Chip Jacobs

Chip Jacobs is an American author and journalist who has written multiple books of non-fiction, including the social histories Smogtown: The Lung-Burning History of Pollution in Los Angeles (2008) and its follow-up, The People’s Republic of Chemicals (2014). His debut novel, Arroyo (2019), was a Los Angeles Times bestseller.[1]

Writing

Non-fiction

With fellow investigative journalist William J. Kelly, Jacobs wrote the social history Smogtown: The Lung-Burning History of Pollution in Los Angeles (2008), which Booklist praised as “remarkably entertaining and informative,”[2] As a follow-up, Jacobs and Kelly wrote The People’s Republic of Chemicals (2014), which Kirkus called "hard-hitting" and "[a] scathing denunciation of how America outsourced its industrial capacity to China, a package that included catastrophic pollution."[3]

His dark comedy, true crime book, The Ascension of Jerry (2012), was about a murder trial in 1979 Los Angeles.[4] He also wrote the biography Strange As It Seems: The Impossible Life of Gordon Zahler (2016), which Publishers Weekly called “exceptional” storytelling and a “peculiar page turner."[5]

Fiction

Jacobs's debut novel, Arroyo (2019), is a work of historical fiction set around construction of Pasadena’s mysterious Colorado Street Bridge in 1913. It was a Los Angeles Times[1] and Southern California Independent Booksellers Association bestseller.[6]

Booklist magazine called Arroyo a "a riveting and enjoyable look at how local myths are constructed, and a vivid depiction of a time and a place that felt full of possibilities.”[7] Library Journal said that Jacobs "handles the historical material superbly, skillfully relating the complicated and tragic story of the" Colorado Street Bridge's "construction while convincingly depicting a variety of famous historical figures.”[8]

Life

Jacobs is from Pasadena, California.[9]

Select works
  • Smogtown: The Lung-burning History of Pollution in Los Angeles (2008), with William J. Kelly ISBN 9781585678600
  • Wheeling the Deal: the Outrageous Legend of Gordon Zahler, Hollywood's Flashiest Quadriplegic (2008) ISBN 9781933016474
  • The Ascension of Jerry: Murder, Hitmen, and the Making of L.A. Muckraker Jerry Schneiderman (2012) ISBN 9780983925545
  • The People's Republic of Chemicals (2014), with William J. Kelly ISBN 9781940207544
  • Strange as it Seems (2016) ISBN 9781942600329
  • Arroyo: A Novel (2019) ISBN 9781644280287

References
  1. "Bestsellers". latimes.com. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
  2. Pitt, David (2008-09-01). "Smogtown: The Lung-Burning History of Pollution in Los Angeles". Booklist. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
  3. "THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHEMICALS". Kirkus. 2014-10-01. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
  4. "Author Chip Jacobs Details Jerry Schneiderman Murder Triangle In New Book". CBS Los Angeles. 2012-05-17. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
  5. "Strange As It Seems: The Impossible Life of Gordon Zahler". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
  6. "Bookweb.com regional bestsellers".
  7. Moran, Alexander (2019-09-20). "Arroyo". Booklist. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
  8. Chip, Jacobs. "Arroyo". Library Journal. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
  9. Chapman, Justin (2019-10-17). "Local author Chip Jacobs launches 'Arroyo,' a historical novel about Pasadena and the origins of the Colorado Street Bridge, at Vroman's". Pasadena Weekly. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
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