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Old 04-17-2013, 09:29 AM
 
Location: Pasadena, CA
10,078 posts, read 15,858,119 times
Reputation: 4049

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I'll be honest, Day of the Locust was kinda boring to me. I had a hard time finishing it (and it's only like 100 pages). Just kept picking it up, getting bored, putting it down, picking it up 2 weeks later and starting over - repeat.

Anyways, here are two that I have read:

The City at Stake: Secession, Reform, and the Battle for Los Angeles: The City at Stake: Secession, Reform, and the Battle for Los Angeles: Raphael J. Sonenshein: 9780691126036: Amazon.com: Books

LA Noire: The Struggle for the Soul of America's Most Seductive City: Amazon.com: L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America's Most Seductive City (9780307352088): John Buntin: Books
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Old 04-20-2013, 08:09 PM
 
Location: Mt Washington: NELA
1,162 posts, read 3,236,618 times
Reputation: 642
I second that. Great, great book.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Domsey View Post
John Fante, Ask the Dust
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Old 06-23-2013, 07:44 AM
 
Location: Las Flores, Orange County, CA
26,329 posts, read 93,761,592 times
Reputation: 17831
Reading this one now. Very interesting. This guy bought a house in the Malibu Colony (56 Malibu Colony Road) in the early 1950s (I think) on a young man's salary with a 4% mortgage.

KTLA's News at Ten: 60 Years with Stan Chambers: Stan Chambers, Hal Fishman, Tom Brokaw: 9781933016504: Amazon.com: Books


Stan Chambers - KTLA News At 10 - YouTube


Stan Chambers Retiring From KTLA After 63 Years - YouTube


1949 Live Coverage in Los Angeles Makes TV History - YouTube

Kathy Fiscus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Old 06-30-2013, 03:55 PM
 
Location: Las Flores, Orange County, CA
26,329 posts, read 93,761,592 times
Reputation: 17831
Reading this one now, another very interesting book about a guy growing up in Pasadena during the 1930s and 1940s. Vivid descriptions of how life was like back then, high school, dating, spring break at Newport/Balboa, transportation - red cars, the 1933 earthquake, WWII, Pomona College,

Pasadena Cowboy: Growing Up in Southern California 1925 to 1947: John Church: 9780965307123: Amazon.com: Books
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Old 06-30-2013, 04:00 PM
 
Location: Las Flores, Orange County, CA
26,329 posts, read 93,761,592 times
Reputation: 17831
A couple more:

The Los Angeles Diaries: A Memoir: James Brown, Jerry Stahl: 9781582437200: Amazon.com: Books

and by the same author: "Award-winning author James Brown gained a cult following after chronicling his turbulent childhood and spiraling drug addiction in The Los Angeles Diaries.

This River picks up where Brown left off in his first memoir, describing his tenuous relationship with sobriety, telling of agonizing relapses, and tracking his attempts to become a better father.

This is the heartbreaking and at times uplifting tale of Brown’s battles, peeking into his former life as an addict and detailing his subsequent ascent to sobriety and fight for redemption."


Amazon.com: This River: A Memoir (9781582437217): James Brown: Books
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Old 06-30-2013, 04:08 PM
 
Location: Las Flores, Orange County, CA
26,329 posts, read 93,761,592 times
Reputation: 17831
Quote:
Originally Posted by majoun View Post
Finally, Luis Rodriguez' "Always Running" is the best L.A. gang memoir ever.
Finished this book a few months ago, a follow up to Always Running by the same author:

It Calls You Back: An Odyssey through Love, Addiction, Revolutions, and Healing: Luis J. Rodriguez: 9781416584179: Amazon.com: Books
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Old 08-06-2013, 08:11 PM
 
2,349 posts, read 5,436,140 times
Reputation: 3062
Fantastic book about life in Southern California during the 1930s, 40s, 50s, 60s. Don't let the title mislead you, it certainly is about the Beach Boys but a solid 25% of it is side stories of the growth of Southern California ("The Southern California Experience"), with a slant on the rock scene. Great back stories of Dick Dale and Herb Albert and Jan and Dean and Phil Spector for example. The Beach Boys dad Murray started out as a mid level manager working for Goodyear and AirTech in Los Angeles and El Segundo areas. Lots of neat references to the towns of Inglewood and Hawthorne and Lawndale when they weren't quite part of the homogenous LA basin but rather seperate communities. Stories of Hot Rods, Drive In antics, schools, and jobs. Extremely well written book.

The Nearest Far Away Place: Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys, and the Southern California Experience: Timothy White: 9780805047028: Amazon.com: Books
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Old 08-06-2013, 09:48 PM
 
Location: Los Angeles County, CA
29,094 posts, read 26,008,825 times
Reputation: 6128
Ecology of Fear - Mike Davis.

Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gangmember - Sanyika Shakur.

Wallbangin': Graffitti and Gangs in L.A. - Susan A. Phillips.
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