About the Author

Blake Gumprecht, a former reporter for the 'Los Angeles Times' and other newspapers, teaches in the Department of Geography at the University of Oklahoma. His research focuses on the cultural and historical geography of the United States and Canada. He has produced studies about early tree planting on the Great Plains; commercial cultivation of marijuana in California; the grain industry of Enid, Oklahoma; the role of place in the music of West Texas; and liquor-related border settlement in the Oklahoma Territory. His work has been published in 'Southern California Quarterly,' 'Chronicles of Oklahoma,' 'Great Plains Quarterly,' and 'Journal of Historical Geography.'

Reviews

"In this fine history of the creek, which travels from the San Fernando Valley to its mouth at the Pacific Ocean off Long Beach, Gumprecht strews river anecdotes around the politics and controversies surrounding the river. It's a must-own for anyone who cares about the development of Southern California or the geography of this part of the state."--Tim Grobaty, 'Long Beach Press-Telegram' "There is a myth that southern California is a desert watered by humans. Quite the contrary. Through its heart, the Los Angeles river once flowed past woodland and filled marshes. Now the river is an 80-kilometre, concrete-lined storm drain that politicians from time to time suggest should be painted blue to make it look more natural. So reports Blake Gumprecht in his admirable eponymous study of the river's 'life, death and possible rebirth.'"--'New Scientist' "For those even aware that it exists, the Los Angeles River conjures up an image of a barren concrete channel--a place best suited for Hollywood car chases and gang brawls. There was a time, however, when the L.A. River, which runs form the San Fernando Valley into the Pacific, had an entirely different image, not to mention a different course. Before modern flood control programs fixed the river's path with high cement walls, it ran variously south and west, at one time emptying into the Santa Monica Bay. In this exhaustive and lively investigation, Gumprecht, a geography professor and former Los Angeles Times reporter, charts the waterway's evolution from a 'beautiful stream, wandering peacefully amid willows and wild grapes' to the refuse-strewn, 'ugly, concrete gutter' it is today. Gumprecht describes the crucial role that the river played in the settlement and growth of L.A.--both as a water source and as a symbol of the region's Arcadian promise--and, conversely, how the river was remade in the image of the metropolis itself, becoming depleted and degraded by the very development it made possible. Like fellow L.A. historian Mike Davis, Gumprecht scatters an archive of startling photos throughout the book, from a man holding a 25-pound trout caught in the river in 1940 to the scene of a riverbed drag race broken up by police in 1950. Conjuring images of Roman Polanski's 'Chinatown', Gumprecht's river 'biography' breathes vitality into a subject that in the hands of a less enthusiastic author might be drier than the industrial wasteland that he describes."--'Publishers Weekly' "Once the very soul of the city's landscape, the Los Angeles River is now just a concrete storm sewer. But, as Blake Gumprecht argues in this landmark history, its resurrection may become the unifying civic crusade of the next decade."--Mike Davis, author of 'City of Quartz' and 'Ecology of Fear' "The suppression of the Los Angeles River is one of the great environmental atrocities of the twentieth century. Here is that tragic story. But here as well are the possibilities of hope; for the Los Angeles River has refused to die. Some day, as this compelling study indicates, this great river may once again spring to life and grace the city through which it flows with the delight, that sense of nature in motion, that only a great river can give. Los Angeles needs its river. We need this book."--Kevin Starr, State Librarian of California and author of 'Americans and the California Dream' "The Los Angeles River has been called 'the Rodney Dangerfield of waterways,' recalling the comic's complaint, 'I don't get no respect.' Fortunately, this much-maligned river has won the respect of geographer Blake Gumprecht. He describes what was once a genuine river, and how it helped a village reinvent itself as a great city. Like an ungrateful child, the city returned the favor by turning it into an ugly--though functional--flood-control channel. Of late, the question has become how, and to what extent, can the 51 miles of concrete be restored as a green river. This book, impeccably researched and beautifully written, will be essential reading for all sides in the current debate. It ranks as one of the finest books ever written about Los Angeles, and is destined to become a classic."--Leonard Pitt, co-author of 'Los Angeles A to Z: An Encyclopedia of the City and County' "Blake Gumprecht has neatly and ambitiously woven the 'biography' of a river with the history of Los Angeles. The result is a fascinating and often surprising reminder that this little river runs exactly through the heart of the city whose name it shares. This is required reading for anyone concerned about the environmental future of the Los Angeles basin."--William Deverell, author of 'Railroad Crossing: Californians and the Railroad, 1850-1910'