23 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Los Angeles, Then and Not Really Los Angeles, October 1, 2002
This review is from: Los Angeles Then and Now (Then & Now) (Hardcover)
Perfect as a gift for those whose coffee table is Hollywood challenged. Apparently, the author/editors believe Los Angeles is 9 parts Hollywood, 1 part unimportant. Also, this book is for the advanced Hollywood student who already knows where most of these vital cultural icons exists - addresses are infrequently provided - or doesn't really care. Original camera positions for the "then" pictures are not duplicated in the modern version, and worse, the year in which the historic photograph is taken is not uniformly provided. Film star names are essential to the sparse narrative, as opposed to information as to the significance or relevance to Los Angeles/rest of planet of the site/photo chosen.
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40 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Lord! How disappointing!, December 2, 2002
This review is from: Los Angeles Then and Now (Then & Now) (Hardcover)
I am a Los Angeles history buff (specialty, the early 1900s), so I bought this book for my library, but I was really disappointed in it.
For one thing, it is very badly edited; grammatical errors (mostly misplaced or dangling modifiers) abound. I mean, for such a handsome book, it really deserved a go-through by a professional editor.
Secondly, who really needs a photo of the present-day Roma restaurant at the corner of Hollywood and Wilcox (complete with a guy in a cowboy hat hurrying to beat a flashing "Don't Walk" light and a lineup of late-model cars waiting to cross)?
Or who needs a shot of the Virgin megastore where the historic Schwab's restaurant used to be? And on and on . . . Some of the "before" shots are worthwhile, but most of the "after" shots are really pedestrian -- including that hustling cowpoke.
The best pic is on the cover -- the opening of the movie "Hell's Angels" at Grauman's Chinese. There are some other good older pix inside, too.
As has been mentioned, this book is way too heavy on Hollywood, and the depth of the research by the author can be measured by the number of times she mentions the names of Hollywood movies. I am suspicious of some of the facts in the book, too, although I can't quite pin down the reason right now. Maybe it was all those grammatical errors.
Finally, this book was printed in China, and I have nothing against the Chinese or their desire to earn big bucks from the rest of the world, but couldn't the author have found a printer right here in the U.S. to do this book? "Produced by PRC Publishing Co." PRC, get it -- "People's Republic of China"?
So, don't make this your coffee table gift. If you want a so-so addition to your library of L.A. books, buy it second hand somewhere or pick it up off the remainder table. It has a very nice cover, but you know what they say about books and their covers . . .
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cool stuff!, June 7, 2005
A Kid's Review
This review is from: Los Angeles Then and Now (Then & Now) (Hardcover)
We had this book at school. The teacher used it for our history class and it was really good. He said it was good history guide, but it also had interesting facts. I really loved the photographs. My Grandpa lived in Los Angeles then. My Dad bought him this book and he said it was the best book he'd seen on Los Angeles history.
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