I enjoyed this new perspective on the Los Angeles port and the way that it shaped commerce throughout the United States and beyond. As a historian working in Los Angeles, I'm not sure if most people realize how much large-scale industry has shaped this city, when most people associate it with Hollywood and media. Supremely readable and accessibly for both the generalist and historian.

This seemed like it would be my favorite type of book- a detailed history of a specific item or place, with economic, social, geographic and technology all interwoven into the narrative. Unfortunately, it came up a little short for me.

=== The Good Stuff ===

* The book is very well researched. If you have an interest in the San Pedro (port of Los Angeles/Long Beach) area, this book is a wealth of information.
* Looking at the area now, it is hard to believe its main economic activity was one ranching, but that is where the book begins. Tejani then takes us through the history of the area, as well as the history of California which drove the development of the port area. Along the way we meet the Mexican landowners who had the original claims to the area, as well the cast of American industrialists who turned the small harbor into the massive port it is today.
* There were numerous details which I had not be aware of before. For example, I always thought San Pedro was a natural harbor, and hadn’t realized that dredging made possible by 19th century technology was required to create the anchorages.

=== The Not-So-Good Stuff ===
* Tejani is a very detailed writer, and the text is more of a college-level historical reference rather than easily-consumable pleasure reading. His sentences are not overly complex, but he doesn’t skip much detail. For example, the early part of the book, with the multiple and competing families of landowners, bogs down in a large cast of characters and very detailed descriptions of their daily struggles.
* The book stops before the 20th century, when the population of the area and the capacity of the port grew at an incredible rate.

=== Summary ===
This book is meant for more serious students of history than me. It is a detailed and complete history of this part of the state of California, but it is not an easy-to-read tale preferred by us “armchair historians.”

This book really dragged for me, I felt like it got too bogged down in certain places and the cast of characters was far too large. There were sooo many names it was impossible to keep up with who was actually going to be important for more than just a few pages. I wanted to like this, because I've also had that moment of awe looking at that port and how massive it is, but this just didn't do it for me.