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L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America's Most Seductive City

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"L.A. Noir" is a fascinating study of organized crime in Los Angeles and the politics of policing it from the Twenties to the Sixties. It's an entertaining read that I found hard to put down. The book has everything: mob hits, police brutality, corruption, violence, glamor, and pathos. The author focuses on two major figures whose lives spanned this period: the gangster Micky Cohen and LAPD officer and chief Bill Parker. The two eventually became bitter enemies in a struggle for the soul of the city.

For most of the time period covered, the LAPD resembled a mercenary army, subject to being bought off or bribed by one mob faction or another. Los Angeles was a wide open city, where crime flourished and no one tried too hard to bring the Syndicate to heel. While this sometimes led to wild instability and brutal killings, at other times the mob was able to reach an accommodation with the police and city hall, known as the "Combination." For a while, the Combination controlled L.A.

Mickey Cohen was a lackluster boxer and low-life hood who rose to the top in the criminal underworld in Los Angeles. His chief strengths appear to have been absolute ruthlessness and a complete lack of fear. He stood up with almost crazy resolve, especially in the early days, to mobsters much more powerful than he was, almost daring them to kill him. His recklessness paid off. Bugsy Siegel made him his right-hand man, and when Bugsy eventually dropped out of the picture, Mickey ascended to the top spot. He had it all: wealth, power, respect, and the company of beautiful women.

But Cohen had an adversary, a nemesis in Bill Parker. Parker was an odd duck: personally incorruptible but flawed by his heavy drinking, narrow-mindedness, and fits of rage. Over decades he worked to insulate the police department from political pressure, a key facilitator of corruption. When he finally made it to the top, he went after the mob with a vengeance. He suffered from a strange form of Cold War paranoia, believing that organized crime served the nefarious purposes of Communism. He would later bring the same unfortunate linkage to his view of the Civil Rights movement, with tragic results.

The sidelights in this book are what really makes it fun. Whether it's Billy Graham trying to convert Mickey Cohen, the mob coming down on Sammy Davis, Jr. for dating Kim Novak, the use of Jack Webb's "Dragnet" to burnish the LAPD's image, a look at the politics of wiretapping, or Mike Wallace's interview with Mickey Cohen (in which Cohen called Parker a "degenerate"), the book is full of colorful anecdotes, containing one fascinating revelation after another.

The book ends with an exploration of the LAPD's tragic bungling of the Watts riots, laying the failure at part at Parker's own feet. It is a rich reminder of the man's multifaceted character and his flaws. I highly recommend "L.A. Noir" for its fascinating history of crime corruption in Twentieth-Century Los Angeles.

Buntin is a writer for "Governing" magazine. According to Wikipedia, "it's a monthly magazine...whose subject area is state and local government in the United States. The magazine's circulation is approximately 85,000, most of whom are elected, appointed or career officials in state and local government." It's also a source as an authority for citations by the national media.

The book starts off with a bang, literally, describing the 'wild west' mentality in LA at the beginning of the century; and some of Mickey Cohen's more memorable 'rub outs'. Buntin is best when he's describes Mickey and 'The Mob', and the further back he starts the more sensational and interesting the background stories are. When he finally get's to the meat of the story, which is to be Mickey Cohen (i.e. Semi- organized Crime) and Police Chief William Parker, he begins to jumps around with dates and periods.

One of the failures of the book is that Butin is trying to write alternate chapters about one or the other main protagonists in the book, but at the time of the the major event of Parker's career (the Watts Riots) Cohen is in jail and no way involved. In fact it has nothing to do with 'organized crime' at all; most of the criminals at this point are gang based and totally disorganized.

The latter part of the book is all Parker and the 'civil rights' movement and race problems in LA, not to mention the inadequate size of the LAPD and living in the 'forties' mentality of the upper levels of the LAPD. Though Butin does put some of the blame on Parker for his inability to change with the times, he's constantly making excuses for him and tries to dump some of the blame on his successors. The problem with 'passing the buck' is that these men trained under Parker and were so set in the ways of the LAPD that they couldn't see the problems.

Butin especially comes down hard on Chief Daryl Gates and his involvement in the "Rodney King Riots". But Gates has been a whipping boy for everything that went wrong at that time in LA (Mayors Yorty and Bradley seem to skate through the problem). Though Butin makes a side comment about some of Bradley's problems as mayor (relating to misspent funds and corruption) he puts little blame on him. This could be in part because of Butin's ties to "Governing", and Bradley's legacy in the Black community of LA.

Butin also seems to have a grudging respect for Cohen and all of the Mafia Dons. Yes, they were larger than life and colorful, but Mickey is thought to have been involved in up to thirty murders (though he 'never killed anyone who didn't deserve it', in his own words). Butin spends an inordinate amount of time describing Mickey's wardrobe and toileting habits (his one hour showers), not to mention his eating habits. This part feels like he didn't have enough to write so he just kept throwing in the same points over and over.

Zeb Kantrowitz

Marketing blurbs and splash page descriptions drew me to "L.A.Noir: The Struggle For The Soul Of America's Most Seductive City" and I was both rewarded and disappointed. The rewards emerged from the meticulous research and heavily annotated background of this effort that chronicle's the struggle for law and order in Los Angeles from the 1930's to the 1990's. My disappointment resulted from the very superficial, plodding, business-like approach taken by the author. There is no soul to this book that purports to research the struggle for the soul of L.A. There is no palpable atmosphere as places and people seldom spring to life in the dull unfolding narrative. Indeed, maybe the problem lies more in the fact that the narrative is almost totally chronological rather than structured around themes and incidents.

"L.A. Noir" is essentially the story of the politics of 20th century Los Angeles and the changing role of the LAPD and its chiefs. There are two themes that do seem to thread through the book, one plainly trumpeted as the rise of William Parker to L.A. Chief of Police and Mickey Cohen's rise to mobster/celebrity status, although this theme may be plainly overdrawn in the purported "titantic struggle" between the two. The other, less identified but certainly more powerful theme was the inevitable changing demographics of the Los Angeles metropolitan area that ultimately changed the political, cultural, and social make-up of L.A. and the effect those changes had on the LAPD and the political scene.

Having lived through the last 50 years of the book, I was intrigued by remembering people or incidents from the past, expecially celebrities and crises. The reader encounters a young Billy Graham as he tries to convert Cohen, Robert Kennedy as he aligns with Parker, a snotty J. Edger Hoover, a frightened Sammy Davis Jr., and the rise of Mayors Sam Yorty and Tom Bradley. The reader can revisit the Watts riots and (their precipitating events) of 1965 and 1992 (remember Rodney King), the assassination of Robert Kennedy, and the mob's fight for control of the city.

"L.A.Noir" can be recommended to students and researchers of 20th century Los Angeles although the depth of coverage is uneven at times (Sleepy Lagoon and "Zoot Suit" confrontations, for example). Certainly the anotated notes and the bibliography can provide serious students of that era with a wealth of references and resources. I just wish there had been more soul to what was otherwise, an interesting read.

First, let me explain that I did in fact like this book. However, I was ready for something a little more engaging. The description had me begging for this book. But alas, I was bored at some points and merely struggled through it. I am glad that I read it, but I wish I would have known that the description was just to tantalize: the "struggle" for LA's soul was written from a bureaucrat's love of detail.

This text was overflowing with details, notations, and citations. It would be an excellent source for a paper or history class. The author's style is professional and clean. It is never confusing: you always know exactly what he is stating. Buntin obviously devoted a lot of time and thorough research before he exacted this book.

The one fault of Buntin as an author is that he never injected his spirit as a writer into the book. The lack of such a personal touch amounted to a fascinating history, but nothing more. The story was interesting, but it was told in a way that made it a chore to read, which is unfortunate.

I will have a difficult time picking this up again, or recommending it to friends without a heavy warning.

I was born and raised in Los Angeles, with the impression that the LAPD was like Adam 12 or Dragnet - all good guys, working for the cleanest and best police force in the U.S.A. Corruption? No such thing. I do have to say that the LAPD, comparatively speaking, does a good job but that wasn't always the case and L.A. Noir is a great source for finding out just how seedy the LAPD and the streets of Los Angeles in general, once used to be.

I'm no historian so I don't have any idea as to how accurate John Buntin's book really is but even if it takes license with history (and I am not saying it does, just that I wouldn't know if it did or not), it would still be a very good novel. The characters are developed well and Buntin's writing style paints a vivid picture of Los Angeles during the 40's, 50's and 60's and the fight between organized crime and the ones with integrity within the department. I found the book especially interesting since I grew up in the area and am personally acquainted with many of the areas mentioned in the book; I tell you, I had no idea things were that bad and so many people were corrupt in the city.

L.A. Noir makes for a fine read, whether or not you are familiar with Los Angeles. This is no dry history book, it's a page turner.

A biography of either Mickey Cohen or Chief Parker would have been fascinating in their own right, but this book combines the two of them into not only a duel biography, but also a history of crime in LA focusing on the 20's through the 60's. The backdrop is organized crime, and Parker's efforts to fight it, along with Cohen's efforts to make money and be successful with it. It's a fascinating story, but could have been much more compelling. There was a lot of focus on dates, and chapters were organized topically rather than chronologically, which kind of made my head hurt a little bit because there was a lot of jumping around in years. And it might not seem like a big deal to skip from 1922 to 1928 and then back to 1926, but a lot happens in a year, and I wanted to make sure I had things straight in my head, so I was going back and forth a lot, checking and rechecking dates. I kind of wish that there wasn't so much emphasis on the years and dates because then I wouldn't have felt like I needed to keep track of it so much. I kind of wish the story would have just spoken for itself without having to read like a textbook. That being said, I learned a lot and really enjoyed it, and would recommend it to anyone interested in organized crime, history, or Los Angeles.

When we think of organized crime we usually think of New York or Chicago, sometimes Las Vegas, but according to "L.A. Noir" by John Buntin that great southern California city may have been the most desperate battlefield between the underworld and the police during the period between the 1930s and the 1960s. "L.A. Noir" is essentially a duel biography of Los Angeles gangster Mickey Cohen and the city's Police Chief William Parker, both of whom dominated the city and squared off against each other in midcentury L.A. The story is right out of such movies as "L.A. Confidential," "Chinatown," and "Mulholland Falls."

Although born in Brooklyn and eventually migrating westward, Mickey Cohen was the perfect gangster for L.A. As a triggerman and heavy for Bugsy Siegel, Cohen gained confidence and power under Siegel's guidance. After Siegel's murder in 1947 Cohen emerged as a leader of the L.A. underworld. His propensity for violence brought concerted effort to bring him down both from rivals in the underworld and from the police, but his savvy and on many occasions dumb luck allowed him to survive. Cohen also traveled amongst the Hollywood and business elite; movie star George Raft was even with Cohen one time when a hit on him took place. Interestingly, like Al Capone, Cohen was only ever convicted of tax evasion, and he did not die of old age until 1976.

William H. Parker entered the LAPD in 1927 and served as its chief between 1950 and 1966. He inherited a notoriously corrupt policy unit closely tied to political interests and engaging in graft and corruption. He went to work reforming the department, professionalizing its force, and undertaking a concerted publicity campaign to use the film and television industry to improve the LAPD's image. Such television shows as "Dragnet" was representative of Parker's PR campaign. But Parker also failed in many of his efforts; his career is forever tarnished by his poor performance during the Watts riot of 1965.

While author John Buntin seeks to square off both Cohen and Parker against each other, in reality they were not truly locked in the seemingly life and death struggle depicted here. Neither of them spent their days obsessed with the actions of the other. They were adversaries, to be sure, but Buntin overstates his case. It makes for a fascinating literary device paring Cohen and Parker against each other and the result is a fine non-fiction account of cops and robbers in L.A. While it is an enjoyable read and an exciting narrative, "L.A. Noir" is an overdramatic and therefore simplified account of an important story in mid-twentieth century history.

This book is a must-read for anyone who loves Los Angeles, noir & gangster movies or local history. The main characters of Mickey Cohen and Bill Parker are wonderful foils throughout the decades of their respective reigns.

Having grown up in Los Angeles in the 40's and 50's, I found this an interesting study of the city as well as of the two main characters, Chief Parker and Micky Cohen. Many other recognizable names emerge, such as the Otis and Chandler families, William Mulholland, George Raft, Jack Webb, William Randolph Hearst, and more. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the evolution of the city of Los Angeles and of its police department.

Although L.A. Noir focuses on the story of two men, mobster Mickey Cohen and Los Angeles Police Chief William Parker, it provides lots of insight into the mindset and machinations of the LAPD from the 1920s up through the 1960s. It ably describes the corruption that ran rampant through the department and challenges faced by those who set out to change it.

As a side note, Noir should be considered required reading by anybody with an appreciation of the hard-bitten crime novels of 20th century Los Angeles; from Raymond Chandler to Michael Connelly. Reading L.A. Noir has left me with an itch to revisit such classic works of fiction as L.A. Confidential, Devil in a Blue Dress, and Farewell My Lovely, along with such great movies as Chinatown and Changeling.