I moved to Central California in the late 1990s and was particularly curious about the history of the latter half of the 20th century; i.e., the names and events that are still regularly tossed around as common knowledge by local commentators. Surprisingly, there are very few books giving a broad overview of California history and current events during this period. "Paradise Lost" happens to be one of these few books. Politically, I believe that I am largely in agreement with Schrag (that California built world-class infrastructure during the 1960s, and, because of the "tax revolt" of 1978 and subsequent political in-fighting, has allowed it to deteriorate to third-world status). However, as a practical matter, this book seems like 368 pages of quick dash-off. Since Schrag is a newspaper editor by training, his long, rambling, run-on sentences are surprising as well as frustrating to read. The book was of some value in familiarizing me with California's recent history/current events, but it is so poorly written and organized that it does a disservice both Schrag's thesis and his readers.

This book, written by Sacramento Bee columnist Peter Schrag, ends with the ascension of Gray Davis to the governorship of the state in 1998 and details the history of much of California's current political and social geography starting with the Progressive Era at the turn of the 20th Century to the Wilson Administration and the infamouse Proposition 187.

Schrag provides a cursory examination of California history leading up to WWII (Progressive Era excluded), but really gets going at the post World War II suburbanization of the state as ranch homes began plowing under the farmland in the San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys of Southern California (according to Schrag, California gained 1,500 new residents a DAY in 1962).

This WWII boom, according to Schrag, lasted until the 1970's and came to a final end in 1978 with the passage of the notorious, and much maligned, Proposition 13. Up until this time, in a chapter titled "Golden Moment," California enjoyed the highest standard of living in the nation, with the best schools, smoothest highways, and affordable housing in comfortable suburban settings.

However, as the honeymoon came to an end, these same suburbanites woke up and found themselves faced with high property taxes and the burden of funding the social programs of an increasingly liberal federal and state government. What emerged was a genuine anti-government tax revolt that shook the halls of Sacramento as these suburbanites revolted and slashed property taxes and basically bankrupted local governments. The passage of Proposition 13 was a watershed event in California's history and is the portal from one era to another.

This slash in government revenue, and the subsequent retreat from the civic sphere, left California denuded and its government and public infrastructure in shambles. Schrag describes how school districts, highways and the environment suffered under the regimes of the Governors that these suburbanites sent to Sacramento (Deukmajian and Wilson), and how the California dream that greeted these newcomers in the heady days after WWII is about as real as the gold fields of El Dorado.

He devotes an entire chapter to Prop. 13 then the rest of the book to the decline of California. According to Schrag, who continuously writes his Sacramento Bee columns from a slanted liberal viewpoint, this decline is based, not on governments own inefficiency, but in its inability to spend more of its inhabitants money.

To his credit, this viewpoint is partially true. Prop. 13 effectively killed the discretionary spending powers of the state and local governents, and California is still trying to cope (recover is not the operative word because there is no cure to Prop. 13 in the near future) with the changes. Because it tilted the tax formulas in favor of sales tax, California has seens its beatiful countryside gobbled up by strip malls and big box retailers.

I encourage all Californians, and others interested in the destructive power of ballot initiatives, to read this book. If you are a liberal, you'll love it, if you are a conservative you'll need to grit your teeth and read this informative and thought provoking book. If you just want to learn more about California, then pick this book up. It provides the reader with a detailed and informative primer on why California looks and operates the way it does.

In this book, Peter Schrag explores the forces that made California the "promised land" of the American postwar era, and the forces responsible for its decline. Schrag spends much time discussing the initiative process and is critical of these attempts to bypass legislative decision-making in favor of direct voting on proposals. While initiatives sound good in theory, they can have unintentional negative consequences. One of the initiatives Schrag spends much time on is the disastrous yet popular Proposition 13, passed in 1978. Schrag's discussion of the initiative, its backers Jarvis and Gann, and its unintended consequences are the best I've seen anywhere. It is a classic case of a proposal that seemed to be sincere (property tax reduction) in its aims, but it was utterly disastrous for the state. The education system was once one of the best, now it is one of the worst in the country. Libraries have closed because of lack of funding. California has now become "Mississippified" as a result of the lack of information and forethought of the voters.

This is an indispensable book and a warning to people in other states to avoid making the same mistakes California voters did.