Customer Reviews

Front Pages, 1881-1981: 100 Years of the "Los Angeles Times"

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
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The front pages are very interesting for southern California readers. The thirties section is not well represented. A section on LA sports is not as complete. Because you only see certain dates, and only the front page of that event, many stories are tantalizingly left to your imagination and further research.

Wonderful source of reading and history! Every page includes atleast one interesting story of american history if not more. Will need magnifying glass for earlier newspapers because of small type. Excellent coffee table book- everyone that has come over has picked up the book and read some articles without being prompted.

This book is history spelled out for the period in question. It was here that I was touched personally when I came across the page 273 involving the last causalty of the Vietnam War just prior to the official ceasefire. The date of the front page headline was Sunday, Jan 28, 1973, and the article read "Cease Fire in South Vietnam: Hope and continued shooting." The article told of an United States Air Force Sergeant by the name of Sgt John Rucker who was cited as "the last American to die...killed by a rocket in DaNang two days ago" I was stationed at DaNang AB during this period and my barracks were less than 300 yards from the barracks that SGT Rucker was killed. I and several other Airmen visited the scene shortly after sun-up. SGT Rucker never knew what hit him. He was peacefully sleeping when the 122mm Russian made rocket hit.
The most amazing and coincidental thing is I live less than 30 miles from where SGT Rucker's immediate family lives. It is true that "history comes alive in print" and this summaries the stories and articles in this amazing book.

This oversized book provides a look at some of the crucial headlines that occurred during the 100 years of the newspapers production. It focuses on the key events but the layout changes and way in which the paper matured are interesting. This really is only for those who have a passion for news changing or those like myself who want access to the primary source material. The downside is that the dates are random and it is not inclusive however the print is readable and the book does have some interesting dates.