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West of the West: Imagining California
A collection of essays on the Land of Gold in all its glory and infamy by America's most noted writers ranging from Tom Wolfe on gangs, to Jack Kerouac on a long-forgotten automobile lying at the base of Big Sur
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1989
42 people want to read
About the author
Leonard Michaels
48 books110 followersLeonard Michaels was an American writer of short stories, novels, and essays, and a Professor of English at the University of California, Berkeley.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 9, 2019
This collection was published in 1989, and while there are good selections, it also feels very dated 30 years later, as most of the writing is post-1945. 1945-1989 was 44 years, and with another 30 post 1989, it's time for a new edition/a new anthology (and maybe one is out there, this book has been on my shelves for way too long).
So this book was certainly interesting, but dated. It's hard to put yourself back 30 years, and try to forget the events that are so obviously missing.
What is definitely missing, though, is much of the state. This book is heavy on Hollywood and San Francisco. A touch of Monterey, the desert, of Japanese and Chinese and black communities. But where is the Central Valley? Where are the depression-era emigrants who came from the deep south, Oklahoma, Eastern cities, looking for agriculture and then during WW2 industrial jobs? Where is the Valley of Heart's Delight, better known now as Silicon Valley--that transformation occurred between 1945 and 1989, yet is not here. Where is Mendocino County and the rest of the far north? Cesar Chavez is mentioned, but shouldn't there be an excerpt focusing on Latino agricultural labors, grapes, etc? Instead there is an entire section on "the kind" of dreamers who come to California, on weird "California" spirituality, on stereotypes. Disappointing.
So this book was certainly interesting, but dated. It's hard to put yourself back 30 years, and try to forget the events that are so obviously missing.
What is definitely missing, though, is much of the state. This book is heavy on Hollywood and San Francisco. A touch of Monterey, the desert, of Japanese and Chinese and black communities. But where is the Central Valley? Where are the depression-era emigrants who came from the deep south, Oklahoma, Eastern cities, looking for agriculture and then during WW2 industrial jobs? Where is the Valley of Heart's Delight, better known now as Silicon Valley--that transformation occurred between 1945 and 1989, yet is not here. Where is Mendocino County and the rest of the far north? Cesar Chavez is mentioned, but shouldn't there be an excerpt focusing on Latino agricultural labors, grapes, etc? Instead there is an entire section on "the kind" of dreamers who come to California, on weird "California" spirituality, on stereotypes. Disappointing.
February 15, 2012
A wide-ranging collection of essays, excerpts, poems and other writings, this anthology is an evocative and thoughtful reading experience. The editors propose an inspired selection of writings grouped in chapters based on loose themes (Atmospheres, City, Migrations, etc) rather than chronology, and the result is a journey that is alternately dream-like and razor-sharp.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews