Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Modern Library (2018), Edition: 1st Edition, 576 pages
Description
"David Kipen scoured the archives of libraries, historical societies, and private estates to assemble a kaleidoscopic view of Los Angeles from the Spanish missionary expeditions in the 1500s to the present day. These entries are arranged by date--January 1 through December 31--but are selected from more than three centuries of writing by those living in, or visiting, Los Angeles. Thus the entry for January 21, for example, will have an excerpt from Benjamin Hayes in 1850, F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1938, Charlton Heston in 1957, John Lennon in 1974, and a blogger in 2011. In the process, readers get a wonderful glimpse of life in this city through the ages. Profound, historical, whimsical, this rich mix of letters and diary entries marking each day of the year offers intimate flashes of life in Los Angeles over the past four centuries."--Provided by publisher.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member ladycato
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
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
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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.
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LibraryThing member lauriebrown54
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
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.
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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.
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Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2018
Physical description
576 p.; 8.55 inches
ISBN
0812993985 / 9780812993981
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