Los Angeles History

Books on the History of Los Angeles

Our Recommendations

Class Struggle in Hollywood, 1930-1950 : Moguls, Mobsters
by Gerald Horne, 2001
$22.95 (less discount)

In this maelstrom of political, social and legal bitterness, noted historian Horne focuses on the great postwar CSU strike of 1945, which after a studio lockout escalated into a full fledged Cold War culture war, with rabid red-baiting, anti-Semitism and, eventually, violence between striking union workers and scabs, and extensive police brutality. Crafting a taut narrative in elegant prose, Horne is sympathetic with the union's struggles, though his historical overview and blow-by-blow retelling of the strike and lockout never feels biased.

Iconic LA, Stories of LA's Most Memorable Buildings
by Gloria K. Koenig, Frank Gehry, 2000
$29.95 (less discount)

The thirteen buildings of Iconic LA, identifiable the world over, demonstrate the personality and power of Los Angeles as a major metropolis. Their stories are the story of a city in progress, an urban biography that tells a century's worth of history. Like a character in a movie, each of these buildings has played a role in an unfolding human drama complete with intrigue, political struggle, tragedy, and triumph.

William Mulholland and the Rise of Los Angeles
by Catherine Mulholland, 2000
$35.00 (less discount)

The story of Los Angeles's quest for water is both famous and notorious: it has been the subject of the classic yet historically distorted movie Chinatown, as well as many other accounts. This first full-length biography of Mulholland challenges many of the prevailing versions of his life story and sheds new light on the history of Los Angeles and its relationship with its most prized resource: water.

Chavez Ravine, 1949 : A Los Angeles Story
by Don Normark, 1999
$29.95 (less discount)

In 1949, photographer Don Normark walked up into the hills of Los Angeles, looking for a good view. Instead, he found Chvez Ravine, a ramshackle Mexican-American neighborhood tucked away in Elysian Park like a "poor man's Shangri-la." Enchanted, he stayed for a year in this uniquely intact rural community on the city's outskirts. This haunting book captures their images, their stories, and their bittersweet memories, reclaiming and celebrating this lost village from a simpler time.

	Class Struggle in Hollywood, 1930-1950 : Moguls, Mobsters by Gerald Horne, 2001 $22.95 (less discount)
In this maelstrom of political, social and legal bitterness, noted historian Horne focuses on the great postwar CSU strike of 1945, which after a studio lockout escalated into a full fledged Cold War culture war, with rabid red-baiting, anti-Semitism and, eventually, violence between striking union workers and scabs, and extensive police brutality. Crafting a taut narrative in elegant prose, Horne is sympathetic with the union's struggles, though his historical overview and blow-by-blow retelling of the strike and lockout never feels biased.
	Iconic LA, Stories of LA's Most Memorable Buildings by Gloria K. Koenig, Frank Gehry, 2000 $29.95 (less discount)
The thirteen buildings of Iconic LA, identifiable the world over, demonstrate the personality and power of Los Angeles as a major metropolis. Their stories are the story of a city in progress, an urban biography that tells a century's worth of history. Like a character in a movie, each of these buildings has played a role in an unfolding human drama complete with intrigue, political struggle, tragedy, and triumph.
	William Mulholland and the Rise of Los Angeles by Catherine Mulholland, 2000 $35.00 (less discount)
The story of Los Angeles's quest for water is both famous and notorious: it has been the subject of the classic yet historically distorted movie Chinatown, as well as many other accounts. This first full-length biography of Mulholland challenges many of the prevailing versions of his life story and sheds new light on the history of Los Angeles and its relationship with its most prized resource: water.
	Chavez Ravine, 1949 : A Los Angeles Story by Don Normark, 1999 $29.95 (less discount)
In 1949, photographer Don Normark walked up into the hills of Los Angeles, looking for a good view. Instead, he found Chvez Ravine, a ramshackle Mexican-American neighborhood tucked away in Elysian Park like a "poor man's Shangri-la." Enchanted, he stayed for a year in this uniquely intact rural community on the city's outskirts. This haunting book captures their images, their stories, and their bittersweet memories, reclaiming and celebrating this lost village from a simpler time.

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