California Rising: The Life and Times of Pat Brown
- Book Review,
by Ethan Rarick
From Publishers Weekly
Gov. Edmund G. "Pat" Brown (1905– 1996) was surely one of the Golden State's greatest governors. Fortunately, in political journalist Rarick, he has found a sure-penned, balanced and astute biographer. Elected governor in 1958 and serving until defeated by Ronald Reagan in 1966, Brown accomplished what other governors had to envy and faced challenges they'd pray to avoid. It was Brown who reorganized the state's world-class university system for a new era; led to completion of the controversial Feather River Project, which brought more water to Southern California; and, perhaps most memorably, defeated Richard Nixon for governor in 1962. But the ghastly problems he faced were even greater than these promising opportunities. He was governor when student unrest overtook the Berkeley campus in 1964 and when Watts exploded in race rioting in 1965. A first-class disposition and sensitive political antennae got him through these and other difficulties, but also opened him to opposition by those, like Nixon and Reagan, who portrayed him inaccurately as soft and ineffective. In the end, as Rarick argues, sometimes in too great detail, Brown led his state through its boom times with vision and understanding. Rarick tells the tale with great skill in this lively, fast-paced, critical and fully informed work. 26 b&w photos. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Book Description
It is now commonplace to say that the future happens first in California, and this book, the first biography of legendary governor Edmund G. "Pat" Brown, tells the story of the pivotal era when that idea became a reality. Set against the riveting historical landscape of the late fifties and sixties, the book offers astute insights into history as well a fascinating glimpse of those who charted its course-including Ronald Reagan, John F. Kennedy, and the Brown family dynasty. Ethan Rarick mines an impressive array of untapped sources-such as Pat Brown's diary and love letters to his wife-to tell the unforgettable story of a true mover-and-shaker within his fascinating and turbulent political arena. California Rising illuminates a singular moment in time with surprising intimacy. John Kennedy laughs with Pat Brown. Richard Nixon offers the governor a schemer's deal. Lyndon Johnson sweet-talks the governor on the phone and then ridicules him behind his back. And as context for the human drama, key events of the era unfold in gripping prose. There is Brown's struggle with the fate of Caryl Chessman, the convicted kidnapper who gained international attention by writing best-selling books on death row. There is the tale of intrigue and politics surrounding the Free Speech Movement at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1964, and the violence and horror of the Watts Riots in 1965. Through the story of the life and times of Pat Brown, we witness an extraordinary period that changed the entire country's view of itself and its most famous state. Illustrations: 26 b/w photographs
From the Back Cover
"Edmund G. (Pat) Brown has long been considered one of the two or three most effective governors of California. Thanks to this exhaustively researched and vividly written study by Ethan Rarick, we can now grasp the true strength and charisma of this extraordinary governor and the highpoint of public value and performance he orchestrated in the creation of contemporary California. A seasoned reporter, Rarick left everything behind to research and write this book. He made the right decision."-Kevin Starr, University Professor of History, University of Southern California "This is an impressive and important work--exhaustively researched, elegantly written. It's not only the biography of the central figure in modern California history, Governor Pat Brown, but the story of a crucial era in California and its place in the nation's imagination. California Rising is a major document in our understanding of the man and the place he helped make."-Peter Schrag, former editorial page editor of the Sacramento Bee and author of Paradise Lost: California's Experience, America's Future "Ethan Rarick has written a shrewd and lively account of the life of Pat Brown, California's most constructive governor in the last half-century. What a pleasant way to learn about the history of the golden state during the key period in which state government was confronted with the economic and social challenges of rapid modernization. A very impressive book."-Nelson W. Polsby, Heller Professor of Political Science, University of California, Berkeley "An important and enjoyable book."-Bruce Cain, coeditor of Voting at the Political Fault Line "Ethan Rarick's narrative of the life of Pat Brown is a fascinating look at the maturation of a political animal. We follow closely as Brown gladhands his way up California's political ladder and becomes his state's most progressive governor. In this meticulous study, Rarick fleshes out Brown's battles with Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan throughout the 1960s. California Rising profits from Rarick's broad understanding of California and his constructive use of Brown's personal notes and correspondence."-Douglas Brinkley, author of Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War
About the Author
As a journalist, Ethan Rarick covered politics in California and Oregon for 15 years before writing California Rising. His work has appeared in many publications, including the Los Angeles Times and the San Francisco Chronicle.
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