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Dear Los Angeles: The City in Diaries and Letters, 1542 to 2018
A rich mosaic of diary entries and letters from Marilyn Monroe, Cesar Chavez, Susan Sontag, Albert Einstein, and many more, this is the story of Los Angeles as told by locals, transplants, and some just passing through.
The City of Angels has played a distinct role in the hearts, minds, and imaginations of millions of people, who see it as the ultimate symbol of the American Dream. David Kipen, a cultural historian and avid scholar of Los Angeles, has scoured libraries, archives, and private estates to assemble a kaleidoscopic view of a truly unique city.
From the Spanish missionary expeditions in the early 1500s to the Golden Age of Hollywood to the strange new world of social media, this collection is a slice of life in L.A. through the years. The pieces are arranged by date--January 1st to December 31st--featuring selections from different decades and centuries. What emerges is a vivid tapestry of insights, personal discoveries, and wry observations that together distill the essence of the city.
As sprawling and magical as the city itself, Dear Los Angeles is a fascinating, must-have collection for everyone in, from, or touched by Southern California.
With excerpts from the writing of Ray Bradbury - Edgar Rice Burroughs - Octavia E. Butler - Italo Calvino - Winston Churchill - No�l Coward - Simone De Beauvoir - James Dean - T. S. Eliot - William Faulkner - Lawrence Ferlinghetti - Richard Feynman - F. Scott Fitzgerald - Allen Ginsberg - Dashiell Hammett - Charlton Heston - Zora Neale Hurston - Christopher Isherwood - John Lennon - H. L. Mencken - Ana�s Nin - Sylvia Plath - Ronald Reagan - Joan Rivers - James Thurber - Dalton Trumbo - Evelyn Waugh - Tennessee Williams - P. G. Wodehouse - and many more
Advance praise for Dear Los Angeles
"This book's a brilliant constellation, spread out over a few centuries and five thousand square miles. Each tiny entry pins the reality of the great unreal city of Angels to a moment in human time--moments enthralled, appalled, jubilant, suffering, gossiping or bragging--and it turns out, there's no better way to paint a picture of the place."--Jonathan Lethem
"[A] scintillating collection of letters and diary entries . . . an engrossing trove of colorful, witty insights."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
The City of Angels has played a distinct role in the hearts, minds, and imaginations of millions of people, who see it as the ultimate symbol of the American Dream. David Kipen, a cultural historian and avid scholar of Los Angeles, has scoured libraries, archives, and private estates to assemble a kaleidoscopic view of a truly unique city.
From the Spanish missionary expeditions in the early 1500s to the Golden Age of Hollywood to the strange new world of social media, this collection is a slice of life in L.A. through the years. The pieces are arranged by date--January 1st to December 31st--featuring selections from different decades and centuries. What emerges is a vivid tapestry of insights, personal discoveries, and wry observations that together distill the essence of the city.
As sprawling and magical as the city itself, Dear Los Angeles is a fascinating, must-have collection for everyone in, from, or touched by Southern California.
With excerpts from the writing of Ray Bradbury - Edgar Rice Burroughs - Octavia E. Butler - Italo Calvino - Winston Churchill - No�l Coward - Simone De Beauvoir - James Dean - T. S. Eliot - William Faulkner - Lawrence Ferlinghetti - Richard Feynman - F. Scott Fitzgerald - Allen Ginsberg - Dashiell Hammett - Charlton Heston - Zora Neale Hurston - Christopher Isherwood - John Lennon - H. L. Mencken - Ana�s Nin - Sylvia Plath - Ronald Reagan - Joan Rivers - James Thurber - Dalton Trumbo - Evelyn Waugh - Tennessee Williams - P. G. Wodehouse - and many more
Advance praise for Dear Los Angeles
"This book's a brilliant constellation, spread out over a few centuries and five thousand square miles. Each tiny entry pins the reality of the great unreal city of Angels to a moment in human time--moments enthralled, appalled, jubilant, suffering, gossiping or bragging--and it turns out, there's no better way to paint a picture of the place."--Jonathan Lethem
"[A] scintillating collection of letters and diary entries . . . an engrossing trove of colorful, witty insights."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
576 pages, Hardcover
First published December 4, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 88 reviews
May 1, 2019
Love me, hate me
Entertaining overview of the city through personal letters and diary entries of a multitude of individuals including Hollywood stars, writer, explorers, officials, clergy, and average folks. A skimming over of time as the area changed from the first Spanish entries to now. Kipen selected entries for entertainment as much as edification.
There are a bunch of examples in my updates so I won't repeat them. While this leans towards pithy there are many entries that highlight more serious issues from race relations, Japanese internment, blacklisting, and lawlessness of the early days. The breadth of topics help frame the contributing factors of what makes Los Angeles L.A.
This deserves a spot of my Los Angeles bookshelf. It's not the kind of thing you'll reread in entirety, but leaf through for amusement, and a fun book for visitors to peruse.
Entertaining overview of the city through personal letters and diary entries of a multitude of individuals including Hollywood stars, writer, explorers, officials, clergy, and average folks. A skimming over of time as the area changed from the first Spanish entries to now. Kipen selected entries for entertainment as much as edification.
Nov. 18, 1952
Southern California talks of itself as the Southland, and is hardly even part of the Union--when you mail letters to the rest of the country you drop them in a post-office-slot marked The States. - Randall Jarrell, to John Crowe
There are a bunch of examples in my updates so I won't repeat them. While this leans towards pithy there are many entries that highlight more serious issues from race relations, Japanese internment, blacklisting, and lawlessness of the early days. The breadth of topics help frame the contributing factors of what makes Los Angeles L.A.
Dec. 13, 1963
Aldous died quietly, without any pain in the end. He was absolutely clear, mentally. The day before he died, he finished dictating an article about Shakespeare. He wasn't told of Kennedy's shooting, which happened just a few hours earlier.
Personally, I was very pro-Kennedy; but I was still amazed at how much I minded. And, in this quite largely anti-Kennedy town, which has so little to unite it, it was amazing how much everybody minded. People just sat listening to the radio in their cars and sobbing. We were all in love with him, without knowing it. -Christopher Isherwood
This deserves a spot of my Los Angeles bookshelf. It's not the kind of thing you'll reread in entirety, but leaf through for amusement, and a fun book for visitors to peruse.
September 27, 2022
"Looks like another perfect day - I love L.A. ! (We love it!)" -- singer/songwriter Randy Newman
Kipen assembles various journal, diary, or blog entries from actors (Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Charlton Heston), authors (of all types - novelists, screenwriters and journalists), early settlers and military personnel, politicians (like 'adopted' son Ronald Reagan) and assorted other denizens of the City of Angels. Some were funny (actor / Canadian transplant Ryan Reynolds on gluten), some were downright chilling (Sirhan Sirhan just days before he cold-bloodedly murdered Bobby Kennedy), and many riff on the uniqueness - or oddness, depending on your point of view - of the SoCal region. Some of my favorite entries were from detective / noir legend Raymond Chandler, the 'slumming angel' who perhaps wrote about and understood the area better than most in the literary world.
Kipen assembles various journal, diary, or blog entries from actors (Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Charlton Heston), authors (of all types - novelists, screenwriters and journalists), early settlers and military personnel, politicians (like 'adopted' son Ronald Reagan) and assorted other denizens of the City of Angels. Some were funny (actor / Canadian transplant Ryan Reynolds on gluten), some were downright chilling (Sirhan Sirhan just days before he cold-bloodedly murdered Bobby Kennedy), and many riff on the uniqueness - or oddness, depending on your point of view - of the SoCal region. Some of my favorite entries were from detective / noir legend Raymond Chandler, the 'slumming angel' who perhaps wrote about and understood the area better than most in the literary world.
Read
November 14, 2018This book could have been written for me.
I collect letters and diaries, as I find firsthand glimpses of the past so much more interesting than fiction written through a modern lens, or historical treatises that go on about politics without focusing on the individuals. (Though I must say, historical writing by today's scholars is veering away from white male gaze on politics and more toward the actual people involved, including women.)
But anyway. From time to time over the years, when I'm either really tired, or have just a bit of free time, I'd go through my various collections of letters and diaries and look up that day of the year, and read what people did and thought on that day, over the centuries.
Well, this book has taken the same idea. The preface discusses in an engaging way what the author did once he'd begun collecting all these letters and journal entries about Los Angeles over the years. He tried various organizational methods, then landed on a similar idea to my "On this day" game: for each day of the year, he's chosen letters and journal entries that refer to Los Angeles in some way.
The earliest entries are written by explorers and priests during the 1700s. We see Los Angeles emerging--the sharp scent of citrus, the earthquakes, the distinctive geography, the droughts--as a wild mixture of people try to find common ground in a relatively benign climate. Human nature is not so benign: some entries are high-minded declarations that everyone, no matter what their background, has similar rights (and we know how well that was observed); in other entries, there is so much casual violence that it's taken for granted, until rudimentary justice systems are set up. And we see those in action.
Interspersed are entries from Los Angeles at the turn of the century, and of course many modern ones. Inevitably there is going to be an emphasis on the film industry (and how fake so very many find the city and the life therein, while they collect their huge paychecks; the poor somehow don't have the time or luxury of finding Los Angeles life 'fake'), but there are quotes from a range of people.
The ones I found most riveting, though disturbing, are from an intelligent, observant young American of Japanese background. During 1942-4 we see glimpses of this person's life ripped apart as the FBI comes for them, then they lose everything, and of course when December 7th rolls around, we see their horror at the news, because they are helpless to do anything about what the Japanese empire has done--they are American citizens. Though not for long.
Interspersed between sometimes fatuous and sometimes sharp Hollywood commentary are Latina and Latino people, living their lives, and then, always succinct, Octavia Butler's occasional entries.
I meant to make the book last, but I simply couldn't stop reading. Especially when some of the more modern quotes intersected with my life: one famous person went to the Griffith Observatory, and enjoyed the lecture and presentation tremendously, and I thought, I bet I know who you were listening to. Another went through the same earthquake we endured in 1971. A third well-known person pawed through the used books at Acres of Books in Long Beach (sadly, tragically, no longer there), which I have been to so many times. There were other connections.
About the only complaint I have is that I could have done with a whole lot less of Theodore Dreiser's smirky sexual exploits with his very young mistress. But I could recognize them after a time, and skim for actual content, which he had, occasionally, though always self-involved.
Many entries are poignant, sharply observed, wistful, tragic, stark. It would have been nice if there were pictures, but actually, I found I had images for just about all of the places and times.
Copy provided by NetGalley
I collect letters and diaries, as I find firsthand glimpses of the past so much more interesting than fiction written through a modern lens, or historical treatises that go on about politics without focusing on the individuals. (Though I must say, historical writing by today's scholars is veering away from white male gaze on politics and more toward the actual people involved, including women.)
But anyway. From time to time over the years, when I'm either really tired, or have just a bit of free time, I'd go through my various collections of letters and diaries and look up that day of the year, and read what people did and thought on that day, over the centuries.
Well, this book has taken the same idea. The preface discusses in an engaging way what the author did once he'd begun collecting all these letters and journal entries about Los Angeles over the years. He tried various organizational methods, then landed on a similar idea to my "On this day" game: for each day of the year, he's chosen letters and journal entries that refer to Los Angeles in some way.
The earliest entries are written by explorers and priests during the 1700s. We see Los Angeles emerging--the sharp scent of citrus, the earthquakes, the distinctive geography, the droughts--as a wild mixture of people try to find common ground in a relatively benign climate. Human nature is not so benign: some entries are high-minded declarations that everyone, no matter what their background, has similar rights (and we know how well that was observed); in other entries, there is so much casual violence that it's taken for granted, until rudimentary justice systems are set up. And we see those in action.
Interspersed are entries from Los Angeles at the turn of the century, and of course many modern ones. Inevitably there is going to be an emphasis on the film industry (and how fake so very many find the city and the life therein, while they collect their huge paychecks; the poor somehow don't have the time or luxury of finding Los Angeles life 'fake'), but there are quotes from a range of people.
The ones I found most riveting, though disturbing, are from an intelligent, observant young American of Japanese background. During 1942-4 we see glimpses of this person's life ripped apart as the FBI comes for them, then they lose everything, and of course when December 7th rolls around, we see their horror at the news, because they are helpless to do anything about what the Japanese empire has done--they are American citizens. Though not for long.
Interspersed between sometimes fatuous and sometimes sharp Hollywood commentary are Latina and Latino people, living their lives, and then, always succinct, Octavia Butler's occasional entries.
I meant to make the book last, but I simply couldn't stop reading. Especially when some of the more modern quotes intersected with my life: one famous person went to the Griffith Observatory, and enjoyed the lecture and presentation tremendously, and I thought, I bet I know who you were listening to. Another went through the same earthquake we endured in 1971. A third well-known person pawed through the used books at Acres of Books in Long Beach (sadly, tragically, no longer there), which I have been to so many times. There were other connections.
About the only complaint I have is that I could have done with a whole lot less of Theodore Dreiser's smirky sexual exploits with his very young mistress. But I could recognize them after a time, and skim for actual content, which he had, occasionally, though always self-involved.
Many entries are poignant, sharply observed, wistful, tragic, stark. It would have been nice if there were pictures, but actually, I found I had images for just about all of the places and times.
Copy provided by NetGalley
November 1, 2018
I received an early version of the book via NetGalley.
Kipen approached the history and development of Los Angeles in an intriguing, unique way: day by day. The book is essentially arranged like a daily devotional, with each day containing diary entries written about or in Los Angeles anywhere from 1542 and 2018. At first, I found this non-chronological approach to a big jolt. The entries, most of them a few sentences or a paragraph or two, can jump from 19th-century soldiers describing their ride to the Menendez Brothers trial to a 1930s Santa Monica beach party. After a while, though, I fell into a groove. Many of the authors have entries across the year, and I found it fun to follow along with the lives.
Here's an example of the diversity:
- "People in LA are deathly afraid of gluten. I swear to god, you could rob a liquor store in this city with a bagel."
- Ryan Reynolds (2017)
- "Last Saturday I was driving through the mountains near Los Angeles and through orange groves. The groves are now in blossom and the odor is almost sickening it is so strong. You can usually smell a grove about a mile before you get to it."
- Valerie Belletti (1925)
- "I went today to visit an old Spaniard from Spain who had some American papers, also some books from whom I learned a little more of the Spanish language."
- Henry Standage (1847)
Most of the entries are quite G-rated, though there's one author, Theodore Dreiser, whose regular entries are a catalog of his sexual escapades with his wife. They were so different from the others that they tended to take me aback. Still, they do add to an overall view of Los Angeles and its denizens.
This is a fairly long book that took me several weeks to get through. Because of the nature of the entries, it doesn't lend itself well to sitting and reading for hours straight. This is a good book to read in little spurts--or go through it like a devotional. If you have any interest in Los Angeles, this is a fantastic book that does a beautiful job of showing how the city has developed over the centuries.
Kipen approached the history and development of Los Angeles in an intriguing, unique way: day by day. The book is essentially arranged like a daily devotional, with each day containing diary entries written about or in Los Angeles anywhere from 1542 and 2018. At first, I found this non-chronological approach to a big jolt. The entries, most of them a few sentences or a paragraph or two, can jump from 19th-century soldiers describing their ride to the Menendez Brothers trial to a 1930s Santa Monica beach party. After a while, though, I fell into a groove. Many of the authors have entries across the year, and I found it fun to follow along with the lives.
Here's an example of the diversity:
- "People in LA are deathly afraid of gluten. I swear to god, you could rob a liquor store in this city with a bagel."
- Ryan Reynolds (2017)
- "Last Saturday I was driving through the mountains near Los Angeles and through orange groves. The groves are now in blossom and the odor is almost sickening it is so strong. You can usually smell a grove about a mile before you get to it."
- Valerie Belletti (1925)
- "I went today to visit an old Spaniard from Spain who had some American papers, also some books from whom I learned a little more of the Spanish language."
- Henry Standage (1847)
Most of the entries are quite G-rated, though there's one author, Theodore Dreiser, whose regular entries are a catalog of his sexual escapades with his wife. They were so different from the others that they tended to take me aback. Still, they do add to an overall view of Los Angeles and its denizens.
This is a fairly long book that took me several weeks to get through. Because of the nature of the entries, it doesn't lend itself well to sitting and reading for hours straight. This is a good book to read in little spurts--or go through it like a devotional. If you have any interest in Los Angeles, this is a fantastic book that does a beautiful job of showing how the city has developed over the centuries.
January 11, 2019
I'm not sure how much you'll learn about the actual city of Los Angeles by reading this book, but you WILL learn a fair bit about the editor's idea of Los Angeles. This is the untold story of an eclectic tapestry of... just kidding, it's primarily a(nother) story of famous or semi-famous white writers and artistic types in largely yesteryear Hollywood. Faulkner and Fitzgerald thought WHAT about the studios?!? Someone was at a party with Joan Didion?! Theodore Dreiser liked sex?!?
I really thought I would like this book... hoped I would love it... and wound up kinda hating it. Of course there are some pithy gems amongst the 100s of quotes, letter excerpts, journal entries, and the one random Ryan Reynolds tweet. You will also find some gems if you Google "quotes about Los Angeles". Kipen curates a heaping helping of Hollywood and literary luminaries, then sprinkles in some old-timey sources, news reports, and quick references to the zoot suit riots, WWII, and the Watts riots to, y'know, represent the rest of the city. Weirdly, many of the book's entries are just things that happened to be written *in LA* rather than pieces shaped by or *about* the city in any discernible fashion. Needless to say, the NY Times found it all illuminating. My dear Los Angeles, so often clumsily captured, deserves better.
I really thought I would like this book... hoped I would love it... and wound up kinda hating it. Of course there are some pithy gems amongst the 100s of quotes, letter excerpts, journal entries, and the one random Ryan Reynolds tweet. You will also find some gems if you Google "quotes about Los Angeles". Kipen curates a heaping helping of Hollywood and literary luminaries, then sprinkles in some old-timey sources, news reports, and quick references to the zoot suit riots, WWII, and the Watts riots to, y'know, represent the rest of the city. Weirdly, many of the book's entries are just things that happened to be written *in LA* rather than pieces shaped by or *about* the city in any discernible fashion. Needless to say, the NY Times found it all illuminating. My dear Los Angeles, so often clumsily captured, deserves better.
February 7, 2020
I appreciated the concept of this book, and there were some nice little gems here and there. But it could have been a lot better. Only sometimes does he tell you who the letters were written TO. The very brief bios of the authors of the letters in the back do not include birth/death dates, which was a strange omission. And there is no context for any of them. Sometimes you can figure out what a person is doing in Los Angeles if they don't live there but often you don't. There is a very sad letter that I happened to know was about the explosion of the steamer Ada Hancock in San Pedro in 1863, but that's obscure knowledge I happen to have, otherwise you'd have no idea what the letter was about. In the cases where I didn't know what was going on there was no footnote or preface to help. (Oh, and John Gielgud did NOT spend the day at Disneyland in 1952 because Disneyland didn't open until 1955.)
July 30, 2018
When celebrated food critic Jonathan Gold passed away recently, one of his most popular quotes was circulated around the internet: "If you live in Los Angeles, you are used to having your city explained to you by people who come in for a couple weeks...The thing that people find hard to understand is the magnitude of what's here. The huge numbers of multiple cultures that live in the city that come together in this beautiful and haphazard fashion. And the fault lines between them are sometimes where you can find the most beautiful things."
In "Dear Los Angeles" David Kipen has collected hundreds of journal entries and letters from an array of people dating as far back as 1542 to present day 2018. Miners deep in the throws of the Gold Rush, U.S. presidents and First Ladies, Albert Einstein, Zora Neale Hurston, Aldous Huxley, and Marilyn Monroe, are just a few of the people whose musings about LA are featured.
The book is arranged by month, not year, so it's interesting to go from reading an entry from 1891 and have the next entry be from 1979 and see how different and sometimes similar their feelings are about the city a large time span.
"Dear Los Angeles" is a giant love letter to the city of angels. It's not imperative to read in one sitting, but could make for a great coffee book table or a gift for that friend who just moved out west.
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a review.
In "Dear Los Angeles" David Kipen has collected hundreds of journal entries and letters from an array of people dating as far back as 1542 to present day 2018. Miners deep in the throws of the Gold Rush, U.S. presidents and First Ladies, Albert Einstein, Zora Neale Hurston, Aldous Huxley, and Marilyn Monroe, are just a few of the people whose musings about LA are featured.
The book is arranged by month, not year, so it's interesting to go from reading an entry from 1891 and have the next entry be from 1979 and see how different and sometimes similar their feelings are about the city a large time span.
"Dear Los Angeles" is a giant love letter to the city of angels. It's not imperative to read in one sitting, but could make for a great coffee book table or a gift for that friend who just moved out west.
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a review.
December 8, 2023
Catching up…
I grew up in Orange County, in Southern California. Los Angeles is just a few miles away, although it takes a “lifetime” to get there with the extensive traffic and endless highways between the two counties.
But…
There was always something fascinating about Los Angeles that made it worth the trip when I was younger. Like: the tall buildings, the arts and culture, the ambiance.
So…
When I saw this book, I thought why not order it from my local library.
This is an interesting creative set-up for a book by the editor, Kipen, a journalist, writing teacher and Los Angeles native. He has chosen to organize his excerpts like a diary journal from January-December.
It makes it a very moving way to organize history – i.e., major events (wars, public ceremonies, assassinations, elections) with private joys and intimate details by some unknown and well-known individuals who found their way to LA.
As an example…
On May 14, 1935 Eric Knight wrote to a friend…
“I finally offered my resignation. In typical Hollywood fashion it was rejected. I was fired two days later.”
On November 5, 1912, Robinson Jeffers wrote to Una Kuster…
“I have an Ayrdale pup, who looks as much like Bernard Shaw as it is possible for a dog.”
On the same date in 1926 on Ambassador Hotel stationery, H.L. Mencken wrote to his wife…
“This place is a genuine horror. If I described it literally I’d be set down as the damnedest liar ever heard of. Architecturally it is inconceivable, and the people all seem to be imbeciles. The movie folk, by comparison, are enlightened and civilized.”
The stories in this book, through these interesting diary entries, sometimes showcase parts of the Old West with the gold mines and roving bandits, and all sorts of mundane references to what happened in someone’s day.
But…
Not all entries are filled with love towards the town or its people.
W.E.B. DuBois and Langston Hughes find it less than congenial to black people. There is anti-Semitic commentary from Ayn Rand and E.E. Cummings.
And…
There is so much to behold within these pages of interesting events for many names who may be familiar to us…
Theodore Dreiser reports staging an orgy. Thomas Mann writes “Doctor Faustus” here. Jack Kerouac drank “jumbo beers” and Ross Macdonald tells Eudora Welty that he swims with seals.
We will also see signs of social classism. Nature writing.
There is…
So much to tell and reveal about the richness, and beauty, and uncomfortableness of being within the city.
For anyone looking for just a different kind of epistolary type of read, this might be one to enjoy perusing in-between the novels.
May 6, 2019
4.5 stars, fascinating look at our fastest changing city through the eyes of the people who lived there.
July 3, 2019
I so wanted to love DEAR LOS ANGELES by David Kipen, L. A. native, former literature director of the National Endowment for the Arts and book editor/critic of the San Francisco Chronicle. The potential is there for a terrific read, as this fascinating collection features diary entries and letters from 1542 to 2018, woven together to form a rich tapestry of Los Angeles over centuries.
But what is missing is the visual riff — photos, illustrations, a colorful design that could encircle and set off these pieces as the gems they are.
Kipen sourced material from the archives of libraries, historical societies, and private estates ... a prodigious effort ... to create a kaleidoscopic of Los Angeles from the Spanish missionary expeditions in the 1500s to the present.
His forward may be the best writing in the book, lively and lovely as he describes the city he adores and the book’s evolution. At one point, he mentioned the possibility of a coffee table book format, a better choice I believe, with “elaborate self-amused photo captions ... and that shot of Jack Nicholson arriving at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, hot off Chinatown with, yes, the Department of Water and Power Building looming up behind him.”
Now, that’s the book I want to read. 3/5
Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Random House and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.
#DearLosAngeles #NetGalley
But what is missing is the visual riff — photos, illustrations, a colorful design that could encircle and set off these pieces as the gems they are.
Kipen sourced material from the archives of libraries, historical societies, and private estates ... a prodigious effort ... to create a kaleidoscopic of Los Angeles from the Spanish missionary expeditions in the 1500s to the present.
His forward may be the best writing in the book, lively and lovely as he describes the city he adores and the book’s evolution. At one point, he mentioned the possibility of a coffee table book format, a better choice I believe, with “elaborate self-amused photo captions ... and that shot of Jack Nicholson arriving at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, hot off Chinatown with, yes, the Department of Water and Power Building looming up behind him.”
Now, that’s the book I want to read. 3/5
Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Random House and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.
#DearLosAngeles #NetGalley
December 4, 2018
GNab I found the construction of this collection of diary and letter offerings and fantasies intriguing. Rather than set out, as tradition would dictate, in year sequence, David Kipen has organized his groupings of quotations by many well knowns that define Los Angeles and southern California so well in calendar month and day order. A little confusing at first, but this quickly became the only way to look at this collection. I found this a wry and fascinating definition of L.A., one I am pleased to recommend to friends and family.
I received a free electronic copy of this book of tidbits of LA history in Diaries and Letters from Netgalley, David Kipen, and Modern Library in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.
pub date Dec 4, 2018
Modern Library
I received a free electronic copy of this book of tidbits of LA history in Diaries and Letters from Netgalley, David Kipen, and Modern Library in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.
pub date Dec 4, 2018
Modern Library
November 20, 2018
This book has an unusual layout: there is an entry for every day of the year, but the *year* the entry is from varies from 1542 through 2018. The entries are chosen from letters and diaries. Each one is a statement about life in Los Angeles at the time. Some are from Catholic brethren who are bringing religion to the west. Some are from politicians. Some are from famous writers drawn to LA to write scripts for Hollywood. The samples may be from Gold Rush days, the Golden Age of Hollywood, the Depression, or recent days.
I have seen quite a few complaints about the format, but I really liked it. I might be bored with a time in history or with a specific writer’s work, but given a piece only a few pages long, I will read it, and learn something. I also found it very interesting to see opinions not meant for public consumption, but for only the writer’s closest friends or relatives. What I thought would have made the book better was pictures. The last 150 years –the era from which the majority of entries are from- have been documented by photography, and that would have brought things to life more. Four stars for a quick, fun read.
I have seen quite a few complaints about the format, but I really liked it. I might be bored with a time in history or with a specific writer’s work, but given a piece only a few pages long, I will read it, and learn something. I also found it very interesting to see opinions not meant for public consumption, but for only the writer’s closest friends or relatives. What I thought would have made the book better was pictures. The last 150 years –the era from which the majority of entries are from- have been documented by photography, and that would have brought things to life more. Four stars for a quick, fun read.
August 28, 2021
I really wanted to like this book but it was a struggle for me. (I almost kept it on my dnf shelf but decided to give it a chance.) The book consists of letters and diary entries spanning from 1542 - 2018, as advertised. Each day of the year has a couple entries but the dates are always random. I had a hard time with this format... maybe I would have liked it better if it were organized by the author of said entry? Then I think their ideas may have flowed better. But then again, there were some entries I enjoyed, some put me to sleep, and others were so randomly off topic and only seemed to be included because the person happened to be in L.A. at the time. So not all the entries were about L.A., but most of them were. The ones that interested me were the ones written around significant historic events - the riots in the early 90's, 9/11, Pearl Harbor... So overall, some nuggets of goodness but not enough for me to recommend this book to other bibliophile lovers of L.A.
February 21, 2023
Such an intriguing concept and a wonderful way to convey the essence of Los Angeles and Southern California. Written in the form of a diary over one year’s time the editor uses bits and pieces of various people’s memoirs. The entries range in date from the mid 1500s to the 21st century, so one day’s entry might actually span centuries depending on whose work is being presented. Historical figures, celebrities, writers, doctors, and just regular folk are all represented. I enjoyed this book immensely and learned so much from it. The author also includes an alphabetical “who’s who” at the back of the book in case one might might not be familiar with a particular person. As someone who lived in SoCal for nearly 60 years it was even more interesting.
August 25, 2024
Very interesting book. Diary entries from 1542 to 2018 written by some known and some unknown people. Showed how the LA area has changed in some ways and not changed in others. Being a native Californian was really informative. Enjoyed it.
December 28, 2019
A book to be savored - so many small view of Los Angeles since 1542. For us natives, it sheds
light on how folks view this city and what they wrote to their friends about their experiences.
light on how folks view this city and what they wrote to their friends about their experiences.
February 22, 2020
If you have an interest in L A and like history or if you have an interest in history and like L A you will love this book
June 19, 2019
Overall: Dear Los Angeles was an enjoyable light reading experience. It was fascinating to see glimpses of the authors’ myriad LA experiences, though I’ll admit that I only found a fraction of the entries particularly compelling.
The organization of entries by day (rather than year or author) was a little disorienting at first, but I appreciated it after a fashion.
I found that certain entries carried more weight for me after knowing the author (e.g., Aldous Huxley, Woody Guthrie), so I sometimes found myself jumping to the end of the entry to find the author’s name before reading. I imagine this would have been less cumbersome on my kindle (or with a physical copy of the book, of course) rather than my cell phone, but that’s neither here nor there. :)
The organization of entries by day (rather than year or author) was a little disorienting at first, but I appreciated it after a fashion.
I found that certain entries carried more weight for me after knowing the author (e.g., Aldous Huxley, Woody Guthrie), so I sometimes found myself jumping to the end of the entry to find the author’s name before reading. I imagine this would have been less cumbersome on my kindle (or with a physical copy of the book, of course) rather than my cell phone, but that’s neither here nor there. :)
September 23, 2019
When I first heard about this book, I have to admit, I was excited to pick it up and could hardly wait to sit down and read it, but unfortunately, my expectations fell flat. In fact, halfway through it, I seriously debated whether or not I should just abandon it or keep going. Being that I'm the type of person who always insists on finishing a book, no matter how boring it becomes or drags, I pushed on, hoping that maybe, just maybe, I might read a letter or diary from someone I was actually familiar with. Someone who is or was notably famous but it seemed like page after page of passages either hating on L.A. as a place (How. Dare. You.) or blabbing on and on about things I could care less about.
I admit, there WERE a few entries/passages from a handful of people I know of like Marilyn Monroe, Joan Rivers, F. Scott Fitzgerald ( "Why you saying fuck him ?" -- "Yeah, what did Scott Fitzgerald ever do to you?" LMAO to Ted 2 ), James Dean, Sylvia Plath, Raymond Chandler, Theodore Dressier and Ryan Reynolds but that was about it. I expected bigger names than that, more actors and actresses of TV and film but most of these people were either screenwriters, columnists, explorers, settlers or assistants to movie crew. Like seriously? I paid to read the diaries and letters of unknown people? I might as well have been watching "Dancing With The Non-Stars." It was a huge disappointment to me and more than a little boring that I fell asleep reading it a few times.
Not all of it was boring though. Being that I love the city as a whole, I really DID enjoy and appreciate the descriptions of all the familiar and non-familiar locations in L.A. that I have driven by more than a few times in my lifetime. I liked hearing about major events in history from other perspectives and there were more than a few passages that had me laughing out loud, but for the most part, I was just really disappointed with this book that could've been great had there been more familiar voices in it.
Way too long in my opinion for such bland content. I'll have to look over the contributors index beforehand the next time I decide to buy a book like this.
I admit, there WERE a few entries/passages from a handful of people I know of like Marilyn Monroe, Joan Rivers, F. Scott Fitzgerald ( "Why you saying fuck him ?" -- "Yeah, what did Scott Fitzgerald ever do to you?" LMAO to Ted 2 ), James Dean, Sylvia Plath, Raymond Chandler, Theodore Dressier and Ryan Reynolds but that was about it. I expected bigger names than that, more actors and actresses of TV and film but most of these people were either screenwriters, columnists, explorers, settlers or assistants to movie crew. Like seriously? I paid to read the diaries and letters of unknown people? I might as well have been watching "Dancing With The Non-Stars." It was a huge disappointment to me and more than a little boring that I fell asleep reading it a few times.
Not all of it was boring though. Being that I love the city as a whole, I really DID enjoy and appreciate the descriptions of all the familiar and non-familiar locations in L.A. that I have driven by more than a few times in my lifetime. I liked hearing about major events in history from other perspectives and there were more than a few passages that had me laughing out loud, but for the most part, I was just really disappointed with this book that could've been great had there been more familiar voices in it.
Way too long in my opinion for such bland content. I'll have to look over the contributors index beforehand the next time I decide to buy a book like this.
August 25, 2018
I really wanted to enjoy this book more than I actually did. I am a native Angeleno, and I studied Los Angeles history for my master's degree, so I was already fairly familiar with many of the situations that were referenced in these diary entries and letters. And I really enjoyed reading early descriptions of the nascent city, the landscape surrounding it, and the interactions of the writer with the native peoples.
I had trouble, however, with the entries that Kipen chose to include within this book. There were interesting entries from a number of luminaries, including Theodore Dreiser, Ronald Reagan, Charles Lummis, F. Scott Fitzgerald, etc. But very little about these entries actually provided insight into the nature of life in Los Angeles at the time they were writing; in fact, in many cases I felt as if he selected entries that he found appealing, but that did nothing much to express something new or interesting about the development of the city or Southern California.
I really wish I had enjoyed this book more-I had hopes for a good addition to my library of Southern California history, but this book fell short of the mark for me.
I had trouble, however, with the entries that Kipen chose to include within this book. There were interesting entries from a number of luminaries, including Theodore Dreiser, Ronald Reagan, Charles Lummis, F. Scott Fitzgerald, etc. But very little about these entries actually provided insight into the nature of life in Los Angeles at the time they were writing; in fact, in many cases I felt as if he selected entries that he found appealing, but that did nothing much to express something new or interesting about the development of the city or Southern California.
I really wish I had enjoyed this book more-I had hopes for a good addition to my library of Southern California history, but this book fell short of the mark for me.
January 19, 2021
As a lover of my city, I thought I would love this book. I did not. You will find a collection of letters and journal entries organized by day from 1548 to 2018. I got this book as a gift at the end of 2019 so I thought I’d read the entires by day each night in 2020. From politicians, to literary figures, lots of Hollywood types, to iconic leaders and artists- it’s a mix of musings with no particular theme. William Faulkner hated LA. DH Laurence seemed to as well. Langston Hughes was a Dodger fan. Winston Churchill learned “Los Angeles” was said with a hard G. While I recognized a few of the contributors - most I didn’t and had to google them to learn more. There’s no context about who they are or why they’re in LA. Most seem to be visiting. The only compelling entries I was truly interested in came from
Aoki Hisa’s reflections as a Japanese American during World War II who survived the racist mass histeria that placed her family in an internment camp. I’d like to read more about her and that time. As for a book about Los Angeles? Skip this one.
July 27, 2018
DEAR LOS ANGELES is a collection of ephemera about the history of, and life, in LA. The author chose to place all these glimpses into LA history with no particular order. I cannot understand the logic of the presentation. It is neither by author or date, rather disconnected fragments.
I found the randomness of this book very confusing, possibly made more so by the digital format, Between the dates and authors being collected with no plan in mind, and attribution being inserted at the end of the reading, I was often confused. I was very excited about reading this, but I need more coherence in my reading.
As a former Social Studies teacher, I cannot imagine trying to have students unpack something in this format.
I would love to read this book again in a clearer more longitudinal format. I apologize for my own inability to process the material, but I think others may have the same issues.
I found the randomness of this book very confusing, possibly made more so by the digital format, Between the dates and authors being collected with no plan in mind, and attribution being inserted at the end of the reading, I was often confused. I was very excited about reading this, but I need more coherence in my reading.
As a former Social Studies teacher, I cannot imagine trying to have students unpack something in this format.
I would love to read this book again in a clearer more longitudinal format. I apologize for my own inability to process the material, but I think others may have the same issues.
October 20, 2019
Letters, diary entries and more from or about L.A., many by famous people, some by the obscure, arranged by date. Feb. 20, for example, has contributions dated 1861, 1928, 1934 and 1960. Some people here seem to find the organization confusing and would prefer strict chronology, but I don't even understand what that book would look like, and anyway, that's like taking the fizz out of soda. A fun, enlightening kaleidoscope of a book.
December 18, 2023
I was fascinated by first person accounts collected in non-fiction book DEAR LOS ANGELES: THE CITY IN DIARIES AND LETTERS, 1542-2018 Entries from first half of December alone make book worth the read, includes letter or diary extracts by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Aldous Huxley and Dalton Trumbo among others that may provoke wide range of emotions, from laughter to tears, and deep compassion for other people.
Especially moving entry is by Japanese-American woman in Los Angeles describing her own reactions & those of other devastated Japanese residents of LA to the news about December 7th bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Of course there's lots of comments by people who worked in Hollywood film making, including Samuel Goldwyn's young secretary Valeria Belletti, who promoted then unknown actor Gary Cooper. Also quotes from John Lennon, members of Monty Python, and future Masterpiece Theater host Alistair Cooke, who was present at assassination of Robert F. Kennedy when RFK was meeting kitchen staff at the Ambassador hotel.
Included are less often heard viewpoints from African American science fiction writer Octavia E. Butler, poet Langston Hughes, jazz musician Charles Mingus, also Hispanic residents and visitors reaching back to before founding of city of Los Angeles.
DEAR LOS ANGELES is arranged by month/day, although items may be centuries apart. Juxtaposition can show how some things haven't changed much or others are drastically different. One entry describes Palos Verdes area when it was just open land.
Writers range from unknowns to famous,often may reveal little known side of latter. I'd like to read more about some included (brief biographies are given at back of book). "Acknowledgements" at end of book is like a love letter to librarians.
--------------
If planning to share book with young students as examples of first person eye-witness historical accounts, perhaps preview the collection. As other reviewers have mentioned, I too could have done without glimpses into Theodore Dreiser's intimate diary, for which I didn't have fore-warning when first listening to audio edition .
Especially moving entry is by Japanese-American woman in Los Angeles describing her own reactions & those of other devastated Japanese residents of LA to the news about December 7th bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Of course there's lots of comments by people who worked in Hollywood film making, including Samuel Goldwyn's young secretary Valeria Belletti, who promoted then unknown actor Gary Cooper. Also quotes from John Lennon, members of Monty Python, and future Masterpiece Theater host Alistair Cooke, who was present at assassination of Robert F. Kennedy when RFK was meeting kitchen staff at the Ambassador hotel.
Included are less often heard viewpoints from African American science fiction writer Octavia E. Butler, poet Langston Hughes, jazz musician Charles Mingus, also Hispanic residents and visitors reaching back to before founding of city of Los Angeles.
DEAR LOS ANGELES is arranged by month/day, although items may be centuries apart. Juxtaposition can show how some things haven't changed much or others are drastically different. One entry describes Palos Verdes area when it was just open land.
Writers range from unknowns to famous,often may reveal little known side of latter. I'd like to read more about some included (brief biographies are given at back of book). "Acknowledgements" at end of book is like a love letter to librarians.
--------------
If planning to share book with young students as examples of first person eye-witness historical accounts, perhaps preview the collection. As other reviewers have mentioned, I too could have done without glimpses into Theodore Dreiser's intimate diary, for which I didn't have fore-warning when first listening to audio edition .
February 15, 2020
I love Los Angeles history, and I had high hopes for this book, but it was disappointing. I think that's why it has taken me so long to get through it. A brief explanation of the organization of this book: Going day-by-day through the calendar year, the editor has found diary entries, letters, blog posts and the occasional newspaper article that was created/printed on that date. For example, January 1 has entries from 1853, 1923, 1934, and 1985. August 24 has entries dated 1907, 1934, and 1969. I am assuming most of these years are listed correctly - I did, however, find an entry from John Gielgud who described his visit to Disneyland in an entry dated 1952. All the Disney fans out there know Disneyland didn't open until 1955.
There were certainly interesting entries here, but many of them suffered from a lack of context. Almost every entry from author Octavia E. Butler, usually just one or two sentences, read like a floating non sequitur, failing to explain or illuminate anything about either Los Angeles or the author herself. Was it a diary entry, an excerpt from a letter? And if so, who was she writing to? The entries from Theodore Dreiser were interesting to me mostly because I didn't know he had ever lived in Los Angeles - all his stories seem to be set in the East. And actually most of the entries by Dreiser that the editor selected for inclusion here seem to be more about the sex Dreiser enjoyed in Los Angeles (at home, with his significant other) than the city itself.
There were interesting tidbits throughout, and I always enjoyed the entries by screenwriter/producer Charles Brackett. It's also always fun to read the entries by the folks who found themselves seduced by Los Angeles in spite of themselves.
The thing about Los Angeles and Angelenos, and maybe Californians as a whole is, love us or hate us, we don't really care. You can gripe and moan about our cultural deficiencies, or the fact that we "don't have seasons" (hogwash!), or that we can't stop talking about our commutes, or... you can come join us on the patio for a margarita at sunset. Your choice.
There were certainly interesting entries here, but many of them suffered from a lack of context. Almost every entry from author Octavia E. Butler, usually just one or two sentences, read like a floating non sequitur, failing to explain or illuminate anything about either Los Angeles or the author herself. Was it a diary entry, an excerpt from a letter? And if so, who was she writing to? The entries from Theodore Dreiser were interesting to me mostly because I didn't know he had ever lived in Los Angeles - all his stories seem to be set in the East. And actually most of the entries by Dreiser that the editor selected for inclusion here seem to be more about the sex Dreiser enjoyed in Los Angeles (at home, with his significant other) than the city itself.
There were interesting tidbits throughout, and I always enjoyed the entries by screenwriter/producer Charles Brackett. It's also always fun to read the entries by the folks who found themselves seduced by Los Angeles in spite of themselves.
The thing about Los Angeles and Angelenos, and maybe Californians as a whole is, love us or hate us, we don't really care. You can gripe and moan about our cultural deficiencies, or the fact that we "don't have seasons" (hogwash!), or that we can't stop talking about our commutes, or... you can come join us on the patio for a margarita at sunset. Your choice.
August 27, 2022
This is a book basically of excerpts. Excerpts from the diaries or the letters that the author was able to find amidst the massive library collections held by universities near the Los Angeles area as well as newspaper records and even postings by noted blog writers.
Kipen set this up so there are at least two quotes for each date with the earliest - obviously - coming first, moving through time until the day is done. The author comments that he took seven years to collect all the information and thanked librarians and library collections that he mined in order to achieve what he was attempting.
There are Spanish explorers looking for the right place for a mission to bring religion to the native 'savages' as well as towns that grow around them. Soldiers from both sides - Mexican and American - as they patrol the territory. Composers, musicians, writers, and poets. Screenwriters - often the same writers and poets mentioned beforehand - as well as directors, actors, producers and the supporting staff and crewmembers. Reporters and journalists. Japanese internees experiencing the prejudice and fear from the first world war. Politicians - from several U.S. Presidents as well as Prime Minister Churchill who managed to catch a swordfish at a surprising location and in quite the short period of time. Activists and conservationists. Scientists and historians. And more. . . and more. . . .
I guess I could this call a warning - a number of quotes from Theodore Dreiser is concerning his interactions with his companion - later his wife. They have a very active sexlife and there is one instance where he writes quite bluntly. I wasn't offended but I am certain there are some that might be.
2022-188
Kipen set this up so there are at least two quotes for each date with the earliest - obviously - coming first, moving through time until the day is done. The author comments that he took seven years to collect all the information and thanked librarians and library collections that he mined in order to achieve what he was attempting.
There are Spanish explorers looking for the right place for a mission to bring religion to the native 'savages' as well as towns that grow around them. Soldiers from both sides - Mexican and American - as they patrol the territory. Composers, musicians, writers, and poets. Screenwriters - often the same writers and poets mentioned beforehand - as well as directors, actors, producers and the supporting staff and crewmembers. Reporters and journalists. Japanese internees experiencing the prejudice and fear from the first world war. Politicians - from several U.S. Presidents as well as Prime Minister Churchill who managed to catch a swordfish at a surprising location and in quite the short period of time. Activists and conservationists. Scientists and historians. And more. . . and more. . . .
I guess I could this call a warning - a number of quotes from Theodore Dreiser is concerning his interactions with his companion - later his wife. They have a very active sexlife and there is one instance where he writes quite bluntly. I wasn't offended but I am certain there are some that might be.
2022-188
January 19, 2019
This book clearly needs to go on a diet, but there were enough gems hidden in its 500+ page girth that I felt it was worth something between 3 and 4 stars.
Pretty much everything from before the rise of Hollywood provided an interesting perspective on the city to this confirmed east coaster. We also get fascinating entries from Japanese internees, Hollywood blacklistees, and characters like Aaron Paley and Helen Hunt Jackson, of whom I knew nothing and who have much to say.
Still, for every Louis Adamic or Aoki Hisa, we get 50 entries from the bourgeois, the rich, the famous: actors, producers, writers, composers, philosophers. Many -- even most -- of these are great and fascinating!
But in a city defined by its diversity, the perspectives are largely from the ruling class. Watts and Rodney King are covered by white men; the native populations are covered (as far as I remember) only indirectly, through mainly racist entries by Spanish and American colonizers; and there is far, far too much Hollywood.
I suspect this is partially the nature of the beast. Diaries from regular schmucks aren't accessible, if they exist at all, and books about diaries by regular schmucks don't sell. And it seems the author did make an effort to include various voices -- it would have been extremely easy to leave out many of history's losers included here. The overall effect, though, is one of a town stripped of its poor, its darker-skinned, and its non-Hollywood.
Still, if those major caveats are taken into consideration, this is a pretty enjoyable read. Who knew Theodore Dreiser was such a horn dog?
Pretty much everything from before the rise of Hollywood provided an interesting perspective on the city to this confirmed east coaster. We also get fascinating entries from Japanese internees, Hollywood blacklistees, and characters like Aaron Paley and Helen Hunt Jackson, of whom I knew nothing and who have much to say.
Still, for every Louis Adamic or Aoki Hisa, we get 50 entries from the bourgeois, the rich, the famous: actors, producers, writers, composers, philosophers. Many -- even most -- of these are great and fascinating!
But in a city defined by its diversity, the perspectives are largely from the ruling class. Watts and Rodney King are covered by white men; the native populations are covered (as far as I remember) only indirectly, through mainly racist entries by Spanish and American colonizers; and there is far, far too much Hollywood.
I suspect this is partially the nature of the beast. Diaries from regular schmucks aren't accessible, if they exist at all, and books about diaries by regular schmucks don't sell. And it seems the author did make an effort to include various voices -- it would have been extremely easy to leave out many of history's losers included here. The overall effect, though, is one of a town stripped of its poor, its darker-skinned, and its non-Hollywood.
Still, if those major caveats are taken into consideration, this is a pretty enjoyable read. Who knew Theodore Dreiser was such a horn dog?
September 16, 2018
I could read a whole series of books like this one. The editor has drawn together diary entries spanning centuries, taking us through Spanish settlements and the rise of Hollywood. We see the city grow dense and fill with smog, and we see the positive Californian outlook of LA's dreamers and creatives. The book is formatted such that each day of the year has a small collection of entries which could be from any era. This provides a kaleidoscope of diverse narrators who describe anything from earthquakes to family life. Some are residents of the city or its outlying regions, others are only passing through. Spanish, Natives, Japanese, Korean, rich, poor, famous stars and average Joe's all give their voice to the growth of this great American metropolis. I found the entries by people I'd never heard of to be the most poignant and interesting. Not that the entries by well known people weren't, but their thoughts and opinions can be found anywhere. Dear Los Angeles was a good opportunity to collect the words of ordinary people who keep the city going.
This book has one issue- it is too long. If all of the entries were suited for the book this wouldn't be any issue, but I found myself skipping over some portions if I saw the writer was someone whose previous entries had been boring. (Sorry, Edgar Burroughs. Sorry, Octavia Butler.) It could have lost about one fourth of the entries and just kept the ones that really illuminated the rich history of Los Angeles.
Overall a beautiful concept and an excellent read.
This book was provided through NetGalley.
This book has one issue- it is too long. If all of the entries were suited for the book this wouldn't be any issue, but I found myself skipping over some portions if I saw the writer was someone whose previous entries had been boring. (Sorry, Edgar Burroughs. Sorry, Octavia Butler.) It could have lost about one fourth of the entries and just kept the ones that really illuminated the rich history of Los Angeles.
Overall a beautiful concept and an excellent read.
This book was provided through NetGalley.
August 9, 2019
"L.A. is the place Angelenos are forever approaching but can never quite get to. Like the city’s most salient, salable feature, you can’t look directly at it. On the right day, though, over the shoulder of a frank letter-writer or diarist, you can feel its radiance" DAVID KIPEN, Los Angeles, Cal.
"Dear Los Angeles" is comprised of letters/diary entries by history's most noteworthy people, ranging from war heroes like Patton, to celebrities, novelists, and ground breaking scientists such as Einstein. The letters take place throughout LA's entire history, then organized by calendar date instead of year. I"L.A. is the place Angelenos are forever approaching but can never quite get to. Like the city’s most salient, salable feature, you can’t look directly at it. On the right day, though, over the shoulder of a frank letter-writer or diarist, you can feel its radiance" DAVID KIPEN, Los Angeles, Cal.
"Dear Los Angeles" is comprised of letters/diary entries by history's most noteworthy people, ranging from war heroes like Patton, to celebrities, novelists, and ground breaking scientists such as Einstein. The letters take place throughout LA's entire history, then organized by calendar date instead of year. I enjoyed it! Would also make a good coffee table book.
"Dear Los Angeles" is comprised of letters/diary entries by history's most noteworthy people, ranging from war heroes like Patton, to celebrities, novelists, and ground breaking scientists such as Einstein. The letters take place throughout LA's entire history, then organized by calendar date instead of year. I"L.A. is the place Angelenos are forever approaching but can never quite get to. Like the city’s most salient, salable feature, you can’t look directly at it. On the right day, though, over the shoulder of a frank letter-writer or diarist, you can feel its radiance" DAVID KIPEN, Los Angeles, Cal.
"Dear Los Angeles" is comprised of letters/diary entries by history's most noteworthy people, ranging from war heroes like Patton, to celebrities, novelists, and ground breaking scientists such as Einstein. The letters take place throughout LA's entire history, then organized by calendar date instead of year. I enjoyed it! Would also make a good coffee table book.
August 4, 2018
I loved the idea of this book more than the execution. As a relatively new resident of California I was eager to immerse myself in the past as well as the present.
This book does that--but only to a degree. The short entries are easy to read, but also easy to put down because I didn't feel that any one of them had enough depth to totally pull me in to the world of the writer. The book contains some wonderful snippets, and interesting impressions, but they felt like they were not so much of Los Angeles as they were of other people, of incidents, or of the movie industry---not of Los Angeles as a character itself.
Perhaps I am being harsh on the editor, but I am spoiled by Raymond Chandler's writing of Los Angeles. When Philip Marlowe haunts the streets of the city the reader feels like they are there. The city is dark; the atmosphere is thick and the people are real. I wanted that depth of understanding when I read this book, but it was more like a quick postcard home. A snippet, not a story.
This book does that--but only to a degree. The short entries are easy to read, but also easy to put down because I didn't feel that any one of them had enough depth to totally pull me in to the world of the writer. The book contains some wonderful snippets, and interesting impressions, but they felt like they were not so much of Los Angeles as they were of other people, of incidents, or of the movie industry---not of Los Angeles as a character itself.
Perhaps I am being harsh on the editor, but I am spoiled by Raymond Chandler's writing of Los Angeles. When Philip Marlowe haunts the streets of the city the reader feels like they are there. The city is dark; the atmosphere is thick and the people are real. I wanted that depth of understanding when I read this book, but it was more like a quick postcard home. A snippet, not a story.
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