Customer Reviews

LOS ANGELES

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If you are looking a work on the rich diversity of Los Angeles, "Los Angeles: Capital of the Third World" is not it. If you are looking a thoughtful discussion of the challenges facing Southern California, "Capital" is again lacking.

David Rieff spent several months in Southern California in the early 1990s, and the only thing he learned was that there was a higher percentage of Hispanics and Asians than in other parts of the country. Not a particularly deep insight. One hour spent driving along Wilshire Blvd. from downtown LA to the Pacific Ocean would have told him as much.

Rieff's conclusion -- "We must love one another or die" -- is extremely weak. Perhaps Los Angeles simply defeated him. He was intellectually and emotionally ill-equiped the diversity he experienced. It is a little surprising how much recent immigration shocked Rieff in the early 1990s. While changing demographics may have been more apparent in LA than elsewhere, one has to wonder to what extent Rieff, a New York intellectual, knew his own backyard. Did he ever venture to the outer boroughs of New York City? If he did, he would have learned that new immigrants were transforming more than just Los Angeles. For example, while Rieff was writing "Capital", Main Street, Queens (little more than a long fly ball from Shea Stadium) was almost exclusively Indian and Chinese.

I also got the feeling that Rieff's exposure to Los Angeles was limited to the living rooms of affluent Westside whites and the barrio of East Los Angeles. I doubt he visited any predominantly black or Asian-areas, much less most of the heavily white areas. If he did, he failed to share it with his readers.

Finally, not only is Rieff lacking in substance but also in style. Much of his prose is turgid and convoluted. His overly dense style and constant repetition turn reading "Capital" into a chore after about 150 pages.

As a native Southern Californian, I started this book with a good degree of scepticism; I finished it thinking it was one of the most engaging, clearly written books on SoCal I had read in years. If you want to understand LA, and its place in the state, and the world, this is an accessible and enjoyable introduction. LA came alive for Rieff in ways that he didn't always immediately understand or anticipate; he translates his own discovery by weaving LA history, anecdotes, and beautiful word pictures together in a clear, engaging style. You may want to read other books on LA after this - and that can only be a good thing. Rieff will encourage you to ask more questions about LA, and what its development means for the future of urban development in America.

Major disappointment. Incomprehensible and out of date.

PLEASE. No more editions.