Harold Gale Ferguson was the son of Canadian immigrants to Los Angeles. He attended Stanford University, set up a law practice, joined the California National Guard, and was sent to Mexico when outlaw Pancho Villa threatened the border. At the outbreak of World War I, with the rank of captain, later major, he went to France. In his diary, Ferguson penned vignettes about conditions in Europe, especially Paris. He never saw combat but was affected indirectly by the Spanish flu epidemic that raged through the world in 1918. Back home, in the exhilarating atmosphere of Hollywood in the birth years of the film industry, he made a fortune in real estate, once owning a significant strip of beachfront property in Malibu. In 1931, he was accused of numerous violations of securities law and sentenced to prison. Released after two years, he spent the remainder of his life in relative obscurity.

When Ferguson’s diary and other memorabilia were discovered, author Clinton, a relative, took on the task of constructing this chronicle. The diary was handwritten and difficult to decipher, so a few passages are offered along with Clinton’s account of Ferguson’s life story and extensive atmospheric background material, including photos. The author underscores the tenor of the times with such interesting details as the origins and devastation of Spanish influenza, the basic causes of the stock market crash, and a look at the surging battle in post-WWI America between socialist/communist radicals and the newly formed American Legion, of which Ferguson was a member. The author defends Ferguson as regards his arrest and imprisonment, citing prosecutorial overreach, but is content, too, to let the major’s story end with a quiet denouement and the funeral that honored his military service. Clinton’s work will be appreciated by students of American social history.

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