Los Angeles. Portrait of a City

A beautiful archive of both historic and nostalgic photographs, art and ephemera from the iconic City of Angels; I was in the lobby of a doctor’s office and while waiting I flipped through this book, only to get so entranced that I stopped to take a picture of the cover so that I could buy it later. This copy is going to be a gift for a family friend - but… there’s nothing wrong if I read a bit of it before I give it, right?

This is an incredible book! It's like a journey through the city of Los Angeles, showing all its amazing places and history. The pictures in the book are stunning, really capturing the beauty and vibe of L.A. It's not just a book; it's like an adventure across the city, showing famous spots and hidden gems. It's perfect for anyone who loves L.A. or wants to learn more about this vibrant city.

Taschen publishes great books. This is a high quality coffee table book with clear images and a strong binding. Love it.

GREAT

As a native Angeleno I appreciate the historical references in this book. I’m all about historical Los Angeles. They did a wonderful rendition. I bought the mini trying to be cheap and it turned out to be a wallet size version. I went ahead and paid the $60 plus bucks for my table version. Outstanding. What a great investment.

To a life-long New Yorker, Los Angeles is a foreign country, filled with vivid impressions -- warm all the time, unseemly pink and tourqouise neon pillars at the airport, lush vegetation, endless freeways, glittering Disney Center, lovely bungalow neighborhoods, downtown that stretches to Santa Monica, Hollywood emblazoned on the hill, Century City sprouting from somewhere, the Getty Center gleaming from its perch, Wilshire Boulevard marching through time and linking it all together, mammouth city hall, nostalgic Union Station, pinata and flower markets, new rapid transit, cars, cars, cars.... Of course, we all have mental images of the place, products of the media -- cops, movie stars, immigrants, water wars -- that shape a superficial understanding of LA. But in many ways it's a hard-to-navigate place -- I am not talking about the famed transportation routes, but about its culture and history. For the discerning visitor, there are visual hints of the past, wonderful surprises in the canyons and a shadow of a long-gone community here and there, but its full imprint is gone. At least it was gone until Los Angeles, Portrait of a City appeared this fall. Here, the city unfurls in word (Kevin Starr is simply brilliant) and in image (Jim Heimann's selections, extraordinary). We can see who made the city what it is today. We can sense the hopes, drive and ambition of its inhabitants over time and view its developing and ever-changing landscape. This book is a masterpiece.It makes the city no longer hard-to-navigate, no longer a foreign country but a beloved American icon.

Such a great book! Interesting look back in time.

This coffee table book is so much more than a coffee table book. It is a comprehensive and broad-spectrum visual and written evaluation of the city of Los Angeles and surrounding cities. Wonderful pictures, great information, a real pleasure to peruse and a learning experience as well. I have purchased three for family members and have asked for one for my birthday coming up soon.