A look into how Biverly came into existence. With stories of studio executives, actors, and actresses this is a very good book and has a lot of information and different stories from a different time. I found this to be a very good book.

While most of my reading has focused on contemporary Los Angeles, I've been reading more and more about earlier periods of the city's history (for example, Jean Stein's "West of Eden" and David K. Randall's "The King and Queen of Malibu"). "The Battle for Beverly Hills" is a fascinating and well-written history of the Beverly Hills neighbourhood, and how a group of local luminaries (read: Hollywood-connected celebrities) exerted some measure of control over how the area developed.

Well written, well researched, and an interesting and engaging read.

The Battle for Beverly Hills is a fascinating glimpse into another era and the beginnings of Beverly Hills as we know it today. I loved all of the history and references to studios and actors and actresses from that era.

For those of us who live in Los Angeles we forget there was a time when all the land was orange groves and Beverly Hills did not exist. But, how many of us knew it was a battle of wills to get it established. This is definitely a historic read. If you live in Southern California, you will find it fascinating.

If you love history and old movie stars, you will love this book. Especially interesting if you are from California. Well researched. I learned a lot from this book and not only live in California but have been a silent movie buff for ages. This is an easy 4 stars. Thoroughly enjoyed this.

I found this a really interesting study of the cult of celebrity - a topic that fascinates and repulses me in equal measure. It all began with Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks - the Brangelina of their time - and the quest to keep Beverly Hills elite and independent. They were the first to bank on celebrity fame to promote a political cause - and more's the benefit and the pity to us contemporary citizens as a result... It was very interesting to see how it all began - both the city of BH and the larger concept of exponentially morphing face- and name-recognition into political power. The writing is clear and engaging and there was just enough behind-the-scenes early Hollywood (and pre-Hollywood) movie history to nicely balance the geography lesson about the settlement of Southern California and its battles for water, financial independence, and power (both personal and political).

For people that love our California history like me this is a must read! The author goes back to the time of early movie stars and the beginning of the City of Los Angeles and Beverly Hills. As I grew up in Beverly Hill's I enjoyed learning about the beginning of the annexation of Beverly Hills and how it became its own municipality. it was a fascinating read about how the early movie stars contributed toward the legalities and necessities of creating Beverly Hills as its own area, how they fought for water rights and all that is involved in creating a unique subdivision for its time. It is also a story of early studios and their input and efforts toward creating Beverly Hills.
I love any and all books about early California and I highly recommend this book for all who enjoy our beautiful California history about the Los Angeles area. Thank you for the ARC which did not influence my review

I knew very little about California history before I read The Battle for Beverly Hills. Certainly nothing about how important Beverly Hills came to be. Books about movies stars of the silent era that include the history of a place - I'm hooked. And I was. From the beginning, Beverly Hills was fought over - for location, for water, for power. The movies stars, just starting to develop into the powerful movers and shakers that we are familiar with, held my attention with WWI bond tours and their political voices being heard. Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, this was a revelation for me and I read way past my bedtime. The writing pace and the voice were well balanced. It was easy to give this read five stars.

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34964900-the-battle-for-beverly-hills" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The Battle for Beverly Hills: A City’s Independence and the Birth of Celebrity Politics" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1499724395m/34964900.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34964900-the-battle-for-beverly-hills">The Battle for Beverly Hills: A City’s Independence and the Birth of Celebrity Politics</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7259549.Nancie_Clare">Nancie Clare</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2298765051">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Netgalley # 16<br /><br />Many thanks go to Nancie Clare, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.<br /><br />The story told is twofold: how Beverly Hills became its own entity as well as the introduction of celebrities into politics. This goes back to the golden days of Hollywood, the silent era of Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford.<br /><br />LA was the city. Population was exploding and water was running out. An aqueduct was being built, but it would only feel Beverly Hills if it was incorporated. And there in lies the fight. These stars among several others became door-to-door pitchmen against this. Pickford especially was already an impressive name in town. She was funding the Christmas decorations, the fire department, the school, and she did an amazing job selling war bonds across the country. Believe it or not this issue was a hotbed of controversy and was in newspapers as far away as New York. It came up for a vote, and of course, we all know the outcome. <br />It's Clare's opinion, and after reading this book I must agree, that the intervention of these celebrities lit the fire that "help(ed) them leap into mainstream local, regional, and eventually national politics." They learned "to make politics work for them", and they were successful at it. Slowly these famous names began running for mayor, then Congress, finally POTUS. Newfound influence is a powerful feeling. Troup did a great job telling the story.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/6595648-bam-the-bibliomaniac">View all my reviews</a>

I’m always a sucker for books about California history, particularly when they relate the historical context back to California’s present challenges. This book did not disappoint! Although I was fairly familiar with Charlie Chaplin, I was much less familiar with Mary Pickford so it was a delight that the book focused in on Pickford’s life leading up to her involvement in the question of Beverly Hills annexation into the larger surrounding city of Los Angeles.
Nancie Clare’s book is well timed. Water issues, government corruption, local issues and business interests all shape the story but Mary Pickford stands as such a powerful lead figure that I’d be surprised if the book won’t soon become a movie or TV series. Although, like many, I prefer the book I think that nonfiction authors benefit from translating historical facts into visually and narratively compelling stories that are easily translated to all audiences and not just history buffs. As a reader it helps me to place past events into a time line that feels relevant and powerful in the present rather than becoming a whole list of dates and tedious details that divorces me from the true impact of the events.
Clare presents the story of Beverly Hills’ fight to be an independent city as a historically important event for the city, for California and world politics. She makes the argument that this fight shaped the way celebrities involve themselves in politics. The focus on Mary Pickford outlines the relatively domestic way via an incredibly shrewd woman whose awareness of her own powers in business and politics left deep impacts that although perhaps unknown to many are not unfamiliar.
Although The Battle for Beverly Hills is about a historic political event and moment it also presents us with a view into a past that remains relevant today in a way that can help us engage and understand how every day actions translate into political actions that shape the world around us.

This was an informative and in depth account of the fight to keep Beverly Hills a stand alone city in the early 20th century. It was also a reflection on celebrity status and what that means, what kind of responsibility it entails.
I found the book interesting, and added a few more books about this era in American history to my TBR because of it.

I really enjoyed the book, I felt the information was displayed well and that background was thoroughly researched. I would recommend this book.

While on a map it looks like the city of Los Angeles is a giant amoeba that has engulfed everything in the county, there is an island in the middle of it that stands out: Beverly Hills is an incorporated city to this day. It had not existed for very many years as a city (it was originally a lima bean farm) when it was proposed that it be annexed by Los Angeles- the denizens of Beverly Hills had huge gardens with water hungry plantings and the small well in city property wasn’t keeping up with demands. Allowing themselves to be annexed by LA would give them access to the Owens Valley water that was making Los Angeles green. But it would also mean they could no longer have their own school system and police force. In Prohibition Era Beverly Hills, having police that turned a blind eye to booze fueled parties was a very nice perk.

Not all Beverly Hills denizens wanted or needed these perks, and developers were dying to put in more housing but needed a good water source to do so. So it was put up to a vote. This was when the first instance of celebrity campaigning took place. Mary Pickford (and others, but she was the main one) took to speaking for remaining a separate city heavily. And it worked. This started the habit of Hollywood stars speaking out for politicians and issues.

The book is fairly short, and if you are into early century southern California history, it is fun. The celebrities, the horribly corrupt LA police force, the development of what Beverly Hills was going to look like; it all made its mark on the area. Well written. Four out of five stars.

I received a galley of this book via Netgalley; it won't be released until March 2018.

I have been reading a lot about Hollywood in the 1920s of late, much of that revolving around Mary Pickford, in both fiction and nonfiction. Clare's focus is on one particular battle in the 1920s: that of Beverly Hills to maintain its independence from Los Angeles. At heart, the issue was about water. Los Angeles had it in abundance, thanks to its aqueduct, which Beverly Hills could only access if it permitted annexation. But that would have come at a cost: LA was much stricter--and more corrupt--in its policing during the Prohibition. The unusual beauty of Beverly Hills, with its curvy, tree-lined streets, would have likely been forfeit, along with the abundant overuse of waterfalls, fountains, and non-native plants on many of the palatial grounds of the newly-rich stars.

About half of the book is about background material: the growing popularity of "flickers," the affair and marriage of Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, and the incredible sway that had when they combined forces with Charlie Chaplin for a World War I war bonds tour. That same sway was important in maintaining independence for their city, in a contentious debate that included a newspaper office receiving a bomb.

Clare makes a case that Pickford's might established how politicians have wielded incredible political clout over the years, citing people from Sonny Bono to Arnold Schwarzenegger to Donald Trump. The latter example feels like a leap to me, but she does raise an interesting point. If Pickford had lost face, if Los Angeles had developed in a different way, how would that have changed the perception of celebrities engaging in politics?

I recommend this book to anyone interested in early Hollywood and Los Angeles, or the study of celebrity culture. It's curious to me that several books are coming out right now about Mary Pickford, a century after the "Girl with the Curls" became the world's first star, and I am enjoying the trend. She's a fascinating woman who lived in a fascinating time.

Fast Pace interesting social history about the start of celebrity politics —tracing the bright genealogical line between Pickford and Fairbanks fight to stop Los Angeles from annexing Beverley Hills to the election of reality star Donald Trump as President. A slice of fascinating social history.