1 comments about Forcing Nature: Trees in Los Angeles.

1. First of all - for this price - you cannot go wrong. It is a big beautiful hard covered book. Anyone would like it as a gift.
   I, myself, was given this book as a gift and am simply amazed by the work. Haas' photographs are sometimes sad, sometimes funny and always intelligent and interesting. He captures trees all over the city in color and in black and white - trees that seem miraculous given the fact that the city is so unwelcoming. As you look at a picture of a fiery red tree exploding from the sidewalk in front of a convenience store, with cars speeding by graffiti competing for attention, you cannot help but be startled and overwhelmed. We keep the book in our living room and everyone who looks at it adores it. The essays are really really good also, and it is nice to have intelligent commentary about the art. But the pictures speak eloquently for themselves.

No comments about California Sights and Scenes of Los Angeles (California Sights and Scenes of Series.).

No comments about Los Angeles (guía turística).

4 comments about A Parent's Guide to Los Angeles.

1. This book provides all the basics -- sites, how to get there, prices, hours, amenities -- but it also rings true with an air of authenticity and experience. This is a real mom who went to these places with real kids and went through all the same things that everyone goes through -- standing in lines, eating good or bad concession food, trying to give the kids a fun day instead of just wearing them out. We've actually used and benefited from the info in the book and I recommend it wholeheartedly.



2. I have found this book to be totally enjoyable, humorous and was extremely helpful when we took our grandkids to visit friends and sightsee in the L.A. area. I have many friends who like to travel and I will certainly recommend this book as a real time saver while in L.A. Excellent!



3. Finally -- an all-inclusive source of information for favorite aunties (to stay that way) and god-parents too! Although I have no children, I have scads of nieces and nephews who visit from back east; plus my friends have children who sometimes like hanging out with me (and I with them). For years I have cut articles about "fun places to go" out of newspapers and magazines and stuffed them into drawers, until I have no drawers left. But no more! This fun and well-written guide has it all and is geared specifically to children and their grown-up buddies, not just vacationing families. I especially enjoy the photos taken by the author's children, which prove they really did enjoy these places. Not only do I recommend this guide to vacationing families, I also sing its praises for Southern California adults with young friends and relatives who visit often.



4. Excellent book! Author Kathie Weir describes hundreds of enriching things for parents and children to do in the greater L.A. area. As a longtime resident of southern California, the author has visited most of these sites with her children, so her descriptions include a personal and honest touch; for example, in evaluating one museum, she writes, "Most of the under-twelve set will be happier elsewhere, but if you have one of those super-brainy, bored-with-everything, and a bit off-beat teens, this museum is IT." I liked her warm, down-to-earth writing style. Most of us---who think of famous amusement parks when we think of L.A.---are not aware of the area's wealth of museums, historical sites, wildlife preserves, train rides, gardens, annual events and much more. For instance, I was surprised to learn that Southeast Los Angeles has a Civil War Museum. The Union Army was stationed on the West Coast during the Civil War, and the Officer's Quarters of Drum Barracks now serves as a museum. The book lists many other places as intriguing as this. A Parent's Guide to Los Angeles is also very well organized. The author divides Los Angeles County into four areas, lists the sites by geographical section, and includes clear driving directions to each one. In fact, she devotes a whole chapter to tips on driving in L.A., offering helpful advice about coping with freeways and rush hours. Weir most definitely understands what it's like to travel with children, which gives her book even more credibility. She writes, "Parents never know what might strike a child's fancy" and confesses that when she took her children to see the great sights of Europe, the part they talked about the most afterwards was feeding the pigeons. How true this rings for anyone who has traveled with children! "An afternoon at a playground followed by hotdogs, cooked in the park's firepit can be a cherished memory for a kid," she advises. I was impressed with her attitude that sightseeing is a valuable form of education for children, but that "every family is different and every child has his or her own interests." This book provides a wide range of choices for any family's individual needs. I highly recommend this book.

2 comments about In Search of Literary L.A..

1. If you are able to wade through the author's poor writing style, there are some interesting nuggets of information within, though read cautiously; there are a great many dubious anecdotal stories for all the hard facts of Los Angeles' rarely documented literary past. Probably the best available (for now).`



2. Way back in the 1970s and '80s, the five or six practicing intellectuals in Los Angeles were morbidly embarrassed about their burg's lack of cultural history.... That all began to change with Lionel Rolfe's thesis in "In Search of Literary L.A." -- the fact that, like it or not, a sizeable number of world-class writers lived and worked in L.A., and produced some classic books there. Now it's become an obsessive pastime in L.A. for cultural recyclers to rummage around in far-flung nooks and crannies in search of historic and cultural plaudits (however questionable) to trumpet, but Rolfe was the first to even suggest that "Literary L.A." was a valid concept rather than a good title for a blank book. As such, he deserves some respect for being a prophet without honor, doing the unnecessary for the ungrateful. If those people who have just started to read are disgruntled because Rolfe left out their favorite scribbler, or would prefer a more academic writing style to "In Search of Literary L.A."'s jocular yarn-spinning, all they have to do is wait for the inevitable spate of bandwagon-jumpers to start publishing their opinions. Can "In Search of Liteary L.A.: The Movie" be far behind? END

No comments about A Kid's Guide to Southern California (Gulliver Travels).

No comments about Los Angeles: A Pictorial Celebration.

No comments about Los Angeles County 2004 (Mccormack's Guides. Los Angeles County).

1 comments about Time Out Los Angeles 3 (Time Out Los Angeles Guide).

1. For natives, and non-natives alike this guide is a must have. The restaurant choices are solid and I have made much use of the accommodations information when out of town guests come to visit. It is geared to a somewhat younger crowd, but is FULL of useful information for all. It prevents you from wasting any time looking for places to go and places to eat that aren't worthy. All of their recommedations are on the money.

No comments about Thomas Guide 2003 Los Angeles/Ventura: Street Guide and Directory (Thomas Guide Los Angeles/Ventura Counties Street Guide & Directory).