Los Angeles: Capital of the Third World

by David Rieff

Book Overview

In "Los Angeles: Capital of the Third World," David Rieff looks at a city that was long the epitome of the American Dream and is now, for many, the emblem of the American urban nightmare. Writing before the riots of 1992, Rieff found not a city of dreams but a city of bitter contradictions. A city that, like the United States itself, was being transformed by immigrants and refugees from Latin America and East Asia from an extension of Europe to a...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0671671707
• ISBN13: 9780671671709
• Release Date: September 1991
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 270 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.4" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Los Angeles by David Rieff - recommended

As a native Southern Californian, I started this book with a good degree of scepticism; I finished it thinking it was one of the most engaging, clearly written books on SoCal I had read in years. If you want to understand LA, and its place in the state, and the world, this is an accessible and enjoyable introduction. LA came alive for Rieff in ways that he didn't always immediately understand or anticipate; he translates his own discovery by weaving LA history, anecdotes, and beautiful word pictures together in a clear, engaging style. You may want to read other books on LA after this - and that can only be a good thing. Rieff will encourage you to ask more questions about LA, and what its development means for the future of urban development in America.