West of Eden: An American Place

by Jean Stein

An epic oral history of Hollywood and Los Angeles from the author of the contemporary classic Edie
 
Jean Stein transformed the art of oral history in her groundbreaking book Edie: American Girl, an indelible portrait of Andy Warhol “superstar” Edie Sedgwick, which was edited with George Plimpton. Now, in West of Eden, she turns to Los Angeles, the city of her childhood. Stein vividly captures a mythic cast of characters: their ambitions and triumphs as well as their desolation and grief.
 
These stories illuminate the bold aspirations of five larger-than-life individuals and their families. West of Eden is a work of history both grand in scale and intimate in detail. At the center of each family is a dreamer who finds fortune and strife in Southern California: Edward Doheny, the Wisconsin-born oil tycoon whose corruption destroyed the reputation of a U.S. president and led to his own son’s violent death; Jack Warner, the son of Polish-Jewish immigrants, who together with his brothers founded one of the world’s most iconic film studios; Jane Garland, the troubled daughter of an aspiring actress who could never escape her mother’s schemes; Jennifer Jones, an actress from Oklahoma who won the Academy Award at twenty-five but struggled with despair amid her fame and glamour. Finally, Stein chronicles the ascent of her own father, Jules Stein, an eye doctor born in Indiana who transformed Hollywood with the creation of an unrivaled agency and studio.
 
In each chapter, Stein paints a portrait of an outsider who pins his or her hopes on the nascent power and promise of Los Angeles. Each individual’s unyielding intensity pushes loved ones, especially children, toward a perilous threshold. West of Eden depicts the city that has projected its own image of America onto the world, in all its idealism and paradox. As she did in Edie, Jean Stein weaves together the personal recollections of an array of individuals to create an astonishing tapestry of a place like no other.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography, Film, Oral History, Memoir, Audiobook

352 pages, Hardcover

First published February 2, 2016

About the author

Jean Stein (1934 – April 30, 2017) was an American author and editor.


Librarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Antigone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peel away the layers of deflection, diversion, and reflexive obfuscation that camouflage every inch of this text, and what you wind up with in West of Eden is a starkly-articulated memoir of trauma. This is one of those books that takes a lot of work - but only if you're the sort of reader who itches to slip beneath the surface of things.

Floating like well-appointed yachts on the glittering sea of that surface are a quintet of wealthy Los Angeles families - four famous, one not. There are the Dohenys, whose patriarch, Edward, plummeted from grace at the height of the oil scandals (and took a president with him). There are the Warners, in specific Jack, who launched one of the most powerful film studios in Old Hollywood. Third to be addressed is Jennifer Jones, whose husbands-of-note included David Selznick and Norton Simon. Fourth, and remarkable for her inclusion, is Jane Garland (no relation); a reckless and severely-disturbed young woman residing with her mother in Malibu. Jane was part of an odd, experimental treatment concocted by her psychiatrist which, it should surprise no one to discover, resulted in doing her no favor at all. Last is the family of Jules Stein; founder of the entertainment behemoth MCA, and father of our author.

The tale of each of these families is told through the use of oral history - meaning people were interviewed and their observations arranged to create the chronological narrative. It's a lovely distancing mechanism, assigning other voices the job of imparting the story, but the truth is you can only run so far from your damage before it springs off its rock to lope after you. Stein's demons rise in the material she selects and the manner in which she structures it. For example, much mention is made of the lavish homes that were bought and built - properties with names like Greystone and Misty Mountain - extravagant estates of glorious design described to us here in ways that elicit a sense of desolation and confusion. The strong and passionately ambitious personalities who carved out these family fortunes emerge conversely as shadow forces, frequently experienced as terrifying and unpredictable. A split arises, eventually, between capricious, self-involved parents and their woefully shattered children - a dynamic no one seems to know how to repair or even muster the compassion to try.

A year after this book was published, at the age of eighty-three, Jean Stein fell from the fifteenth floor of her Upper East Side apartment building in New York. Some say we, as readers, should not allow an author's private travail to influence our assessment of the work. I think there are certain instances when the two go hand-in-hand. And I believe this is one.

[Bobby D · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this book based on a glowing review in the L.A. Times and my interest in the history of Los Angeles. I knew it was an “oral history” and I am not usually a big fan of this technique but the review called the book “magnificent”. Well it is actually really rather a mess of unorganized quotes and gossip that mostly tells only a finger nail version of 5 different Los Angeles families.
Not much ties the five selected families together except high priced homes and crazy wealth, and a few suicides and dysfunction even while creating great wealth. First up is the Doheny family (of oil) which is a condensed version of the Teapot Dome scandal and a covered up murder. I did learn that in the 1920s 20% of the world’s oil was produced in Los Angeles. This is an interesting story of family, greed and ruin that needs its own book. Second up is The Warner family (of movies) focusing on Jack Warner. This is the weakest section and I would recommend you look for HOLLYWOOD BE THEY NAME, THE WARNER BROTHERS STORY by Cass Sperling and Cork Millner with Jack Warner Jr. (which is also in part an oral history).
Third up is a story I had never heard of before and actually is one of the most compelling stories of the five presented. Jane Garland (of real estate) was rich via inherited wealth and lived on the beach in Malibu and she was mentally ill. She was housed for a time in the UCLA neuropsychiatric ward as she was schizophrenic. Jane’s doctor advised her mother Grace that Jane was not being helped and would benefit by living at home with round the clock companionship. So the plan was put in place that for $2 and hour young men (many students) would live in the house with Jane and her Mother. These men would escort Jane to dinner, to movies and manage her schizophrenic episodes. Most of the oral history is told by these caretakers and their stories are sad and strange. My only frustration was that the book never tells us what happened to Jane long term.
The fourth family is that of Jennifer Jones (of movies) with a focus on her daughter Mary Jennifer whose father David Selznick (of Gone with the Wind fame). After Selznick’s death Jennifer Jones had an affair with her anylist Fig Newton (you can’t make this stuff up) and then she later married the art collector Norton Simon. Mary Jennifer all along had emotional and mental issues and her mother exhibited strange behavior as well as Norton Simon who turned out to be a louse. Ultimately Mary Jennifer jumped 22 stories to her death. Makes you think of the song, “Money can’t buy you love”.
The last family (of entertainment) is Jean Stein’s own family and focuses on her father’s business The Music Corporation of America (MCA). He began becoming a dentist booking bands on the side. The booking business expanded and he brought on a guy his brother met who was a movie theater usher…. Lew Wasserman to become treasurer of the company. This all lead to the creation of MCA-Universal mostly to the credit of Lew Wasserman that movie usher who met the right person at the right time.
The book is subtitled “An American Place” and I can’t really figure out why.
As to organization the book could have been helped by introducing or adding information between the various witness quotes so the reader could follow along more and get some perspective as to each quotes perspective. The list of contributors at the back of the book should be in front of the book, or better yet at the start of each section.
So bottom line there is some gossip and interesting history to be found between these pages but it sure needs more editing and organization to make it reader friendly. I finished it but could have easily have skipped it.

[Tosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hollywood will always be a mystical land that has a tinge of sadness and even worse, tragedy. Not for me, mind you. I lived in Los Angeles for my entire life, and I only know the joy of being in this city. But then again, I'm one of those rare breeds who was born in Los Angeles, and stayed here as well. On top of that, I'm not in the entertainment business! But here, we have the roots of what became a certain type of Los Angeles culture. Painfully rich, the five families that are profiled in "West of Eden," are mostly iconic families and some (at least to me) obscure. It may be my nature but I find the obscure always the most interesting.

Jean Stein, who is very much the queen of the oral history narrative, due to her early masterpiece (with George Plimpton) "Edie" has put together a book that is much more personal or in reality, her backyard. The book covers five families: The Dohenys, the Selznicks, the Warners, her own family, the Steins (MCA), and the fascinating Judy Garland and her family. What is interesting about Garland, is that she was not only a rich girl from a Hollywood family, but also quite insane. What is even more insane was that she had a pair of male nurses: Walter Hopps and Ed Moses. Hopps was the legendary curator and gallery owner of Ferus, and Moses is a great painter. Both, are very much rooted in the art world history that is Los Angeles. How these two eccentrics became a caretaker for Garland is both a fascinating tale, and an amazing map from fine art to the world of films.

Each chapter (on each family) has a sense of sadness, and the reader is introduced to a world that although rich, is actually a landscape touched by insecurity, madness, eccentricity, and to me, a perfect example of either an era passing or the death of a family's power and presence. Those who are fascinated by the works of Truman Capote or F. Scott Fitzgerald, will find this book fascinating. There is a fascination of watching the wealthy turn into dust - but there is also a beauty of that era, that won't be the same anymore. There will always be the rich, but due to the American promise of riches and happiness - it is usually a bargain that fails in the end. You get the wealth, but the happiness tends to unreachable.

[Raquel Piñeiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dentrísimo. No había manera de que no me gustara este libro porque es una historia oral sobre familias relevantes, algunas desconocidas, de Los Ángeles en general y del Hollywood clásico en particular. ¿Cómo no enloquecer por algo así? Increíble el relato de la disfuncionalidad, la locura, lo extravagante, el talento... también de la endogamia del mundo de los ricos y famosos. Y un plus: buscar en Google Street view las ubicaciones de las mansiones de los protagonistas. En fin, que ojalá Jean Stein no hubiera saltado desde un edificio y hubiera escrito más y más historias orales sobre secundarios de este libro como Joan Didion, Gore Vidal...

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhere between a 2.5 and a 3.0, this was a bit of an odd one, but entertaining enough for a light read that I stayed with it, because, what the heck. Author Jean Stein chose five former residents of Los Angeles and compiled interviews of friends, relatives and associates to paint partial portraits of the subjects’ lives and characters. The subjects are oil magnate Edward Doheny, movie mogul Jack Warner, a schizophrenic heiress named Jane Garland, actress Jennifer Jones, and the author/editor’s father Jules Stein, founder of Music Corporation of America, that later became MCA Universal.

Mostly it was very gossipy, with some interesting tidbits, but unremarkable overall. The subtitle “An American Place” was misleading, as the stories did not really illuminate anything about the place (Los Angeles) beyond a stereotypical and clichéd concern with money, power and celebrity. I would recommend this only for those looking for very light entertainment or with an interest in minutiae about the lives of these particular five people and their inner circles. There was some discussion of the political and business climate during the lives of the subjects and how these events impacted their lives, such as the Tea Pot Dome Scandal, the House Un-American Activities Committee and Hollywood blacklisting, gangsters and the mob-controlled businesses in Chicago, and the appallingly lax ethics of some psychoanalysts. But primarily it was about the personalities.

I did enjoy some of the stories, such as the one about elderly millionaire Norton Simon (Jennifer Jones' third husband) chasing his stepson down the hall in a wheel chair, “barking at me like a wild German shepherd” because he disagreed with a decision the man was making about his own independent business, and some of the comments, such as following remark by Barbara Warner Howard (one of Jack Warner’s daughters):

During the war, our bomb shelter was behind the projection room. It must have had at least twelve bunk beds, because you couldn’t let the servants die—they were hard to find during the war.

Rich people are nuts.

[Pamela · Rating 1 out of 5]

In this Hollywood tale, Jean Stein plays the Wizard of Oz, the ineffectual wizard behind the curtain with no plans to reveal herself.
Reading West of Eden is a lot like eating a lobster. You struggle to pick out the sweet, juicy parts but overall it’s a very frustrating experience. A completely disappointing read. Why didn’t Stein’s editor insist on a more appropriate narrative which would have immersed the author/reporter herself into the dialogue?
There are no thorough explanations about the quoted people giving testimony. Who are they and from where do their statements derive? What justification is there for including their authoritative quotes? The brief description of biographical notes at the end of the book is not sufficient. Were their quotes given directly to JS as an investigative reporter, in some informally recording conversation or in previous published documents?
The book is actually five articles more suited to a periodical without any overseeing author or editor. Even in reportage one expects the writer to put herself in the dialogue. I assume Jean to be an interesting insider and that is why I expected her to take the role of guide. No one is taking the reader by the hand and saying, “let me take you on a fascinating, uniquely personal journey to Hollywood land.” She has the credentials, but obviously due to shyness or passivity she is apparently reluctant to do so and I felt cheated.
Especially frustrating is the final chapter on Jean’s own life which should have been more a personal memoir. Why were Jean and her sister originally never informed that they had Jewish parents? Is this why Jean allowed her daughters to be christened in a Catholic church? Did her mother Doris leave no formal will regarding the inheritance of all the family’s objects? Why didn’t the descendants inherit the house and have legal representation? Why was there a negotiated decision between Barry Diller and Lew Wasserman to allow Murdoch to purchase the estate and become the sole owner of all the family’s photos, furniture and collectibles, household tools, memorabilia? How was Murdoch allowed to take ownership of the house’s staff? Especially disturbing was the incident after Jules died when Wendy vanden Heuvel was reprimanded by her grandmother for sentimentally taking one of her grandfather’s sport jackets. Seems like a perpetuated sad, unloving atmosphere which contributed to Jean’s unhappy formative years. But did she overcome that and make corrections with her own daughters? One can only guess without her own declarations.
It is expected that these stories tell of family and character dysfunctional behavior, a trait central to generations of Southern Californians. And with the focus revealed by the literary examples of Joan Didion, Ross MacDonald and Raymond Chandler, we are already familiar with many of these scenarios. I was seeking a fresh perspective and analysis, not repurposed gossip and speculation. Jean Stein needed to be more of a detective in her role as storyteller.
I came away with more questions, an unsatisfied taste, which prevents me from recommending the book. What is Fiona Shaw’s relationship with the Steins? Or Joan Didion’s relationship? Why didn’t Rupert Murdoch know that Katrina, editor of the Nation, is Jules Stein’s granddaughter? Could he really have had HarperCollins publish an illustrated book of the family photos?
I feel let down by Random House. This book is most definitely an incomplete collection of dialogue with no purpose. It appears more as a draft of text. The narrative often tantalizes but at minimum needed an introduction of motivation by the author. The publishing contract should have insisted that Jean Stein actually deliver her characters by putting herself into their conversation. She remains a ghost in her own landscape of ghost stories.

[Book · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jean Stein knows what she is talking about – being daughter to Jules Stein who invested his money in MCA, making it the most important address when it comes to talent agencies. She knew lots of stars before they even become one, while they were just one of the many faces in search of glory.

Therefore, Jean Stein with full right and authority delivers in front of readers the real history behind Hollywood, more or less structured around some of the families that ruled Hollywood - the Dohenys, the Selznicks, the Warners, and, of course, her own family. And though it can be seen as biography of these powerful families, it is much more than that because Stein is an insider and therefore it is not problem for her to introduce us to the numerous, mostly nasty, details – such as cover-up of a murder-suicide, all forms of corruption, anti-communist blacklists, to name a few…

Though there are numerous stories that could be recounted in this review, for me some of the most interesting were those about Judy Garland and one (more sketch than a story) of particular tour guide who forgot to use the handbrake resulting in his bus going down the hill while he was looking…

The book opens with Raymond Chandler’s quote “I smelled Los Angeles before I got to it. It smelled stale and old like a living room that had been closed too long.”, and precisely that sentence describes what the author superbly done with her book – she let the fresh air in the space that seems so familiar, and yet hold many secrets. So, her intelligently written book will be a real treat for all fans of the movies, American history and show business.

[GoldGato · Rating 3 out of 5]

Los Angeles and its surrounding environs were 'made' by certain dynasties, who ruled via oil and entertainment. Here, we learn of five families and their history and impact upon La-La Land. It's an interesting perspective told by acquaintances of Jean Stein, who was herself a child of one of these families.

THE DOHENYS
If you have read Oil! or seen the movie, THERE WILL BE BLOOD, then you already know about Edward Doheny, who struck oil and built an empire of wealth and power. However, he over-reached with the Teapot Dome scandal and then lived long enough to see his only son, already mentally unhinged, die in a murder-suicide killing at their legendary Greystone Mansion. The sins of the fathers...

He had developed the Midas touch. Gold flowed out of the grounds at his command.

THE WARNERS
The Warner brothers conquered the film industry with a studio that introduced Talkies and revolutionized the crime film. The youngest was Jack Warner, a nasty dude who did everything to ensure he always came out on top, knocking over everything in this path including his own family.

The point that Nathanael West made, of course, is that the masses ultimately want to kill and devour, to cannibalize their celebrity gods.

JANE GARLAND
No, not related to Judy Garland but a deeply disturbed daughter of a wannabe Hollywood actress and a wealthy father. Raised as a SoCal princess, she spends her days locked up in mental institutions, all the while trying to seduce her way to freedom. This was a very disturbing chapter, as she was basically the forerunner of the many Mermaid Princesses who now inundate Hollywood.

The weird part is the tourists would get out and, surrounded by misery, gasp, "Ava Gardner's footprints!" I mean there would be someone lying naked or ODing, foaming at the mouth, and they'd walk over the body and say, "Oh! Victor McLaglen, I remember him!"

JENNIFER JONES
Oh my. Another nutbucket, a fragile star who would change her outfits so many times during the day that she confused her own household. She tried to take her own life and then lived to see her own daughter accomplish the same deed. Whacked lives.

THE STEINS
This was the author's own family, led by Jules Stein who founded MCA, the powerful agency that eventually purchased Universal Studios. Here is money, power, and aloofness. Jean Stein, the author, would grow up a Hollywood Princess only to take her own life just a year after this book was published.

You get the theme...power and money does not necessarily lead to happiness. It's all very interesting and I finished it fairly quickly. BUT, it is told via remembrances by other people. I became confused as to who was who, although they all sound as though people should know them.

The modest and simple life for me, thank you.

Book Season = Summer (pressure on the eyes)

[Mientras Leo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Muy manido para mi gusto

[LAPL Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

In West of Eden: an American place, Jean Stein examines five unique stories that have shaped the landscape of Los Angeles history. In her long awaited follow up to Edie, An American Girl, Stein again uses oral history to flesh out the stories of the Dohenys, the Warner family (of Warner Bros. fame), real estate heiress Jane Garland, actress Jennifer Jones, and, finally, Stein’s own illustrious clan.

While some of the narratives, like the story of the Doheny family, are well embedded in the mind of anyone who knows LA history, Stein is able to give these tales more nuance and dimension by relaying multiple perspectives inherent to each story. Stein’s interview subjects reach far and wide with democratic representation: high society matrons, debutantes and business moguls share their stories alongside caretakers, housekeepers, nurses and secretaries. In some instances this creates a quasi Rashomon-like narrative in select stories, while it provides clarity and transparency within others. For good measure, famous voices like Gore Vidal, Joan Didion, Stephen Sondheim, Lauren Bacall, Warren Beatty and Jane Fonda are peppered throughout.

The journey of actress Jennifer Jones takes up a significant portion of the book and is among the more fascinating stories. Stein is able to chart Jones’ evolution, with astounding detail, from a small town “Oakie” and aspiring actress named Phylis Isley into an Oscar winning star who married both legendary Gone with the Wind producer David O. Selznick, and philanthropist Norton Simon. The story of Jones is compelling not only for her ascent into fame and upward mobility, but for its less-than-flattering portrait of the actress herself. Oral narratives eschew a florid ‘Hollywood’ tale to reveal the complicated relationships Jones had with her friends, children and three husbands, as well as her determination to live up to a glamorous ‘star’ image that had been meticulously crafted for (and by) her.

The biggest surprise of the book, however, is probably the story of Jane Garland, an erratic, mentally ill heiress who caused grief for nearly anyone who crossed her path. Garland was the ignored daughter of a former beauty queen/failed actress and an LA real estate mogul. She spent much of her life surrounded by nurses and caretakers before fading into obscurity. Stein is not only able to relay Garland’s lost personal history, but she is able to show the humanity within this sadly troubled figure. By sharing the stories of the caretakers and nurses who spent their days and nights with Garland, Stein succinctly demonstrates the value of oral history in reviving the long-forgotten stories that are too often shut out of more traditional primary resources.

The book, at times, feels disjointed because there is no linear connection between the subjects being discussed, but the stories are so interesting that it really doesn’t matter. Stein creates a book that is hard for history lovers to put down.

Reviewed by Nicholas Beyelia, Librarian

[judy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Never before have I reached the middle of a non-fiction book and thought "Why am I reding this"?
I kept on anyway which is my bad. I wasted time that I could have spent reading something more to my taste. I love Stein's method of telling a story. I loved "Edie". This book however seemed more like it would suit a specialized audience--one that would love every word. Theoretically this book is about 5 rich, successful families that built early Hollywood. As an East Coaster, I rarely recognized the names. I also didn't find the stories that interesting since most centered on selfish, eccentric and seriously mentally ill people.Don't worry--this was the hey day of therapy. Some people even went 5 days a week for years. For younger people (I am not), you may feel adrift because even the names you recognize are pictured probably long before you were born. Who remembers when Jane Fonda was married to Roger Vadim? She only gets a walk on part in a bigger story featuring older people. People who live for early Hollywood tales, including some emphasis on art and artists, may find this book filling in gaps. For everyone else, read the front flap before buying it or checking it out. So many books, so little time.

[Olga Kowalska (WielkiBuk) · Rating 4 out of 5]

„Na Zachód od Edenu” to niezwykła, miejscami nieprawdopodobna niechlubna biografia Los Angeles, a w zasadzie próba uchwycenia międzypokoleniowych, wieloletnich zależności i powiązań, które wykreowały ducha tego specyficznego miasta zachodniego wybrzeża. Zaskakujące opowieści znane z pierwszych stron gazet, z nagłówków, z plotek. Powtarzane z ust do ust zdołały w jakiś sposób przejść do legendy, wraz ze wszystkimi uczestnikami poszczególnych wydarzeń. Teraz to oni snują swoje historie – najbliżsi członkowie poszczególnych wielkich rodów Ameryki, ich przyjaciele, przypadkowi świadkowie, wszyscy, którzy mogą dodać cegiełkę i odsłonić to, co zostało przemilczane. Jean Stein oddaje im głos, tworząc porywającą opowieść o mieście, którego pierwotne ideały odeszły w zapomnienie, gdzie wielkie marzenia zastąpiły zabójcze ambicje, a pragnienie nieskończonego bogactwa zastąpiło zdrowy rozsądek.

Co prawda u Jean Stein nie brakuje plotek, niedopowiedzeń, czy zwyczajnych zatajeń – w końcu każdy z jej interlokutorów opowiada jedynie to, co może zdradzić do wiadomości publicznej – to „Na Zachód od Edenu” przedstawiają pasjonujące, tragiczne dzieje ludzi, którzy z uporem dążyli do swoich upragnionych, wygórowanych celów. W upalnym słońcu zachodniego wybrzeża, pośród palm, z falami oceanu walącymi o brzegi z oddali… A wokół nich przemoc, rodzinne dramaty niczym z telenoweli, szaleńcze wyskoki i grzechy niepojęte dla zwykłego człowieka, który nigdy nie poczuł na skórze powiewu najbogatszej bryzy prosto z Los Angeles.

Nie sposób odłożyć, aż do ostatniej strony.

[Arantxa Rufo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Por un lado, me ha encantado descubrir este trasfondo oscuro y retorcido del Hollywood clásico y encontrar a las grandes estrellas apareciendo como secundarios en las vidas de los grandes dueños del cotarro .
Por otro lado, la forma de escribir el libro, a modo de declaraciones cortas de implicados y conocidos, me resultó algo pesada y llevaba a confusión entre tanto nombre

[Marti · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lot of new information for me because I knew almost nothing about Jack Warner, Jennifer Jones, Jules Stein or the Doheny family (whose claim to fame was Teapot Dome and the mysterious murder/suicide of Ned Doheny, the heir to the fortune). It seems that most of the families in this story were cursed even though all were fabulously wealthy (which I suppose is a good message during a time of economic crisis).

In fact reading it felt like such a compendium of gloom and doom that I could not stop turning the pages. The author herself committed suicide not long after this book was written, jumping out the window in the same building where Gloria Vanderbilt's son did the same. I wonder if writing this book put her in the frame of mind to do so. After all, the present can only seem very bland after reading about your own family's lifestyles of the rich and famous from the 1910s through the 1970s.

[Kim Ess · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're NOT a fan old Hollywood history or don't have some type of connection to historic Los Angeles then I'm sure this book might bore you to tears. I'm 3rd generation L.A. so I grew up seeing street names such as Doheny (a beach also), Sepulveda, Alvarado, etc. I'm also familiar with the Stein name but wasn't sure why. The history of Los Angeles, Hollywood, and Malibu as far as the entertainment industry goes is very cool because you are actually reading first hand interviews from the people who lived it in this book. Come on... The author's name says it all. She's a Stein. I wish it had been a few hundred pages longer just for more of the juicy inside look into a bygone era that always fascinates me.

[Melissa Stuart Barnett · Rating 1 out of 5]

Audiobook. Another that I could not finish. Filled with the excesses of people I just don't care about. The trivial tragedies of these folks intrigue me as much as the lives of the Kardashians. I am sure there are readers for this, I am not one.

[Sarah D Bunting · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wasn’t sure it would work as an audiobook but the cast was fantastic.

[Carla Bayha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't expect to be reminded of Edie Sedgwick, an Andy Warhol protege of the 60s, twice in consecutive months. There Edie was in a 50 year retrospective of video art in the very earliest featured video at Lansing's Broad Museum. And her name surfaced again for me as I read West of Eden: An American Place by Jean Stein, an enormously engaging and moving oral history of several of the houses and families, and thus the names behind some famous streets and institutions of Los Angeles. Looking at Stein's credits, I discovered that Jean Stein had also co-written Edie: American Girl, one of the few oral histories I enjoyed reading cover to cover. If you know Brooke Hayward's memoir Haywire, some of the families in Eden will be familiar. Surely Jennifer Jones, the ex-wife of actor/suicide Robert Walker (Strangers on a Train), and widow of both David O. Selznick and museum founder Norton Simon, is one of Hollywood's strangest and most enigmatic stars. The glamorous lives of these Hollywood families are heavily laced with mental illness, abandonment, and suicide. West of Eden is a gripping cultural history behind the front doors of a city that through its movies, came to define us to the world.
Themes:None

[Jim Bodovitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gripping oral history of families of famous women and men who are at the center of Los Angeles' history. By theme, this includes oil, real estate, art, film, philanthropy, psychiatry but really this book takes the reader inside the homes where so many memories reside. It was very hard to put this book down.

[Melissa Orlando · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Some of the stories were so fascinating, and I appreciated the unique oral history format. However, at times it was difficult to understand the relationships between the "characters", and I was a bit bored by the Jules Stein story, which closed out the book. Overall, a good read, especially since I live in LA now!

[Judy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Abandoned, so actually no stars. Couldn't get into the swing of this book. Didn't know who was being discussed, and didn't know the people who were making the comments, so it didn't come together for me at all.

[martha Boyle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved Edie--great book. This one was mildly interesting, but no where near the same quality.

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This kind of thing goes down very easy for me. Plenty salacious, some history lessons too.

[Colonel Kurtz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jean Stein's "West of Eden: An American Place," at first seems unimportant... an odd assemblage of oral history snippets curated by a grown up industry child (now 82 years old). By the book's end, however, I was converted, having understood that valuable insights can be gleaned from this unique effort. The author's father was Dr. Jules Stein, founder of MCA Universal, and a Hollywood icon and pioneer in talent representation and television and motion picture production. Jean Stein is perhaps one of the last articulate witnesses to the tail end of an era that started when a handful of immigrants created an industry that has now become one of the largest in the world. For this reason, her perspective illuminates some subtle and perverse undercurrents of the out-sized history of Los Angeles and its showcase enterprise. Some of Stein's inferences: Being good at business does not necessarily equate with being good at relationships - your associates, your spouse, your children. Children of the rich and powerful start life with extra baggage and some don't have the coping mechanisms to survive. Some go completely mad, some end it all. Ego and vanity in Hollywood is in a class by itself and the collateral damage is all around. The Angelenos Stein chooses to profile - oil and railroad barons, their mentally disturbed offspring, a legendary actress and a couple of moguls - are all a bit notorious, and could have been plucked from the firmament of Nathanael West's "The Day of the Locust."

I'm a student of the early days of Hollywood and I've enjoyed reading many important biographies: A. Scott Berg's "Goldwyn," Neal Gabler's "Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination," Irene Mayer Selznick's "A Private View," Norman J Zierold's "The Moguls," among others. For the most part, these are exhaustively researched masterpieces. Stein's new book is not one of them, but well worth reading. Through her work, we gain a sense of the ephemeral nature of huge success, even groundbreaking innovation like her father's. When Jules Stein's widow Doris died in 1984, their large, beautiful hilltop Beverly Hills mansion "Misty Mountain," was snapped up by Rupert Murdoch in a hastily brokered deal on the condition that all contents -- furniture, china and silverware, even family mementos and photographs all come with it. Like a hermit crab, Murdoch was able to step into a home and lifestyle that spanned half a century of Hollywood history.

This is a book for industry types, Beverly Hills brats with a sense of history and I suppose people like me who are endlessly curious about early Hollywood, love LA, and rue the morphing and consolidation of this gem of an industry into the corporate machine it has now become.

[Becca Malkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horrifyingly ironic that the author details a pattern of suicide throughout the 5 families' stories, including of Mary Jennifer Selznick who had a habit of lingering atop tall buildings, contemplating death, until she eventually succumbed and took her fatal plunge. They say life imitates art, but in this case, I suppose life imitates life. Tragically, Jean mirrored the fate of Mary Jennifer, except in New York City instead of Los Angeles, a year after writing this. One can't help but wonder if the compilation of stories about these immoral and ruinous families, including of her own, haunted her. Forgive me, but morbid curiosity consumes me: did Jean Stein take a page out of Mary Jennifer's book? Out of all the suicides, both attempted and successful, which play out over and over in this book (so much so that you're surprised when a person survives to old age), why did she choose the building route? And why did she do so a year after this book was published, barely to witness her success? One can't help but think writing this book was just as revealing to the author (who should have been already aware of all the lies and corruption being that she was born into that world) as it is to her newly informed readers.

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed this book as a perpetual student of Los Angeles history, especially Old Hollywood. I read reviews complaining that the storytelling was disjointed and weak, but I found it if anything, ambitious and anecdotal. Stein set out to accomplish a fantastic feat, and it is rich with lore that digs deep beneath the "rotten heart of paradise." I was patient with it and the picture became clear to me. Each reader will glean something different from this, which I believe is the whole point of this book, with its alternating contradictory oral histories and gossip from the mouths of a wide array of insiders and witnesses. I was tickled to hear stories from familiar Angelino legends: Dennis Hopper, Joan Didion, Jane Fonda, William Eggleston, etc. I highly recommend listening to this in audiobook form as it lends itself to oral storytelling better than any historical non-fiction I’ve ever known (you can find it on Spotify). Reader comprehension is enhanced by the different voice actors' narrations, though I did find myself frequently pausing to Google the people and places. I think it could easily be adapted into a documentary film (and should be!)

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book is an acquired taste and best suited for ideal enjoyment by listening to the audiobook. The book is non-fiction and weaves together excerpts of many conversations with people touching the lives of five prominent Los Angeles residents: Oil Tycoon Edward Doheny; studio and movie producer Jack Warner; wealthy heiress and schizophrenic Jane Garland; actress Jennifer Jones; and ophthalmologist Jules Stein (related to author).
One common denominator is that each of the five people whose lives are examined are uber wealthy. I am not sure we really need to care about them and their lives. The nugget I took from the book was to read about the opulent lives they led, how many of them interacted with one another in the elite echelon of Hollywood, and the film stars who drifted in and out of their world. It was a grand and somewhat enchanting time.
We learn of the scandal in the Doheny family. The turmoil in Jack Warner's life being Jewish, a shrewd businessman, a republican, anti-communist supporter, his gambling obsession and the tumultuous relationships with his wives. Jane Garland is mental unwell and her parents, William and Grace Garland, hire young men to watch and entertain Jane. Jennifer Jones was married to Robert Walker, David Selznick and uber wealthy art collector Norton Simon. Jules Stein makes a name for himself in the medical and music scene. Cast amongst these opulent people are celebrating pets Joan Didion, Lauren Becall, Cary Grant, Ronald Reagan, Kathryn Hepburn, Shirley Temple, etc.

[Jim Stevens · Rating 2 out of 5]

The subject matter is quite fascinating especially if you are a Californian, but I had problems with the way the stories were told. Each section was a compilation of different people who were related somehow to the person, remembering what it was all about; and for me it made it difficult to follow a clear narrative. There is a ton of history in this book, both about the people and Los Angeles itself, which did make it quite interesting.

[Meg · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoy stories about old Hollywood so I enjoyed the topics covered in this book. The first few stories were stronger/more interesting than those at the end, so I felt the book ended on a weak note. I also didn't love the interview style and would have preferred at least some narrative. The style made the book feel somewhat unfinished.

[Randy]

This book only works occasionally with the need to habitually flip back to the biographical notes section to know whose voice it is you are reading. The different families are unevenly explored, and my reading is they are all negative, unpleasant people who did significant damage to their children. Is that the intention? Structure overwhelms story here.

[Mary Ronan Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

A narrative about Hollywood eccentrics and scandals, including Jenifer Jones' husbands (Robert Walker, David O Selznick, and Norton Simon.) It's written by Jules Stein's daughter and is an oral history with interviews with everybody from the author herself to Joan Didion and Elizabeth Taylor.