Customer Reviews

Picturing Los Angeles

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Whether you are a lifelong resident, transplant, or just interested in the history of the city, Picturing Los Angeles by Jon and Nancy Wilkman is the perfect book. The title may lead you to the conclusion that it is just another coffee table "picture book," but it is far more. It chronicles the history of "L.A." from the beginning in the 1700's up to present-day. It is just the right mix of photos and text. Most pages contain a photo annotated with a detailed caption. Just skimming through the photos and reading their captions gives you a quick idea of what the city is about. Each page of text complements the accompanying photo. I have lived in Los Angeles for forty years and "discovered" many facts about my city previously unknown to me. Highly recommended! Makes a great gift!

This book is basically a photographical introduction to the history of Los Angeles . If you are interested in knowing about the history of Los Angeles, from it's very early beginnings , up until the early 2000's, then you will find this book very informative.


There are many many photos that go along with the historical text. All photos are in black and white.

This looks like a coffee table book, but it's really an incisive narrative accompanied by fascinating pictures. The authors give us a whirlwind tour of the explosive pattern of growth and change that is the true history of Los Angeles. Propelled by a colorful array of eccentrics and geniuses we see the city constantly reinventing itself and leaping into the future. I had so much fun reading it I almost forgot how bad the damn traffic is here!

Jon and Nancy Wilkman have achieved an amazing feat. They have taken the history of Los Angeles as their canvas, and illustrated its past in a voluminous display of images from the beginning to the present, with a focus on each decade of the twentieth century. There is something for everyone in this book, and we see the city's history unfold through early photographs of downtown, the creation of such cultural venues as the Hollywood Bowl and the Coliseum, and the development of the San Fernando Valley. Movie stars, famous musicians, and other entertainers who made their mark are here, as are leading politicians, religious personalities, and sports figures. The vast ethnic diversity of the region is not something recent, as the authors make clear, but has long represented an essential aspect of the city's past. The sheer dynamism of the city thus comes through clearly, and the very nature of Los Angeles as one of the most photographed cities in the world makes this book, unique of its kind, a special addition to one's library. For not only are the pictures often startling in their originality and detail, but the accompanying text is clear, concise, and filled with insights that only long-time observers can bring to their subject. Significantly, the authors do not flinch from the uglier side of the city's history, with all its sordid details of crime, gangsters, and urban mayhem. That's a wise choice, since the purpose is not to glorify the city but to bring its history alive through both image and text. The approach works, and the reader is entertained, enervated, and ultimately enlightened.

The authors say they would be pleased "if academic historians find a few unexpected tidbits". Most historians will probably be enraged by this book, and by the fact that it's getting positive reviews here.

A few examples that I know about, making me wonder what else is accurate in this book.

This book says Hollywood had 500 inhabitants in 1911, when in fact it had about 10000. This book states, to make a point, that "Sound of Music" was released in the same year as "Easy Rider" (1969), when in fact, "Sound of Music" was released in 1965, invalidating the point. Discussing the death of Thelma Todd, this book still uses the nonsense found in "Hollywood Babylon", an book full of fabricated stories. Samuel Goldwyn was not born with the name Goldfish, but Gelbfisz. And so on?

Most of the pictures are very small.

The vast majority of Angelinos are like me, transplants. I really didn't know that much about my city's past. PICTURING LOS ANGELES is a fun and fascinating look at L.A.'s history right up to the present. It's a stimulating read. What drew me into the book were all the captivating photos and captions. It's a book to keep on the coffee table that guests will thumb through and it's a book to read from cover to cover. I like the book so much I gave my best buddy one for Christmas. Great gift.

Incredible compendium of all the events and characters that created and still shape this most unique city. Much more fun than hunting down similar information on the internet, "Picturing Los Angeles" offers readers hours of fascinating reading, aided by an astounding collection of pictures. A seemingly impossible task to put together, the authors have provided a wonderful encyclopedia of the culture, architecture and citizenry of a town that continues to impact the world. You'll see why!

Photos we hadn't seen before...insights we hadn't considered before.
"Picturing Los Angeles" is a show-and-tell book of the highest order.
If you're looking for the perfect gift to give newcomers to the LA area, a gift that will help them make sense of this unique community--this is it. Congratulations to the Wilkmans for delivering a history book that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. [Review by Albert Greenstein]

The fascinating history of Hollywood and it's intriguing cast of characters is but one delicious slice of this captivatingly written pie, with photographs that will make you want to look...and look again! PICTURING LOS ANGELES can be enjoyed in tasty little bites or devoured whole. I loved it!

This stylish history of Los Angeles tells with clarity, wit and passion the surprising dramas and nutty antics of our town. It's amazing what we don't know about this now international city, but read a few pages and you're off on an adventure that's about the past--and the present. Hats off to the writers! This book is better than 10 boxes of chocolate. It is a holiday gift that's good all year long!