark’s journey to wrest the truth from his haunted past as a kind of "Moby Dick" struggle.
His second book, the bestselling “The King of California,” co-authored with Rick Wartzman, tells the epic story of the Boswell farming family and the building of a secret American empire in the middle of California. Named one of the top ten books of the year by the L.A. Times and the San Francisco Chronicle, "The King of California" won a 2004 California Book Award and the 2005 William Saroyan International Writing Prize.
His third book, a 2009 collection of stories called “West of the West: Dreamers, Believers, Builders and Killers in the Golden State,” received critical acclaim in the Atlantic Monthly and Los Angeles Times and a starred review in Publishers Weekly, which compared Mark’s “sure and supple essays” to the great social portraits of Joan Didion and William Saroyan.
"It is Arax's personal connection to the land,” the review noted, “that pushes his collection past mere reportage to a high literary enterprise that beautifully integrates the private and idiosyncratic with the sweep of great historical forces."
A top graduate of Fresno State and Columbia University, Mark left the Los Angeles Times in 2007 after a public fight over censorship of his story on the Armenian Genocide. He has taught literary non fiction at Claremont McKenna College and Fresno State University and served as a senior policy director for the California Senate Majority Leader. The father of three children who lives on a suburban farm in Fresno, Mark still throws a mean batting practice to his Little League players.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
March 19, 2016
Captivating book and an essential read for people wanting to know more about California history. It would be hard to come away after reading this book with a positive view of Big Ag. This book covers a variety of subjects, poverty, water rights, labor disputes, damage to the environment, corporate welfare, and political influence.
The Boswell company is the largest farm in the US. They seem to have used ruthless business tactics to get to where they are and stay there. They are a very secretive group. Many things that are dysfunctional within California are due to their influence. They (and others) took what was once one of the largest lakes west of the Mississippi river and drained it an turned in into over 100,000 acres of cotton. A lot of what is wrong with water use policy in California can in part be blamed on the Boswell company and other large central valley growers. They have thumbed their nose at the US government while at the same time collecting the largest crop subsidy checks in the US.
It was interesting to learn that the Boswell company had something to do with the defeat of Paul Findley congressman from Illinois, by most accounts he was outspent trying for re-election to his seat in congress by funds that came from AIPAC. But a California Cotton growing company also wanted him out of office and was a significant source of out of district money. This election was one of the first that used large amount of out of district money to defeat an incumbent politician and had led to this as a common strategy used by people backing conservative politicians.
The Boswell company is the largest farm in the US. They seem to have used ruthless business tactics to get to where they are and stay there. They are a very secretive group. Many things that are dysfunctional within California are due to their influence. They (and others) took what was once one of the largest lakes west of the Mississippi river and drained it an turned in into over 100,000 acres of cotton. A lot of what is wrong with water use policy in California can in part be blamed on the Boswell company and other large central valley growers. They have thumbed their nose at the US government while at the same time collecting the largest crop subsidy checks in the US.
It was interesting to learn that the Boswell company had something to do with the defeat of Paul Findley congressman from Illinois, by most accounts he was outspent trying for re-election to his seat in congress by funds that came from AIPAC. But a California Cotton growing company also wanted him out of office and was a significant source of out of district money. This election was one of the first that used large amount of out of district money to defeat an incumbent politician and had led to this as a common strategy used by people backing conservative politicians.
July 6, 2019
I grew up in the San Joaquin Valley and lived in Corcoran four of those years in the mid 60s. Many memories came flooding back as I read this book and I now have a much better appreciation for its history. It was always Salyer and Boswell; most of my classmates’ parents worked for one of them.
A few years ago, just for grins, I drove through Corcoran. I was very saddened by what I found. Empty streets, empty stores, and a big prison in the background.
While this book isn’t riveting, it is well written and if you’re interested in the farming industry, California water usage, or land barons, this book is for you. I think the author did a pretty good job of telling both sides of the story although I’m sure many Boswells wouldn’t agree. I didn’t come away thinking Boswell as evil, just that he and his uncle were capitalists trying to grow profits. Think Google, Facebook, Amazon. It isn’t a new story.
A few years ago, just for grins, I drove through Corcoran. I was very saddened by what I found. Empty streets, empty stores, and a big prison in the background.
While this book isn’t riveting, it is well written and if you’re interested in the farming industry, California water usage, or land barons, this book is for you. I think the author did a pretty good job of telling both sides of the story although I’m sure many Boswells wouldn’t agree. I didn’t come away thinking Boswell as evil, just that he and his uncle were capitalists trying to grow profits. Think Google, Facebook, Amazon. It isn’t a new story.
July 26, 2015
Another fine chapter in California's history...
This particular chapter details the rise of a farming empire in California's Central Valley. Coming from Greene County Georgia, the Boswell family built this empire largely on the backs of migrant labor and water--lots and lots of water. One other point: on the way to becoming one of the largest landowners in California, the Boswell's forever reshaped the landscape and drained Tulare Lake.
Prior to settlement, the Central Valley's river floodplain system nourished some 1.4 million acres of tule marshes and wooded wetlands. The draining of vast sweeps of wetlands along with the damming and channeling of four major rivers has altered the landscape in both a manner and at a scale that is, quite literally, unprecedented. If you wanted to focus on a single family/farming empire that played the biggest role in this alternation, then you could do no better than The King of California.
Tulare Lake lies near the southern end of California's Central Valley. The proximity of such a huge, seasonal lake to a large farming operation was a mixed blessing. During dry years, as the shoreline contracted, the land could be transformed to grow grain or row crops. In wet years, however, as the Sierra Nevada snow pack melted, the runoff of the Kings, Kaweah, Tule, and Kern Rivers filled this basin. The big runoff produced high flows into July and August, resulting in a vast and expanding lake shore. The flooded farmland resulted in less crops, less money... J.G. Boswell was determined to rein these waters in and convinced the Federal Government to help.
In an errant attempt to encourage small family farms, loopholes in the reclamation laws brought most of the land in the Central Valley under the control of a handful of private landowners. The Californian land barons went by the names of Henry Miller, J. G. Boswell, and "Cockeye" Salyer. The land around Tulare Lake eventually got folded into Boswell farming empire. In the final analysis, the Boswell's got the land, the water rights, and handed the tax-payers the bill for the construction of Pine Flat Dam on the Kings River.
I feel a bit of guilt when I throw on a mass produced cotton T-shirt (e.g., I can buy a three-pack for under ten dollars). Because this cheap cotton underwear really isn't that cheap. Mass produced cotton uses a lot of water. In fact, to grow a single T-shirt takes 257 gallons of water. If you own a piece of cotton underwear, chances are pretty good it's fibers came from land in California's Central Valley. And by default, you can be sure the Boswell family grew it. The King of California tells the interesting story of how the Boswells became the single largest grower of cotton in the United States.
This particular chapter details the rise of a farming empire in California's Central Valley. Coming from Greene County Georgia, the Boswell family built this empire largely on the backs of migrant labor and water--lots and lots of water. One other point: on the way to becoming one of the largest landowners in California, the Boswell's forever reshaped the landscape and drained Tulare Lake.
Prior to settlement, the Central Valley's river floodplain system nourished some 1.4 million acres of tule marshes and wooded wetlands. The draining of vast sweeps of wetlands along with the damming and channeling of four major rivers has altered the landscape in both a manner and at a scale that is, quite literally, unprecedented. If you wanted to focus on a single family/farming empire that played the biggest role in this alternation, then you could do no better than The King of California.
Tulare Lake lies near the southern end of California's Central Valley. The proximity of such a huge, seasonal lake to a large farming operation was a mixed blessing. During dry years, as the shoreline contracted, the land could be transformed to grow grain or row crops. In wet years, however, as the Sierra Nevada snow pack melted, the runoff of the Kings, Kaweah, Tule, and Kern Rivers filled this basin. The big runoff produced high flows into July and August, resulting in a vast and expanding lake shore. The flooded farmland resulted in less crops, less money... J.G. Boswell was determined to rein these waters in and convinced the Federal Government to help.
In an errant attempt to encourage small family farms, loopholes in the reclamation laws brought most of the land in the Central Valley under the control of a handful of private landowners. The Californian land barons went by the names of Henry Miller, J. G. Boswell, and "Cockeye" Salyer. The land around Tulare Lake eventually got folded into Boswell farming empire. In the final analysis, the Boswell's got the land, the water rights, and handed the tax-payers the bill for the construction of Pine Flat Dam on the Kings River.
I feel a bit of guilt when I throw on a mass produced cotton T-shirt (e.g., I can buy a three-pack for under ten dollars). Because this cheap cotton underwear really isn't that cheap. Mass produced cotton uses a lot of water. In fact, to grow a single T-shirt takes 257 gallons of water. If you own a piece of cotton underwear, chances are pretty good it's fibers came from land in California's Central Valley. And by default, you can be sure the Boswell family grew it. The King of California tells the interesting story of how the Boswells became the single largest grower of cotton in the United States.
August 11, 2014
Max Arax and Rick Wartzman tell the story of a family that combined hard work, farming wisdom and political maneuvering to build a farming empire in the San Joaquin Valley of California. This is a well-written and well researched story of the largest privately owned farming operation in the United States. In my opinion the authors appear to have a negative opinion regarding large industrial style of farming.
Jim Boswell moved to California from Georgia where the family had long been cotton growers. The boll weevil drove him out of Georgia to find land where cotton could grow. He worked as a cotton broker, until he saw the land of the southern San Joaquin Valley in California. He started buying land to farm, and then built Gin’s to process the cotton. He ruthlessly went after all the water rights he could obtain. As he grew into one of the largest farms his wife died. About 11 years after the death of his first wife Boswell married Ruth Chandler, Harry Chandler’s daughter. The Chandler owned the Los Angeles times, large tracks of land in the San Fernando Valley, Tejon Ranch and other properties.
The authors tell how Boswell bought land and drained Tulare Lake and started growing crops and buying more land. The Primary crops included Pima Cotton ( used by LL Bean, Hanes Co. Etc) alfalfa hay, tomatoes, onions, wheat, safflower, then later almonds, and other varieties of nuts. The Boswells specialized in the long thread Pima cotton that is highly sought after. The company was established in Corcoran California in 1921. They ginned their own cotton and built processing plants to extract cotton oil and for all their crops. The book discusses the problems of the various varieties of migrant farm workers over the years. The migrant workers ranged from the dust bowl refugees, to German POW during the war, Chinese, Filipinos, to the Mexican. Arax and Wartzman go into depth about the movement of black cotton pickers and the treatment of these workers. The book goes into the various attempts to unionize the workers over the years and the various labor strikes.
In 80 years the family gained control of acres of farmland ranging from the San Diego area to San Joaquin Valley to Arizona and Colorado. The company now is also in Australia. Jim G. Boswell II took over at the death of J.G. Boswell and James W. Boswell is now the current CEO. Each one has increased the value and lands of the company. The book also goes into the inner family dynamics. The family is famous for their philanthropy and is a major supporter of the California Institute of Technology and the Claremont McKenna College. Anyone interested in California history, California agriculture history would enjoy this book. I found the book interesting as I know many of the people and issues the book covers. Sort of a trip down memory lane. I read this as an audio book downloaded from Audible. James Patrick Cronin did a good job narrating the book.
Jim Boswell moved to California from Georgia where the family had long been cotton growers. The boll weevil drove him out of Georgia to find land where cotton could grow. He worked as a cotton broker, until he saw the land of the southern San Joaquin Valley in California. He started buying land to farm, and then built Gin’s to process the cotton. He ruthlessly went after all the water rights he could obtain. As he grew into one of the largest farms his wife died. About 11 years after the death of his first wife Boswell married Ruth Chandler, Harry Chandler’s daughter. The Chandler owned the Los Angeles times, large tracks of land in the San Fernando Valley, Tejon Ranch and other properties.
The authors tell how Boswell bought land and drained Tulare Lake and started growing crops and buying more land. The Primary crops included Pima Cotton ( used by LL Bean, Hanes Co. Etc) alfalfa hay, tomatoes, onions, wheat, safflower, then later almonds, and other varieties of nuts. The Boswells specialized in the long thread Pima cotton that is highly sought after. The company was established in Corcoran California in 1921. They ginned their own cotton and built processing plants to extract cotton oil and for all their crops. The book discusses the problems of the various varieties of migrant farm workers over the years. The migrant workers ranged from the dust bowl refugees, to German POW during the war, Chinese, Filipinos, to the Mexican. Arax and Wartzman go into depth about the movement of black cotton pickers and the treatment of these workers. The book goes into the various attempts to unionize the workers over the years and the various labor strikes.
In 80 years the family gained control of acres of farmland ranging from the San Diego area to San Joaquin Valley to Arizona and Colorado. The company now is also in Australia. Jim G. Boswell II took over at the death of J.G. Boswell and James W. Boswell is now the current CEO. Each one has increased the value and lands of the company. The book also goes into the inner family dynamics. The family is famous for their philanthropy and is a major supporter of the California Institute of Technology and the Claremont McKenna College. Anyone interested in California history, California agriculture history would enjoy this book. I found the book interesting as I know many of the people and issues the book covers. Sort of a trip down memory lane. I read this as an audio book downloaded from Audible. James Patrick Cronin did a good job narrating the book.
September 27, 2015
As a native Georgian well versed in the role of cotton in our state's history, it was surprising to me that California's cotton industry surpassed any in Georgia. Then again, J.G. Boswell's family originated in Georgia, and successfully farmed cotton in Greene County, Georgia before moving to California. Go figure!
I'm not going to write much about The King of California because my close friend in California, upon whose insistence that I read this book, and I indulged in several hours-long texting marathons solely on the subject of the cotton kingdom J.G. Boswell's family built. We covered every aspect; human nature, politics, subsidies, murder, agriculture, the drought, mirgrants/immigration, salacious gossip, building of wealth, and the science behind dams. It was a two person book-club over text.
It is too bad that these texts are in whichever black hole deleted texts and e-mails go when that 'delete' button is clicked. My friend who lived in Visalia, California personally knew many of the people mentioned in The King of California, and had loose ties with the Salyer family. He had interesting tidbits to share with me while I was reading the book. We planned a trip to the Joaquin Valley to see the Tulare Lake Bed and the town of Corcoran. Now, that trip may have to wait until far into the future since my friend is now moving across the United States to North Carolina.
I only wish Mark Arax and Richard Wartzman would write more books together. The two writers rival David McCullough in thorough research, superb writing and reporting of an important piece of American history. Even Joan Didion, one of the most accomplished writers in America, said so herself; Masterful reporting, invigorating narrative, a deep understanding of California and how it works - this is a flat-out wonderful book about growing cotton and making a fortune in the San Joaquin."
Now, that is a compliment coming from Joan Didion!
I'm not going to write much about The King of California because my close friend in California, upon whose insistence that I read this book, and I indulged in several hours-long texting marathons solely on the subject of the cotton kingdom J.G. Boswell's family built. We covered every aspect; human nature, politics, subsidies, murder, agriculture, the drought, mirgrants/immigration, salacious gossip, building of wealth, and the science behind dams. It was a two person book-club over text.
It is too bad that these texts are in whichever black hole deleted texts and e-mails go when that 'delete' button is clicked. My friend who lived in Visalia, California personally knew many of the people mentioned in The King of California, and had loose ties with the Salyer family. He had interesting tidbits to share with me while I was reading the book. We planned a trip to the Joaquin Valley to see the Tulare Lake Bed and the town of Corcoran. Now, that trip may have to wait until far into the future since my friend is now moving across the United States to North Carolina.
I only wish Mark Arax and Richard Wartzman would write more books together. The two writers rival David McCullough in thorough research, superb writing and reporting of an important piece of American history. Even Joan Didion, one of the most accomplished writers in America, said so herself; Masterful reporting, invigorating narrative, a deep understanding of California and how it works - this is a flat-out wonderful book about growing cotton and making a fortune in the San Joaquin."
Now, that is a compliment coming from Joan Didion!
Read
August 21, 2012Okay, let's get serious here. I've been on page 150-something for about two years now. Time to let the dream die. I started reading this book as job research to learn more about a client of ours back when I was a newb. The book is interesting, but it's big and heavy and not very pleasant for lugging around on the bus or anywhere else. Plus I kind of got tired of "taking work home with me" every night. It looks really good on my desk, and there it shall remain.
December 22, 2018
I bought this book when it was first out but kept putting it off to read. So is the family farm actually worth saving? The authors believe it is and they spend a lot of this book writing in the muckraking tradition of Cary McWilliams to convince that big farmers like Boswell are despicable. But the unmistakable conclusion one must come to even from a book as biased as this one is the answer is a lot more complex than the "reformers" would have us believe.
The Central Valley of California especially around Tulare lake has been built on large farms. When they describe the Boswell team - it is clearly driven by trying to get the most out of their land. And yes indeed they play a hardball style of politics and farming. But the authors admit that the Boswell team was driven to use resources effectively in producing cotton and a wide range of other crops.
Am I saying that all megafarms all good? Of course not. This book points out some of the perils of large scale farming on the environment especially in a land basin with lots of toxic trace elements like selenium. But that does not mean that I accept the idea that 160 acre limits make sense for agriculture across the board.
There is a lot of history about how the huge tracts of land that Boswell came together and how several other large farmers in the valley grew. There are also color stories about the people around Boswell, both the good and the bad.
I was turned off by the authors' constant use of negative words when describing the Boswell empire they seemed to go out of their way to defame the work of a couple of generations of pretty savvy farmers. But I was also informed by their descriptions of the turf wars between the Bureau of Reclamation and the Army Corps and the bizarre nature of our farm subsidy programs.
Was it worth the read? I guess so.
The Central Valley of California especially around Tulare lake has been built on large farms. When they describe the Boswell team - it is clearly driven by trying to get the most out of their land. And yes indeed they play a hardball style of politics and farming. But the authors admit that the Boswell team was driven to use resources effectively in producing cotton and a wide range of other crops.
Am I saying that all megafarms all good? Of course not. This book points out some of the perils of large scale farming on the environment especially in a land basin with lots of toxic trace elements like selenium. But that does not mean that I accept the idea that 160 acre limits make sense for agriculture across the board.
There is a lot of history about how the huge tracts of land that Boswell came together and how several other large farmers in the valley grew. There are also color stories about the people around Boswell, both the good and the bad.
I was turned off by the authors' constant use of negative words when describing the Boswell empire they seemed to go out of their way to defame the work of a couple of generations of pretty savvy farmers. But I was also informed by their descriptions of the turf wars between the Bureau of Reclamation and the Army Corps and the bizarre nature of our farm subsidy programs.
Was it worth the read? I guess so.
January 31, 2010
We found this book on the sidewalk and I grabbed it and eventually dove it into its 450 pages (it felt longer, both physically and mentally). I thought this was a really intriguing story of big ag in California and just how much the major farmers have shaped the environment, economy and history of this state. The authors, two LA Times journalists, did a pretty good job of incorporating the histories of the working folks - especially African-Americans and Latinos - and fleshing them out alongside the biography of the rich planters, without going all Howard Zinn. This book has an impressive depth and breadth, with pretty striking unknown stories about the environmental destruction of Tule Lake and the incredible influence of business over government water reclamation policy. Whether you fell asleep while reading that last sentence is an indication of whether this book is for you. It's plodding at times, and very, very male in its subject matter and tone- but a great California history lesson. Makes me realize I need to put City of Quartz - which I suspect is much better - higher on my to-read list.
February 22, 2019
I was tipped off to this book by an article that Mark Arax wrote about the rise of the Pom Wonderful company in the San Joaquin Valley (https://story.californiasunday.com/re...). He references JG Boswell and the Boswell company several times, so I decided to read this book. I found this to be a fantastic overview of the history of the Valley, in the greater context of American history. He outlines the societal, environmental, and economic changes that took place in California and across the US during over the last century or so.
I liked that the author was able to directly interview Boswell and many of his top managers to get their side of the story and add their view of the history of this region (as misaligned as some aspects of it are with the actual cultural and environmental progression of history). After reading this book, I feel much better informed on the modern politics of the Valley, including the ongoing environmental and water crises that create so much division in California.
I liked that the author was able to directly interview Boswell and many of his top managers to get their side of the story and add their view of the history of this region (as misaligned as some aspects of it are with the actual cultural and environmental progression of history). After reading this book, I feel much better informed on the modern politics of the Valley, including the ongoing environmental and water crises that create so much division in California.
December 8, 2009
FINALLY finished this! A monster of a book (430 pages) foot noted and meticulously researched. JG Boswell carved out an empire in Central California and his family single handedly fought off the government, environmental regulation, bent the Army Corp of Engineers to their will and determined the fate of not just Big Ag in California but arguably the entire country. Yet I'd never heard of the family, which is the way they liked it. They married well, into the Chandler family which owned the Los Angeles Times and so had great back-room influence to do whatever the heck they wanted, included damming 5 rivers, including the Kings and the Kern, to preserve irrigation water for their cotton crop, environmental consequences be damned. Amazing story of a master manipulator who learned it at his daddy's knee.
June 24, 2018
An amazing look at what 3 generations of Boswells were able to do in the San Joaquin valley. The book details just how they wound up one of the largest landowners in the US, and the biggest in California. They are portrayed as Robber barons which in today's world, they probably are. Taken in context of their time, they were very tough, shrewd men, who started with nothing and conquered the San Joaquin valley and its rivers.
Enjoyable read, shows the unintended consequences of corporate farming with little or no regulations.
Enjoyable read, shows the unintended consequences of corporate farming with little or no regulations.
November 2, 2008
This is an excellent chronicle of the biggest cotton farmer in the world. It touches on lots of subjects, water rights, migrant labor, environmental destruction, crop subsidies, political influence, dam building, etc. It's more history than biography since the subjects weren't entirely cooperative.
December 2, 2017
Seems a thorough and detailed look at a man, business, and industry that famously wants to stay as anonymous as possible. If you have already made up your mind about the good or evil of the Boswell corporation or big farming in general, I'm not certain that this book would change anyone's mind. It appears to be fair and the authors go out of their way to present every side of the story.
March 31, 2024
This book talks about my beloved Central Valley. By detailing the growth of the J.G. Boswell company Mark Arax outlines how water and workers came to be exploited by large farming concerns. I really enjoyed the parts that I read. I lived in Kings County where Corcoran was located. It was interesting to learn how the town was built up.
I did not finish this book because it is so long and detailed. I want to savor all of it. I'm not in the frame of mind for such technical reading so I'm putting it aside for later.
I did not finish this book because it is so long and detailed. I want to savor all of it. I'm not in the frame of mind for such technical reading so I'm putting it aside for later.
November 9, 2011
Do not read this book if you're not interested in California history. If you are, the tale of the Boswells and the region around Tulare Lake is fascinating and one that I've never seen elsewhere. The book is more about the history of the region than about the Bowells, though the family certainly serves as a good focal point for the authors to keep coming back to. It is more a history of the region and the creation of the Central Valley's big agriculture.
As a read, this is a bit of work to get through. The writing itself is fine, but the story arc simply isn't scintillating. There are many interesting events detailed within, and some feel as if they could be expanded into books themselves - it's just that this portion of the country isn't one you'd naturally say "I want to know more about it" when you see it, and the authors aren't quite able to make it exciting.
As a read, this is a bit of work to get through. The writing itself is fine, but the story arc simply isn't scintillating. There are many interesting events detailed within, and some feel as if they could be expanded into books themselves - it's just that this portion of the country isn't one you'd naturally say "I want to know more about it" when you see it, and the authors aren't quite able to make it exciting.
October 1, 2007
This is an interesting look at "big ag" shaped the central valley, especially the Tulare Lake ares over the past 150 years and what contolling water has meant in California. It was surprisingly relevant given the current special session on water issues--there was a whole chapter about the peripherial canal and what happened the last time they tried to built it. . . The one thing that I found annoying about the book was that in trying to tell the story from different viewpoints they would jump around to different groups and people and you would lose track of what the time period it was that the information was coming from.
Allison--This is the book I told you about, I'll try to remember to bring it to book club.
Allison--This is the book I told you about, I'll try to remember to bring it to book club.
August 20, 2009
Parts of this book - the chapter on the Okies, for example - are beautifully written and full of fascinating characters. As a whole, though, it doesn't hang together all that well, partly because it's about so much more than just J.G. Boswell (and his ancestors), and because the significance of Boswell himself isn't ever quite nailed down. But, it's a great introduction to the ecology and history of California's Central Valley. It also very helpfully puts some works by Carey McWilliams and John Steinbeck in a current historical context. Perhaps most memorably, it's a portrait of a place - the huge, vanished/extinguished Tulare Lake.
November 19, 2012
I read this book as a part of a American West graduate course and found it to be an excellent read. I think it speaks to greater themes of Western historiography; conquest, federal dependence and environmental manipulation. Arax gives great background information about not only the Central Valley but the history of the United States from the Antebellum period to the current day. Being from the area that is the main theme, I think this sparks my interest in a more significant way. Since I read this as a part of a graduate class I had a week to get through it, I would love to some day re-read it and gain a greater perspective on all of the interesting details.
April 20, 2010
Much more interesting than you expect from a book about Corcoran and the Tulare region of the San Joaquin Valley, through which countless millions have driven, struggling to stay awake behind the wheel. The authors reveal a money-making cotton empire where there was once an immense lake. They trace the Boswell corporate farming dynasty back to its antebellum, slave-owning, Georgia roots. This is really well-told history, with a larger-than-life cast of characters you probably would not want to know let alone be related to.
June 21, 2011
This book is an amazing (and really lengthy) peak into the world of the highly private Boswell family, one of the largest land-owning families in the United States. Their massive agricultural empire is the subject of agrarian lore, and, intentionally, there is very little information about the Boswells from first-hand accounts or experiences. The authors, both L.A. Times writers, weave a complex, contextualized, and complicated story. While the story lines may seem disjointed, they generally come together to form a patchwork portrait.
June 19, 2011
Right from Chapter 1 I was fascinated with this book. It has history of California and particularly the Great Valley stretching from Redding down the center of the state to Los Angeles. The Boswell clan were originally from Virginia. Through the generations they learned to grow cotton and learned it well. So well they became the top growers nationally, if not internationally. The author did his homework and laid, what could have been rather a dry read, into a fascinating non-fiction story of the cotton industry, the water wars and politics. A wonderful history book!
January 12, 2013
As other reviewers have said, this book is full of interesting stories, but it does not hang together as a cohesive narrative. It's as if the author went into a number of archives and discovered a bunch of fascinating stories through newspaper articles and such and just strung them together.
It was possible to extract themes of structural inequality throughout, but the book would have been better if the themes had been made more explicit with the stories that supported the themes gathered together.
It was possible to extract themes of structural inequality throughout, but the book would have been better if the themes had been made more explicit with the stories that supported the themes gathered together.
October 13, 2014
Finished, finally! For a book about water, this was incredibly "dry." LOL Well-researched, well done. These guys did an excellent job of being objective until the end when their bias showed...but how could it not?
As an environmentalist, I was morally offended by the Boswell. I admire the sheer scale of what they've accomplished, but their lack of regard for the environment and water rights, their philanthropic hypocrisy, and virulent sexism and racism made me cringe. I almost didn't finish the book.
As an environmentalist, I was morally offended by the Boswell. I admire the sheer scale of what they've accomplished, but their lack of regard for the environment and water rights, their philanthropic hypocrisy, and virulent sexism and racism made me cringe. I almost didn't finish the book.
April 15, 2010
A strongly researched and well-written, almost novelesque tome. If you want to understand how farming and water policy have shaped California (and wiped out a prehistoric lake), this is an excellent source. It explores the lives of the rich and powerful landowners (the Boswells - world's largest farming operation - and their contemporaries), as well as those (mostly black and Hispanic/Latino) who are little more than serfs in the backbreaking, feudalistic world of California's breadbasket.
August 26, 2009
I just couldn't get into this book. He kept writing bunch of disparate story threads, probably with the intention of weaving them all together at some point to paint a great picture, but I never made it to that point. Someone got murdered and I stuck around for a few more pages, and then I put it down. In the 67 pages that I read, he alludes to this great cotton/water empire that screws Californians-- that's interesting.
September 8, 2011
A struggle to get through, in need of real editing. In all likelihood suffering from journalistic tendencies to write too deeply on a topic, given enough space. Yet, providing penetrating insight into the political football that is the California Central Valley, the horror of cotton as a product and how its demands deplete the environment and enslave poor people. Information in the book stays with you long after you've forgotten how hard it was to get through.
November 27, 2012
Tulare dust, towering ambition and family feuds. An in depth look at the power politics and sociology of King Cotton and its effects on the Central Valley in the 20th and 31st centuries. Immigration and plantation paternalism are addressed in depth along with corporate cronyism, lobbying and land grabs.
A cast of characters from FDR to Pat and Jerry Brown, with an order of the Chandler family the side. J.R. was a piker next to J.G. and his clan.
A cast of characters from FDR to Pat and Jerry Brown, with an order of the Chandler family the side. J.R. was a piker next to J.G. and his clan.
January 13, 2009
I never finished this non-fiction tale of how California's Tulare Lake was turned into a million dollar cotton farm. Maybe it was because I grew up picking cotton in that area. Maybe it was because I discovered Cormac McCarthy, turned onto him by a nephew. I plan to finish it but it is a plodding tale plagued with too many memories.
May 24, 2019
Big agriculture in central California. The men who drained Tulare Lake (larger than Tahoe) and turned it into cotton, with millions from the US government.
September 13, 2008
I totally connected with this book, knowing very well the land of the San Joaquin Valley. Brought back memories of the stories my parents told me of life in the early thirties, living and working in the heartland of California.
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