Books About Los Angeles
Famous authors, novelists, essayists, memoirists and historians have always been fascinated, appalled, captivated, horrified, and otherwise overwhelmed by the City of Angels. Our L.A. Electric Travel books about Los Angeles highlight works of fiction, humor, history, social commentary and guide books that will help you move beyond the media cliches and dig into the essence of America's most elusive and future leaning city.
History
Southern California: An island on the land by Carey McWilliams
One of the definitive books about Los Angeles and the growth of Southern California: One of the inspirations for the screenplay Chinatown.
Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies by Reyner Banham
Written by an eccentric Brit who bicycled through Death Valley and fell in love with Los Angeles.
L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America's most Seductive City by John Buntin
Before Daryl Gates and MS-13 there was Chief William Parker and Bugsy Siegal, L.A. Noir portrays the history of cops vs. gangsters in one of our favorite true crime books about Los Angeles.
Land of a Thousand Dances: Chicano Rock 'n' Roll from Southern California by David Reyes and Tom Waldman
Tells the story of Chicano rock pioneers from Richie Valens to Los Lobos.
City of Nets by Otto Friedrich
A social and cultural portrait of Hollywood in the 1940's.
Social Commentary
Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion by Gregory Boyle. The founder of Homeboy Industries describes how compassion is at the center of his crusade to help former gang members.
The Reluctant Metropolis by William Fulton. How LA became the nearly unmanageable sprawl it is today, and a few ideas on how to make the city more liveable.
The Other Side: Notes from the New L.A., Mexico City and Beyond by Ruben Martinez. The Emmy award-winning journalist explores the new Latino culture and its American epicenter in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles Novelists
James Ellroy: The demon dog of American mystery authors probes the dark underbelly of LA in the 1940's and 1950's.
Aimee Bender: A quirky, award winning author whose work often detours into magical realism.
Michael Connelly: A former crime reporter for the L.A. Times, Connelly is the alarmingly prolific author of over twenty mystery novels viewing life and death in Los Angeles through the eyes of cops, lawyers and reporters.
Janet Fitch: Author of "White Oleander", one of the all time best selling books about Los Angeles, Janet Fitch writes about the dark edge of California dreaming and the high intensity emotions of life in L.A.
Joan Didion -- A novelist and a journalist, Didion has been turning her incisive intelligence and rabid curiosity on California for decades.
Walter Mosley -- South LA in the post-war years is the setting for Mosley's mystery novels featuring Easy Rawlins.
Raymond Chandler: His creation of the acerbic, world-weary yet noble private eye Philip Marlowe defined the LA detective novel, and spawned the most colorful tough guy talk ever written.
James M. Cain: Cain's trilogy of Southern California novels -- "The Postman Always Rings Twice". "Double Indemnity" and "Mildred Pierce" have never been surpassed for their laconic, hard-bitten realism.
Nina Revoyr: Japanese-Polish-American author Revoyr writes about our city's hidden heritage, often exploring the early years of the Japanese community in L.A.
Mark Haskell Smith: Mayhem, bad behavior, greed, marijuana competitions and the most outrageous characters who ever crawled out of an L.A. bungalow are the hallmarks of Smith's black comedy books about Los Angeles.
Nathanael West: West's Hollywood novel "The Day of the Locust" is a classic, a savagely lowbrow tale set among the backlot hangers-on and battered dreamers who hope to make it big in the movies.
John Fante -- The ultimate hard luck LA author, Fante spun tales of strivers and strugglers in southern California, continuing to dictate his novels as he went blind.
Los Angeles Guide Books
L.A. Bizarro by Anthony Lovett and Matt Maranian. A humorous escapade through all that is obscure, absurd and perverse in L.A.
An Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles by David Gebhard and Robert Winter. The bible of LA architecture; every significant building in every style imaginable is catalogued here in crisp, informative prose.
Counter Intelligence by Jonathan Gold. L.A's Pulitzer Prize winning food writer follows his fearless palate to ethnic outposts, holes-in-the-wall and hidden kitchens across So Cal.
Secret Stairs: A Walking Guide to the Historic Staircases of Los Angeles by Charles Fleming. Novelist and entertainment reporter Fleming has written one of the most unexpected books about Los Angeles. This unique guide leads you to 200 outdoor staircases tucked away in LA's hills and dales; perfect for day hikes and a trip back to pre-automobile Los Angeles.
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