Thirty Explosive Years in Los Angeles County

In his memoir, Los Angeles County Supervisor John Anson Ford documented the regional governance and politics in the tumultuous era from the Great Depression through the early years of the Cold War.

As a young, liberal, progressive politician squaring off against an entrenched conservative establishment, Los Angeles County Supervisor John Anson Ford transformed midcentury Los Angeles politics. The region was in the midst of rapid economic growth, but could, he firmly believed, meet the expanding needs of its diverse population. In his memoir, Ford reveals the struggles of a democratic government facing unprecedented, unforeseen change, including the challenges of such issues as air pollution, flood control, water conservation, racial discrimination, crime, and juvenile delinquency. As Adamson notes in his introduction, Ford's accounts of efficient and pragmatic government in action are timely reminders that well-run government has the capacity to anchor public well-being and underwrite economic development. In this way, Ford's memoir vividly captures the meanings of liberalism and progressivism at the dawn of the 1960s.

Introduction by Michael Adamson, plus a checklist of John Anson Ford papers at the Huntington Library.

John Anson Ford (1883-1983) served as a Los Angeles County Supervisor from 1934 to 1958.

Selected books from the Huntington Library Press are now distributed by Angel City Press.