Customer Reviews

Frommer's Irreverent Guide to Los Angeles

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4 star:		(1)
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This is not your typical travel guide. In fact, it's more like a mini sociological study of LA with great tips on where to watch the natives in their local habitat. LA isn't so much a city as it is a collection of neighborhoods, and author Jeff Spurrier does a great job of describing how this all works. The book is a handy size for carrying along, so you can take advantage of the manuy great maps as you tour the area. Spurrier warns you again and again that the only way to really get around LA is by car, but he does offer alternatives for those intimidated by the freeways and/or parking dilemma. His selection of hotels and restaurants is broad - everything from Beverly Hills luxury to places with lots of attitude but not much polish. In many ways, the rest of the book is an ideal primer for anyone moving to LA or planning to spend lots of time there. Not only will you find a carefully selected list of recreational options, but you will also get helpful hints on when to go and how to get there. There is a great section on what to do - and not to do - with children, but there is no mention of Disneyland. Indicative, I think, of how this book is a true insider's guide to the city, not just a promotion for tourisim.

As an LA native, I must say that this book is right on the money. Although I'd have to disagree when the author refers to "the city" as consisting only of Downtown (any true native knows that "the city" is Mulholland to the 10, and Downtown to the beach!), everything else is just perfect. I learned things that even my 26 years of exploring never showed me. It's a great book for travellers, especially those who have never been and don't have friends here (it is truly difficult to navigate the SIZE of Los Angeles without a guide!) . But it's also a great book for those of us who have lived here all of our lives!

What an awful book! I first bought the "Irreverent Guide to Rome" and my husband & I loved it. (He lived in Rome for 6 years & said the description were dead-on accurate). So I decided to buy the book for LA, my home town. What a mistake! Unlike the witty, cultured, perceptive guide to Rome, this book is unfunny, rude, snide, classist, name-dropping, & way off the mark. The lovely, funky, beach community of Venice is slammed for having "weirdos, bums and scum." A popular Indian restaurant is described as being good, but "hold the cholera, please." Not funny! Luckily, I also bought Lonely Planet: Los Angeles, which was much, much better.

Whether you are visiting Los Angeles or live here, this book is filled with things to do that you never would have thought of or even knew existed. Tons of fun!