"Eternity Street" Is a Must-Read

After devoting two marathon sessions Saturday and Sunday to the 513-page Eternity Street: Violence and Justice in Frontier Los Angeles, this blogger can unequivocally say that John Mack Faragher's new book will be a classic for its evocation of the "culture of violence" that existed in Los Angeles up until the mid-1870s.

Not only does Eternity Street deal with criminal violence, vigilantism, the struggle for a reasonable administration of criminal justice and the high level of support for popular justice in the town, but it also spends a good deal of time examining the precursors of violence in the Spanish and Mexican periods and the American conquest of Alta California.

One of the more unusual aspects of the book is an examination of domestic violence, which Faragher identifies as being a direct link to the criminal violence that plagued the community, especially as the male-dominated nature of the household transferred itself, with respect to a sense of entitlement, to positions on popular justice held by many in Los Angeles.

Faragher and his five research assistants did a very thorough job in researching and his structure, broad viewpoints, comprehensive coverage and analysis, and beautifully evocative writing style make Eternity Street a must-read for those interested in crime, the administration of justice (or lack of) and the general history of frontier Los Angeles,

Congratulations to Faragher for his achievement, which is the first full-length treatment of its kind about early Los Angeles.

There is still one more chance to hear him talk about this fine book tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena.