L.A. Lore: A Scintillating Exploration of Los Angeles

By Stephen Brook

Book Overview

An exploration of Los Angeles - city of overpaid movie stars, airheads, Thai temples, gang warfare, Nobel Prize-winning scientists, illegal immigrants, trashitecture and thong bikinis. Stephen Brook... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312093217
• ISBN13: 9780312093211
• Release Date: January 1993
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 372 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 5.8" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

This is the same book as "L. A. Lore"

Having enjoyed "L.A. Lore" by Brook, I bought this book, thinking it would provide more of his insights about the city. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the identical book, but with a different title. It remains a great book. Los Angeles, like New York, is a city that people either love or hate, but nobody thinks it's boring. That is, unless your only exposure to it is reading the traditional travel guide with its listing of Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Disneyland and Universal Studios. Stephen Brook breaks out of that mold. An English writer who came to L.A. in the early Nineties, he proceeded to criss-cross the city, visiting virtually every major neighborhood, from Pasadena to Watts, from Beverly Hills to Long Beach. Not only did he bring an Englishman's fresh eye to the city, but he somehow arranged introductions to some of the most interesting people in it. In reading the book, one gathers that his open mind resulted in their opening their minds and hearts to him. He is simply a nice person, which comes through in his writing. The writing is succinct. Each of the 32 chapters consists of approximately 10 to 12 pages discussing a different aspect of the city (His breakfast with Carver Mead at Caltech, in Chapter 20 is alone worth the price of the book). Brook's forte is architecture. Los Angeles arguably has the finest architecture in America, and Brook provides addresses, the name of the architect, and a brief description of each building, yet somehow avoids sounding like a cataloguer. He is also strong in describing the various museums throughout the city, many of which I was not aware of. At the same time, he is equally at home discussing the political, educational and gang situation in the city. All in all, a fine book.

An Intelligent Guide to L.A.

Los Angeles, like New York, is a city that people either love or hate, but nobody thinks it's boring. That is, unless your only exposure to it is reading the traditional travel guide with its listing of Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Disneyland and Universal Studios. Stephen Brook breaks out of that mold. An English writer who came to L.A. in the early Nineties, he proceeded to criss-cross the city, visiting virtually every major neighborhood, from Pasadena to Watts, from Beverly Hills to Long Beach. Not only did he bring an Englishman's fresh eye to the city, but he somehow arranged introductions to some of the most interesting people in it. In reading the book, one gathers that his open mind resulted in their opening their minds and hearts to him. He is simply a nice person, which comes through in his writing. The writing is succinct. Each of the 32 chapters consists of approximately 10 to 12 pages discussing a different aspect of the city (His breakfast with Carver Mead at Caltech, in Chapter 20 is alone worth the price of the book). Brook's forte is architecture. Los Angeles arguably has the finest architecture in America, and Brook provides addresses, the name of the architect, and a brief description of each building, yet somehow avoids sounding like a cataloguer. He is also strong in describing the various museums throughout the city, many of which I was not aware of. At the same time, he is equally at home discussing the political, educational and gang situation in the city. All in all, a fine book.