The King of California: J.G. Boswell and the Making of a Secret American Empire

I've written about JG Boswell (BWEL) a couple of times here on MicroCapClub, but I finally finished reading the only book that gives a detailed history of the company and man behind it. JG Boswell is known as the country's largest farm (150,000 acres), which is located in California. The intrigue with the company isn't in the size of the farm, but how it got so large in the first place.The farm itself is on an old lake bottom, what used to be Tulare Lake. 100 years ago this lake was the largest lake (600 sq miles) west of the Mississippi River, and it was drained dry by farming. The farm to this day continues to tap 15% of the river system/aquifer as irrigation. The true value of the farm even today isn't really the abundance of crops that are produced but in these water rights that are thought to be worth $10's of billions.The company was started in 1921 by J.G. Boswell, and later run by J.G. Boswell II who is credited for the company's growth from 1952-1984 (died 2009). JG Boswell II was a very intelligent and influential businessman who even served on the board at General Electric (GE) when Jack Welch was CEO. Welch said of Boswell, "A very independent outside the mold thinker, just a maverick sort of a guy".The book gives a fascinating account of the history of JG Boswell, and how environmentalists and the US government tried to step in and stop the company several times. The fact that the company still exists today is just a testament of sheer will power and leadership by JG Boswell II. The company is a very private company even though it is publicly traded. As in most cases, the more private a company or person is, the more intrigued outsiders are to learn more. The book was a great read and provides one of the only detailed accounts of this mysterious company.

Fascinating book. Not only about the agricultural empire the Boswells built starting in the early 1920s, but the backgrounds and working conditions of those attracted to work in the Central Valley (Oakies both black and white in addition to Mexicans), how towns like Corcoran were established (and later destroyed), all made very real by the endless interviews conducted by the authors. The amount of background research required to produce this book is mind boggling, yet the pieces are seamlessly put together - the book moves right along, I found to be a real page-turner, and has no axe to grind, it isn't a polemic against "big agriculture" as the good and the bad of this family farming operation are both presented. The cast of characters is wide, and at times pretty weird, all making for a good read. The final ingredient is California and federal water policy, a story unto itself with battle lines changing over a century. I found this story of particular interest as I worked at the Boston Ranch - Boswell's 23,000 cotton operation in the Valley - in 1958 when I was 16. All I can remember is it was really, really big, even though it was a fraction of the 150,000 acres the family eventually controlled. Also remember the tarpaper shacks on the edge of the property where the pickers lived - a disturbing sight. How all the part of this empire, including the fate of its employees, came together and grew is a most interesting story - and told with great style and verve by the authors. A real classic about a small spot on the planet.

After finally slogging through this giant book, I'm ready to recommend it to anybody who is interested in water and agriculture, and how the relationship between these two things has developed in the state of California. This book is not a light read, and sometimes a bit confusing to follow. However, the length and amount of information - it was much more like reading a Michener book like Hawaii than a regular boring history book. I feel like I "lived" it by reading the pages of this long history of the Boswell family and how it has shaped not only California, but much of the agricultural system in the United States.What's more interesting to me is that the book left me with a good perspective, both good and bad, of how these giants of agriculture came to be. Though there are clearly many things that could make a person upset with the "evil big company", the incredible detail about the families, their lives, and the entire history gives some balance to the view.As an environmentalist, I hate to see what happened (with big ag). As a businessman, I can't help but be impressed. As a Californian, I'm extremely glad I know something important about our history. As an American, I have a much deeper appreciation of how our country was formed, with all its entrepreneurial spirit and warts combined.Is the book long? Yes. Too long? Probably. Worth reading? Definitely.