Investigative journalist Richard Trainor will be promoting his new book, “Paradise Lost?: High-Speed Trains Get Waylaid, Shady Politicians get Billions and Taxpayers Get the Shaft!” at Harlow’s Wednesday.

The book opens with a sordid account of Trainor’s lifestyle and the pitfalls of being an investigative journalist.

That lifestyle included homelessness, a politician threatening to throw him off the Bay Bridge if he didn’t back off of a story, and being tossed in jail as he relentlessly pursued shady politicians and their scams.

“Paradise Lost?” is an extraordinary account of what politicians call ‘pump and dump’ schemes. The two main examples in the book elaborate on high-speed rail projects and the Bay Bridge - and the nefarious characters involved. The book is written in the first-person perspective, and objectivity is most certainly not the goal to please readers.

After reading only 30 pages, it becomes clear that this is a book every Californian should read.

Trainor got his start in journalism in the early ’80s. In 1983, Trainor published a scathing article in “California Magazine” about Brad Evans, a campaign manager for the late Senator John Schmitz. The story eventually led to a $10 million lawsuit against Evans and launched Trainor’s career as an investigative journalist.

Trainor, now a seasoned veteran of investigative journalism, has published many features in “The Sacramento Bee,” “The Los Angeles Times” and “The Vancouver Sun” as well as serving as managing editor of “France Today” magazine. He is also the recipient of many awards for his articles.

“An investigative reporter used to be a title I was proud of,” Trainor said in a phone interview. He had no qualms with sharing his opinion on how the field has changed for the worse.

Trainor said that when he began, the profession was perfectly healthy, and it was acceptable to do this kind of work. “Now you’re seen as a pariah if you do what a real journalist is supposed to do,” Trainor wrote, “which, in the immortal words of Francois Rabelais, is to ‘Tell the truth and shame the devil.’ ”

Trainor’s website, eldoradomagazine.com, notes the difficulty of publishing stories that check the powers that be.

One telling anecdote from a meeting he had with Dan Walters when they discussed how investigative journalism isn’t dead, but that now newspapers will only publish hard-hitting stories produced by their own staffers. Having also worked in the Forum section of the Sacramento Bee, he was getting the shaft.

The book, a six-year endeavor, exudes a meticulous account of his research and, furthermore, what has become of California politics and business.

Reading through his website and his most recent book, it is apparent Trainor has an esoteric and earned knowledge of California politics and politicians which shouldn’t be dismissed.

Wednesday’s event at Harlow’s begins at 7 p.m. Admission is $25. Harlow’s is located at 2708 J St.

Justin Smith can be reached at justinsmiths@gmail.com