Privileged Son: Otis Chandler and the Rise and Fall of the L.A. Times Dynasty,   ISBN:9780306811616

Customer Rating: 

Highly enjoyable read--good narrative. Generally incisive, though the incisiveness is sometimes marred by what seems to be the author's class-consciousness (envy even, at least an uncomfortable vacillation between adoring and reviling the Chandlers)--and petty descriptions of physical characteristics of those he's writing about. (Kyle Palmer is constantly referred to as a "gnome" or an "odd-looking dwarf"; Buff Chandler has a "carnivorous overbite" etc.) Also, there are mixed metaphors and immature circumlocutions, though these are probably less the author's fault than the publisher's. Like most others published today, what this book needs is good editors, copy-, research- and otherwise, though these editing problems are overcome by the compelling Chandler story, and McDougal's evident drive to tell it.

Customer Rating: 

Excellent history not only of The Times but of early Los Angeles and the not-so-angelic characters involved in the development of the City of Angels. Really makes me long for the glory days -- the Otis Chandler years -- of the newspaper. They say there's a time and a place for everything. Online journalism has its place, but I sure miss The Times.

Customer Rating: 

The first few pages are written in a glitzy, sophomoric style that is grating. Fortunately the book straightens out into a well-researched and well-written history of LA, the LAT and the Chandler/Otis families. Otis Chandler is the most interesting person in the book, a driven, hollow man. The book misses some opportunities to delve deeper into Otis. For example, in the sections on deer hunting it comes as close as anywhere to approaching the mind of Otis, the way it was tormented by killing, and yet driven to kill. Couldn't the author have worked with this more throughout the biography?

Customer Rating: 

When I originally sat down to read Privileged Son, I expected what the subtitle promised - a biography and a business book. What I found was that and much more. Of particular value was the history of Los Angeles as seen through the experiences of Otis Chandler's great-grandfather.

Beyond Carey McWilliams and Kevin Starr, there just isn't much Los Angeles history out there. And, as the city rose from a dust bin backwater to the capital of the Pacific Rim, Los Angeles history deserves more play. Of special interest is the period between 1920 and 1950 during which Los Angeles and the LA Times really took wing. McDougal covers it grandly.

But, the author does have axes to grind. His treatment of LA Times power brokers long deceased is harsh and descends to the ad hominem. There's no courage in attacking the dead - even more so for physical attributes beyond their control. It reads as petty and vicious.

Yet, this unfortunate proclivity is the only downside to the book despite the personal politics that inevitably creep in. McDougal is a fine writer who clips along at a pleasurable pace making Privileged Son a terrific read. I enjoyed it immensely and don't hesitate to give it its due.

Customer Rating: 

_Priveleged Son_ manages to hit that sweet spot that so many biographies of business figures fail to capture-- it manages to be a very good look at a business and industry and at the same time be readable and enjoyable on the level of a novel.

While ostensibly a biography of Otis Chandler, it gives a fascinating look at the rise of a newspaper as local empire and the same newspaper's (largely unsuccessful) efforts to translate that into a truly national business.

Without any industry focus, the story of the Chandlers and their relationship to LA is the stuff of novels (pulp fiction and true romance)-- LA grows up with its paper in this book.

I was particularly fascinated to read what happened at the paper under the direction of Mark "Cereal Killer" Willes. His ill-starred management is a cautionary tale for would-be media moguls who fail to understand the core values that make up the news industry.

A great read for people interested in the media industry. A just-as-great read for people who like a good story.