L.A. Noir

September 24, 2012
Buntin documents the history of 1950s Los Angeles through the epic rivalry between the city’s police chief, William Parker, and its organized crime leader, Mickey Cohen. Buntin traces the rivals’ humbler beginnings, their confrontations, and how the city was shaped by them both. Narrator Kirby Heyborne’s narration is clear and well paced, but not compelling. And while he infuses his reading with a hint of raspiness—something that could invoke the crime and corruption of 1950s L.A.—his voice is not deep or commanding enough. His narration is too congenial for a book this menacing, and he fails to convey the drama of his subject matter. Heyborne’s timing is excellent, however, and he brings appropriate emphasis and nuance to important passages. A Broadway paperback.

June 15, 2009
Midcentury L.A., confidential and otherwise.

Untangling the web of politics and crime that defined Los Angeles as a locus of"noir" mystique, Governing magazine writer Buntin traces the careers of two of the city's most storied combatants—Police Chief William Parker and gangster Mickey Cohen. Parker was a rigid autocrat famous for his incorruptibility, while Cohen emerges here as a charming, eccentric operator whose criminal ways often seem like merely an expression of excessively high spirits. Parker rose steadily through the ranks of the hopelessly corrupt LAPD through sheer will. He eventually revolutionized the department, turning it, and himself, into a formidable political power in its own right, rather than acting as a lackey for the entrenched and mutual interests of local business and organized crime. Cohen became king of the rackets after impressing the big boys with his chutzpah and ruthlessness. The men hated each other, and the pursuit of their divergent agendas would do much to shape Los Angeles in the public imagination. The narrative is a roller-coaster ride full of reversals, as Parker triumphed in shoring up the effectiveness of his force and containing the activities of the underworld, only to falter as toxic race relations led to such disasters as the Zoot Suit riots and the burning of Watts. Cohen lived high on the hog and enjoyed the affection of the media and public, until tax evasion—he had escaped numerous murder charges—landed him in Alcatraz, where he was crippled in an attack by a deranged fellow inmate. The colorful cast of characters intersecting with Parker and Cohen include old-school mobster Bugsy Siegel, evangelist Billy Graham and screenwriter Ben Hecht (both, bizarrely, friends of Cohen), Sammy Davis Jr., burlesque legend Candy Barr, J. Edgar Hoover, Lana Turner and Malcolm X.

Gripping social history and a feast for aficionados of cops-and-robbers stories, both real and imagined.

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

July 15, 2009
"Other cities have histories. Los Angeles has legends." Those first two lines from the prologue of "L.A. Noir" capture perfectly the sentiment that Buntin portrays throughout his book. Buntin, who writes about crime for "Governing" magazine, guides the reader through a 20th-century history of Los Angeles using two of its most influential citizensmobster Mickey Cohen and police chief William Parker. Cohen as leader of the underworld and Parker as leader of the L.A. police were natural enemies. But Buntin shows these seemingly different characters sharing much in common as each strives to become the best in his business while trying to grasp control of the city. Los Angeles is more than just a backdrop for the stories of these two men. The city acts as the third main character in this plot, prompting, inciting, and influencing the actions of Cohen and Parker. VERDICT Recommended especially for all readers who love digging into 20th-century history or particularly the city of Los Angeles.Jeremy Spencer, Univ. of California Lib., Davis

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.