Overview
āLos Angeles is refracted in all its irreducible, unexplainable glory.āāLos Angeles Times
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.
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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 dateāJanuary 1st to December 31stāfeaturing 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.
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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.
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With excerpts from the writing of Ray Bradbury ā¢ Edgar Rice Burroughs ā¢ Octavia E. Butler ā¢ Italo Calvino ā¢ Winston Churchill ā¢ NoĆ«l Coward ā¢ Simone De Beauvoir ā¢ James Dean ā¢Ā T. S. Eliot ā¢ William Faulkner ā¢ Lawrence Ferlinghetti ā¢ Richard Feynman ā¢ F. Scott FitzgeraldĀ ā¢Ā Allen Ginsberg ā¢ Dashiell Hammett ā¢ Charlton HestonĀ ā¢ Zora Neale Hurston ā¢ Christopher Isherwood ā¢ John Lennon ā¢ H. L. Mencken ā¢ AnaĆÆs Nin ā¢ Sylvia Plath ā¢ Ronald Reagan ā¢ Joan Rivers ā¢Ā James Thurber ā¢ Dalton Trumbo ā¢ Evelyn Waugh ā¢ Tennessee Williams ā¢ P. G. Wodehouse ā¢ and many more
Advance praise for Dear Los Angeles
āThis bookās 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 timeāmoments enthralled, appalled, jubilant, suffering, gossiping or braggingāand it turns out, thereās no better way to paint a picture of the place.āāJonathan Lethem
ā[A] scintillating collection of letters and diary entries . . . an engrossing trove of colorful, witty insights.āāPublishers WeeklyĀ (starred review)
This book title, Dear Los Angeles (The City in Diaries and Letters, 1542 to 2018) - 9780812984439, ISBN: 9780812984439, by David Kipen, published by Random House Publishing Group (December 10, 2019) is available in paperback. Our minimum order quantity is 25 copies. All standard bulk book orders ship FREE in the continental USA and delivered in 4-10 business days.
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