Imagining Los Angeles: Photographs of a 20th Century City [Hardcover]

Los Angeles Times Editors (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2000

Hard cover with dust jacket, over 175 black and white vintage photographs of Los Angeles, forward by Ray Bradbury.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 175 pages
• Publisher: Los Angeles Times; 1st edition (May 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883792525
• ISBN-13: 978-1883792527
• Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 9.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,728,902 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Visual Feast, July 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Imagining Los Angeles: Photographs of a 20th Century City (Hardcover)

This book is a visual feast for any affecionado of the City of Los Angeles and its vibrant culture. The photographs,in black in white, give a nostalgic look at the last 100 years of this city. Of course, there are the fascinating photos from Hollywood's golden area, but also photo's documenting the city's role in the great wars, its economy and it's diverse culture. Everyone who picks this book up off my coffee table for a quick glance ends up spending time looking at the entire contents. The photographic editor should be praised for his/her selections.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Photos That Really Tell a Story, October 18, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Imagining Los Angeles: Photographs of a 20th Century City (Hardcover)

The photos selected for this book tell a gripping story of a city's emergence in just 100 years from a backwater hamlet to a world-class metropolis. The pictures, including many never before published, tell us how the growth happened, who was responsible and the impacts-both good and bad. The photo captions go far beyond merely identifying the subject, but rather weave an evocative narrative of Los Angeles' defiant and audacious self development as home of many of the 20th Century's most important industries and creations, including movies, television, aerospace and freeways. This book is a treat for anyone who loves urban history and the West.

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful collection of photos of early-to-modern LA, October 28, 2007

By 

Charles P. Hobbs (Los Angeles, CA, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Imagining Los Angeles: Photographs of a 20th Century City (Hardcover)

This book consists of some 170-odd pages of black and white photographs, detailing the history of Los Angeles from the early days to the near-present (ca. 2000).

There's just a bit of text to help set the context for each photo, but the pictures really do speak for themselves. They document the changes in Los Angeles and Southern California, from a dusty agricultural town to the skyscrapers of today.

Many of the people in the photos have long passed away; many of the buildings and other artifacts have been modified or torn down. But in looking at these pictures, the reader will gain an insight into the processes that shaped the Los Angeles of today.