I got the book "Deadly Times" by Lew Irwin. It is fascinating! I had never before heard of the bombing of the Los Angeles Times that killed 20 workers and the attempted assassinations of Otis and Chandler family members, but this book is exciting and a real page turner. It was a decade of terrorism that America has not seen since, and it's simply something I'd not heard about. I just wanted to let people know how good this book is (and no, I'm not Lew Irwin).
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Great New Book By Former KRLA Newsman and Earth News Correspondant
- Thread starter Willits
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Thanks for the tip, Willits.
It's worth noting that Lew Irwin was News Director at KRLA when the ground-breaking Credibility Gap was born, though the earlier CG cast of newsmen (Irwin, Thom Beck, Richard Beebe, Len Chandler) was much more politically oriented and less outright funny than the later members (Harry Shearer, David L. Lander and Michael McKean), who were actors and comedians. IIRC, Beebe stayed on with the later members. I seem to recall that Beebe played Spiro Agnew to Shearer's Nixon.
Over the years, Lew Irwin has suffered from a selective memory. I remember reading an article he wrote some years ago bragging that KRLA was the top rated rock station in the mid and late 60s, when in reality, KHJ was kicking its ass. Having said that, I'll check out the book.
It's worth noting that Lew Irwin was News Director at KRLA when the ground-breaking Credibility Gap was born, though the earlier CG cast of newsmen (Irwin, Thom Beck, Richard Beebe, Len Chandler) was much more politically oriented and less outright funny than the later members (Harry Shearer, David L. Lander and Michael McKean), who were actors and comedians. IIRC, Beebe stayed on with the later members. I seem to recall that Beebe played Spiro Agnew to Shearer's Nixon.
Over the years, Lew Irwin has suffered from a selective memory. I remember reading an article he wrote some years ago bragging that KRLA was the top rated rock station in the mid and late 60s, when in reality, KHJ was kicking its ass. Having said that, I'll check out the book.
What do you mean by "decade of terrorism"? I haven't read the book. The Wikipedia article on domestic terrorism in the U.S. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domes...ted_States#Notable_domestic_terrorist_attacks) doesn't list any notable incidents before the L.A. Times bombing and none after until 1920. Not trying to be combative, just wanting to understand.
Not a problem! This book (briefly) mentions over 200 bombing incidents in America that ended in 1911, and the "decade of terrorism" moniker is the book's words and not mine. They go into great detail regarding the LA bombing(s). There were actually several. The LA Times was bombed on October 1, 1910.
I'll say it again because I found it to be so true, this is a page turner.
Not a problem! The book describes, mostly briefly, many of 200 other bombings in America that occurred before 1911, including other LA bombings (there were several during the period). The term "decade of terrorism" is the book's term, and not mine. He goes into great detail covering the LA Times bombing.
I'll say it again because it's so true, this is a page turner.
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They most likely count the multiple times Owens Valley farmers dynamited the aqueduct carrying water to L.A.
The events described in the book were bombings carried out nationwide. I don't recall the dynamiting of the aqueduct carrying water to LA being specifically mentioned, but perpetrators who blew up the Times had a later plan that was never carried out to blow up the aqueduct at its terminus in the San Fernando Valley, and then they planned to start a number of fires. Their thinking was that there wouldn't be enough water, and LA would essentially burn, with not enough water to put out the fires.
Most of the bombings occurred in the upper Midwest and some on the East Coast, but the LA Times bombing was the worst in terms of casualties, 20.
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Boston Tea Party? Yep. So was the Boston Marathon bombing, along with the World Trade Center and Oklahoma City federal building blasts. I just posted because I'd never even heard of the bombing of the LA Times before..and other explosions that gripped the city in fear. Nor was I aware of the multitude of domestic blasts that occurred not only in LA but elsewhere in America during those years. I discovered it in a book written by a person involved in the radio industry, and I thought other people here might like to be aware of its existence.
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