Jordan Mattox

I came across this book in the local history section at the Book Barn in Clovis. I’ve come to enjoy these geographical literary anthologies (I’ve a few that are broader and encompass the California landscape as a whole). It turns that the editor Joseph Henry Jackson was himself a fascinating character:

“Joseph Henry Jackson (1894-1955) was the longtime literary editor of the San Francisco Chronicle. He gained a wide following with his daily book review column, “A Bookman’s Notebook”, and with his radio program, “The Reader’s Guide”, broadcast over NBC’s Pacific network.

Born in New Jersey, Jackson received his schooling in the East and moved to California after World War I.  He was associate editor and managing editor of Sunset magazine from 1920-1926, and editor from 1926-1928. In 1929 he became literary editor of the San Francisco Argonaut, and in 1931 he joined the staff of the San Francisco Chronicle, also as literary editor.

Jackson began a book review program on KGO in 1924, and it later became a weekly feature on the NBC Pacific Network.  He frequently interviewed book authors on his program about their works.  The “Reader’s Guide” continued in national syndication until 1942.

In addition to his work on the Chronicle, he wrote a number of books, including Mexican Interlude(1936), Tintypes in Gold (1939), Anybody’s Gold(1941), and My San Francisco (1953), and edited several more.  Joseph Henry Jackson died of a stroke while taping a book review for NBC radio on 15 July 1955. He was 60.”

Some of these anthologies may seem antique or outdated, but they often can be a stepping stone toward understanding the past. I’ve done some scouring, and it appears that this may have been a series with different cities, but so far I’ve only found the reader on Boston.