In his upcoming memoir, Zev Yaroslavsky takes readers on an uplifting and inspiring journey of personal faith, public service, and the shaping of Los Angeles. The son of Jewish immigrants from Ukraine, his story is a quintessentially American one. From modest beginnings, Yaroslavsky left a lasting mark through his work on expanding health care, implementing innovative housing programs, and growing our city’s public transportation network. Zev gives readers an inside look into the life of one of the most empathic and effective leaders I’ve known, as well as insight into the challenges he overcame along the way. This memoir is for any reader looking for inspiration about their own ability to effect change in their community.”
— U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.)
“Zev’s Los Angeles: From Boyle Heights to the Halls of Power, the autobiography of, well, Zev, revisits the period in which Los Angeles became what we know today: big and complex, multiracial, exciting, divided and far deeper than what meets the eye. Zev Yaroslavsky left a lasting mark on L.A. over decades on the City Council and the Board of Supervisors, and his thoughtful reflections earn his memoir an honored place in the history he helped make and now helps to understand. … Aided by former Los Angeles Times writer Josh Getlin, Yaroslavsky manages the dual tales of his own life and the broader L.A. story. The result is satisfying at every level: a solid history, an insightful analysis of power and a sincere reflection on a life of service.”
— Jim Newton, Los Angeles Times
“In Yaroslavsky’s book… you surely learn a lot about local politics… But there’s another set of lessons embedded in this memoir, about what it looks like to animate one’s values and honor one’s heritage while engaged in the deeply transactional and often cynical day-to-day of politics. … The long arc of his career combines idealism, ethical behavior — in four decades, not a whiff of scandal — and service to the greater good, the community. … That is to say, Yaroslasvky, who retired in 2014, left the city far better than he found it. God knows there’s still a lot left for a new generation of politicians to do. They have a fine example to follow.”
— Rob Eshman, The Forward
“Los Angeles can be harder to understand than most big cities. … Move to Boston or New York, and those cities will teach you how to be a Bostonian or a New Yorker. Move to Los Angeles, and the metropolis will more or less lie there, unfurled and opaque, awaiting instructions. … The place doesn’t tend to define its people. The people, in the aggregate, define the place. How that works is the subject of a new book by Zev Yaroslavsky, who has been a Los Angeles civic leader for the last five decades. … The book… is billed as a political memoir, but it is also a history of the people and policies that have shaped the city.”
— Shawn Hubler, New York Times (California Today)
“Yaroslavsky—former City Councilman, now retired from the County Board of Supervisors—has written, with Josh Getlin, an account of his years in government that will impress the most jaded critic. … Yaroslavsky writes that he intended his book to be ‘a history as much as a memoir,’ and the result is a studied account, written with an evident eye on posterity. … Yaroslavsky has provided an engrossing account of a tumultuous era and the often-subterranean battles that have shaped the city of Los Angeles. He may even give the reader a new appreciation for the work of a politician.”
— Kathleen Hayes, The Jewish Journal
“Zev Yaroslavsky led a long and highly productive political career that deserves proper ink. His history is our history… I highly recommend Zev’s Los Angeles to anyone who cares about the future of Los Angeles, especially those considering getting into politics or public service. … Zev’s book gives the reader an insider’s look at all Zev helped get done while in office. It’s a rather remarkable list, really. While reading this book, you will feel like you are right there in the meetings with him as he dashed about, pulling every lever of power he could in pursuit of a good cause. … Public policy can be dry, boring, and wonky. This book is anything but.”
— Jeff Hall, Brentwood News
“The son of Ukrainian immigrants turned one of the most important politicians in post-World War II Los Angeles walks readers through his life and career with anecdotes and asides in a style that’s just like him — plain-spoken, insightful, confident and crusading.”
— Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times (California Column)
“In this compelling memoir, Zev Yaroslavsky chronicles Los Angeles’ evolution into one of the world’s great cultural capitals and his role in that transformation. From Disney Hall and the Hollywood Bowl, to the L.A. Opera, to the region’s museums and more—his influence in expanding L.A.’s cultural footprint is a remarkable legacy. I have been privileged to share many of the challenges and exciting moments in that history.”
— James Conlon, Music Director, Los Angeles Opera, International Conductor
