Customer Reviews

Imagining Los Angeles: Photographs of a 20th Century City

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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.

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.

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.