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Narrated by Eric Summerer
David K. RandallUnabridged — 7 hours, 54 minutes
Narrated by Eric Summerer
David K. RandallUnabridged — 7 hours, 54 minutes
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…[a] tart, snappy history…[Randall] is smart enough to locate the universal themes in a strictly local story and has the good sense to know that, of all the disparate types who populate his old California—ornery homesteaders, secretive ceramists, Franciscan monks—the keeper is May Rindge.
01/18/2016
In this fascinating work, Randall (Dreamland), a senior reporter at Reuters, chronicles the rise and fall of the Rindge family as well as their fight to keep their Malibu, Calif., paradise private. Early in the 20th century, Malibu was an awe-inspiring coastal locale made nearly uninhabitable thanks to the Rindges. The family’s story begins with Frederick Rindge, a wealthy east coaster with chronic health problems and an adventurous spirit. When he and his wife, May, moved west to Los Angeles, he was struck by the beauty of Malibu. They bought a large ranch alongside the beach, but soon found themselves battling with the settlers living in the nearby hills over access to the beach and with tourists’ looking for beautiful hikes and scenic drives. When Frederick died, May grew obsessed with preserving her private lands and the beauty of Malibu. The building anger of Malibu homesteaders and other locals led to suspected arson, a ruined reputation, and the loss of May’s fortune and the majority of her lands. Well written and thoroughly researched, Randall’s exploration of land ownership in America and the American dream addresses issues of sexism, classism, love, and the preservation of natural beauty. Photos. (Mar.)
"Anchoring himself in exhaustive research, David K. Randall enshrines this paradigmatic American story in a compelling narrative that at once explores the power and the limits of the Southern California dream."
"A doozy of a tale…[T]he Rindge saga has the trappings of [a] Hollywood movie."
"The mother of all property disputes…[a] saga, complete with alleged arson, presidential appeals, and Supreme Court hearings."
"David Randall is…an artist in prose. He’s fascinated by that lost world that was 19th century, downtown-centered Los Angeles."
"David Randall has unearthed a rowdy origin story for Malibu, vividly proving that movie stars weren’t the first people to bring drama to that fabled stretch of coastline. This thrilling book shows that before Barbie and surfers showed up, the beach was a battleground."
"The King and Queen of Malibu is an irresistible and compelling tale of a strong-willed and fabulously wealthy woman who sought to keep the beaches and mountains of Malibu as her private enclave."
"David Randall’s The King and Queen of Malibu is a compelling love story about an unlikely couple and at the same time a rich and instructive tale about the American Dream crashing head-on into the march of American progress. Always fascinating and elegantly written, it totally absorbed me in the unfolding drama."
"David K. Randall’s The King and Queen of Malibu is a vivid narrative of a strong-willed woman in a man’s world. May Rindge, the landlady of her private Malibu paradise, was feared, even hated, but also respected. Randall tells the true story of a bloody feud that needs no invention."
08/01/2016
Randall (Dreamland) here writes about the evolution of a deeply rural, mostly farmland Malibu into a desirable spot for the new wealth that the movie business brought to Southern California. Spanning the years just before the American Civil War through the sexy beginnings of early Hollywood, the story of Malibu offers glimpses of movie stars, newly minted millionaires, and the people who had settled the land, viewed through the prism of the marriage of Frederick and May Rindge. He attended Harvard and mingled with presidents; she was used to hard work on a Midwestern farm. They settled in Los Angeles and were instrumental in the city's formation. After Frederick died suddenly, May set out to preserve Malibu, with her efforts resulting in the creation of the iconic Pacific Coast Highway. Eric Summerer capably narrates this lively broad history of one of the most distinctive cities in the United States. VERDICT The audiobook is recommended for listeners fascinated by Hollywood and the expansion of the United States. ["Readers interested in U.S. and California history, Western expansion, political science, or biography will find this an excellent addition to their collection": LJ 2/1/16 review of the Norton hc.]—Pam Kingsbury, Univ. of North Alabama, Florence
02/01/2016
Journalist Randall (Dreamland) steps away from his usual brand of contemporary nonfiction to tackle a topic more historical in nature—that of the development of Malibu, CA. The son of a wealthy Massachusetts family, Frederick Rindge and his wife, May, moved to Los Angeles in 1887 to start their married life and soon carved out a place for themselves in the upper echelon of the not-quite-tamed Western city. They purchased Malibu Rancho as their private retreat and were steadfast in refusing to have the land used for railroads, highways, or real estate development. Even after Frederick's death, May fought all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to preserve the natural coastal landscape—a battle she lost in Rindge Co. v. County of Los Angeles (1923) as the power of eminent domain granted the county the right to take land from private landowners for the growth of scenic highways. Well researched using primary source documents, this engaging book deftly weaves the story of a family whose choices shaped the progress of the California coast. VERDICT Readers interested in U.S. and California history, Western expansion, political science, or biography will find this an excellent addition to their collection.—Crystal Goldman, Univ. of California, San Diego Lib.
This articulate, exhaustively researched account of the wealthy Rindge family and their unlikely development of the enormous rancho encompassing all of Malibu, California, is a delight! Eric Summerer is an excellent choice to narrate the work because of his clear inflections and commanding tone. The author informs the listener of the political, social, and economic forces at work in Southern California from the 1880s forward, beginning at a time when San Francisco was the undisputed principal city of the state. This is the story of a couple from Massachusetts and their shared love of the land that only later became the home of film stars and a backdrop for Sally Field’s television show “Gidget” as well as the rock stars spotlighted by Dick Clark on “Where the Action Is.” Even those with only a passing interest in Southern California history will likely enjoy this. W.A.G. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine
2015-12-10
A swift account of the history of Malibu, "a rugged ranch in the middle of nowhere" that became "a global symbol of fame and fortune." Reuters senior reporter Randall (Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep, 2012) is interested in briskness and conciseness; this is no dense scholarly history. He begins with a quick overview of the entire text, then proceeds with the story of Frederick Rindge (1857-1905), an ambitious Harvard student who, throughout his life, had to battle the lingering effects of rheumatic fever but shared with Theodore Roosevelt the exercise ethos and love of the outdoors that enabled him to live much longer than he otherwise might have. Rindge, as Randall shows us, had a gift for seeing financial opportunities and seizing them—though it didn't hurt that he began with an inheritance worth some $140 million in today's currency. He met and very quickly married Rhoda May Knight (who always went by "May"), and off they went to Los Angeles, where he quickly became one of the major movers in that community's transition to a megalopolis. He bought a huge ranch, once a major Spanish land grant, in the area now called Malibu (an abbreviation of the ranch's original Spanish name), developed it and strived mightily—as did his widow, for decades—to keep it both private and pristine. Obviously, they lost. They battled homesteaders, trespassers, and, eventually, the local and national governments, the final stroke being the construction of the Pacific Coast Highway. The Depression wiped out May's fortune. The author communicates a keen sympathy for the Rindges, praising Frederick for his philanthropy back in his Massachusetts hometown and May for her virtual monomania about the property. As "progress" arrives in the area, the author wants us to feel sorrow for the folks with multiple mansions and vast fortunes. An engaging story about wealth, entitlement, property rights, change, loss, and pain.
| BN ID: | 2940171738303 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | HighBridge Company |
| Publication date: | 03/02/2016 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
