Picturing Los Angeles

By Nancy Wilkman and Jon Wilkman

Book Overview

Drawing upon more than two hundred years of images and human experience in Los Angeles, Jon and Nancy Wilkman have gathered a telling array of newspaper photos, historical snapshots of the movie... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1586857339
• ISBN13: 9781586857332
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Gibbs Smith
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 3.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.0" x 1.3" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up

Customer Reviews

the dazzling history of the city with no history

This looks like a coffee table book, but it's really an incisive narrative accompanied by fascinating pictures. The authors give us a whirlwind tour of the explosive pattern of growth and change that is the true history of Los Angeles. Propelled by a colorful array of eccentrics and geniuses we see the city constantly reinventing itself and leaping into the future. I had so much fun reading it I almost forgot how bad the damn traffic is here!

Seeing Los Angeles Through Its Images

Jon and Nancy Wilkman have achieved an amazing feat. They have taken the history of Los Angeles as their canvas, and illustrated its past in a voluminous display of images from the beginning to the present, with a focus on each decade of the twentieth century. There is something for everyone in this book, and we see the city's history unfold through early photographs of downtown, the creation of such cultural venues as the Hollywood Bowl and the Coliseum, and the development of the San Fernando Valley. Movie stars, famous musicians, and other entertainers who made their mark are here, as are leading politicians, religious personalities, and sports figures. The vast ethnic diversity of the region is not something recent, as the authors make clear, but has long represented an essential aspect of the city's past. The sheer dynamism of the city thus comes through clearly, and the very nature of Los Angeles as one of the most photographed cities in the world makes this book, unique of its kind, a special addition to one's library. For not only are the pictures often startling in their originality and detail, but the accompanying text is clear, concise, and filled with insights that only long-time observers can bring to their subject. Significantly, the authors do not flinch from the uglier side of the city's history, with all its sordid details of crime, gangsters, and urban mayhem. That's a wise choice, since the purpose is not to glorify the city but to bring its history alive through both image and text. The approach works, and the reader is entertained, enervated, and ultimately enlightened.

GREAT READ!!!!

Whether you are a lifelong resident, transplant, or just interested in the history of the city, Picturing Los Angeles by Jon and Nancy Wilkman is the perfect book. The title may lead you to the conclusion that it is just another coffee table "picture book," but it is far more. It chronicles the history of "L.A." from the beginning in the 1700's up to present-day. It is just the right mix of photos and text. Most pages contain a photo annotated with a detailed caption. Just skimming through the photos and reading their captions gives you a quick idea of what the city is about. Each page of text complements the accompanying photo. I have lived in Los Angeles for forty years and "discovered" many facts about my city previously unknown to me. Highly recommended! Makes a great gift!

Great Gift

The vast majority of Angelinos are like me, transplants. I really didn't know that much about my city's past. PICTURING LOS ANGELES is a fun and fascinating look at L.A.'s history right up to the present. It's a stimulating read. What drew me into the book were all the captivating photos and captions. It's a book to keep on the coffee table that guests will thumb through and it's a book to read from cover to cover. I like the book so much I gave my best buddy one for Christmas. Great gift.

A wonderful surprise

When I saw the title, I was certain that this would be a "book of pictures", but I was really blown away by the incredible job the Wilkmans have done! I didn't think it possible to trace, through text and photos, the history, politics, tragedies and growth in such a beautifully written, marvelously illustrated book. As I skimmed it initially, I was amazed at the range of topics they were able to include and even more impressed by the respect they have for the various ethnic groups that came in the early years and stayed to help build Los Angeles. It's wonderful and I'm giving it as a gift to some young people because history comes alive in such a terrifc way in the book.