4 comments about Call Someplace Paradise.

1. Pat Hartman is probably the most underrated journalist in America. Her style is eloquent, her vocabulary enormous, and her razor-sharp wit carves startling insights out of ordinary events. There is nothing ordinary, however, about this chronicle of six years in Venice Beach. This book is a time capsule spanning America's transition from unchecked freedom to ugly conservatism. If you're looking for character studies for a novel, you'll find hundreds of them: transgender rollerskaters, cutthroat comedians, heartbreakingly homeless bag ladies, and a spleef of hippies slipping past their prime. Timothy Leary's best (and worst) acid trips pale by comparison. One caveat: Pat Hartman's greatest work is yet to come. This book is full intense bursts of immaculate writing. I can't wait to see her stretch out. Get a first edition of this book so you can tell your kids you were into Pat Hartman *before* she won the Pulitzer (and so you can tell them what the late '70s were like -- since you probably can't remember).



2. Pat Hartman is probably the most underrated journalist in America. Her style is eloquent, her vocabulary enormous, and her razor-sharp wit carves startling insights out of ordinary events. There is nothing ordinary, however, about this chronicle of six years in Venice Beach. This book is a time capsule spanning America's transition from unchecked freedom to ugly conservatism. If you're looking for character studies for a novel, you'll find hundreds of them: transgender rollerskaters, cutthroat comedians, heartbreakingly homeless bag ladies, and a spleef of hippies slipping past their prime. Timothy Leary's best (and worst) acid trips pale by comparison. One caveat: Pat Hartman's greatest work is yet to come. This book is full intense bursts of immaculate writing. I can't wait to see her stretch out. Get a first edition of this book so you can tell your kids you were into Pat Hartman *before* she won the Pulitzer (and so you can tell them what the late '70s were like -- since you probably can't remember).



3. This tribute to Venice, California will appeal to any who have a special interest in Southern California history and travel: Hartman's chapters cover 1978-84 and provide intimate first-person experiences and reflections on the culture and people she encounters in the area. An intriguing, insightful collection of vignettes.



4. Pat Hartman may be the best undiscovered writer in America. This could all change with the recent publication of her two new books about her experiences living in Venice from 1978-1984. GHOST TOWN is about her private life, her home life in the Oakwood ghetto of Venice. CALL SOMEPLACE PARADISE focuses on the public side of her life in Venice. All the legendary Venice street freaks are here, such as Swami X, the mad street sage of the Venice boardwalk. All the characters are brought to life with Hartman's lively pen and wry sense of humor. A lot of books have been written about the Haight Ashbury in the 60s and all that stuff. But Venice during the late 70s, early 80s may have been the peak flowering of America's bohemian counterculture. All the 60s hippie-types are still going strong, with the 70s punks chomping at the bit adding new life to the scene. Check this book out, soon to be a classic bit of Americana.

No comments about Zagatsurvey 2003 Los Angeles.

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5 comments about La Hot City - Oz Reloaded.

1. As a full-fledged L.A. native, as soon as I saw this book I had to own it. It's a stunning L.A. anthology with great, GREAT, pictures and a stylized, free-flowing libretto. It's organized in a lyrical fashion- each heading is the title of a movie, and elements are grouped according to an over-arching mythology that is not purely fame or filmically oriented. What makes Los Angeles L.A. is all types of glamour, and this book sees the city clearly- dreamy, arcane, seductive. A must for native and non-native Angelenos alike.



2. Although very contemporary, with up-to-the-minute photographic references and cultural Los Angeles stuff, this book comes off as being cooly retro. I love it, and I checked out the other stuff this guy has written. This book is actually the second in a series, and I've bought that one as well. It's such a great read, and it's the type of thing you can just leave lying around.



3. Simply-put, this is the perfect coffee table book; the poetry is beautifully and thougtfully put together, and the pics are plentiful, colorful, and will inspire nostalgic daydreams. It's like a giant fairy-tale account of L.A., rife with all the things that make the city great. I found it to be very revealing in how Angelenos see the character of their city. Check this one out.



4. St. George has done something very special here. Not since 'Hollywood Babylon' have word and image collided in such a way as to bring to light the essential character of the city of L.A. Amongst the coterie of seemingly unrelated characters- Angeleyne, Robert Blake, Winona Ryder, Elizabeth Taylor, cardinals, hustlers, beach bunnies, gangsters, stars and starlets, a common center is found, from whence radiates associations, hidden meanings, and occult relationships, revelaed and brought together in the twilight language of the same feverish culture. Our icons and idols, in a very eerie effect, are found to share the same themes. A masterpiece. I was very impressed.



5. An amazing and masterfully-crafted work that, incredibly enough, captures the head, heart, and soul of Los Angeles. This is no ordinary picture-book. The bonding of eloquent but unpretentious verse with visceral photos creates an instant sensory and intellectual experience that will haunt you and bring you back for more.

1 comments about The Rough Guide to Los Angeles Map (Rough Guide City Maps).

1. This map covers a small area. And as we know, the LA area is very diffuse. If you'd like a map that only covers the touristy area around the Hollywood walk of fame, go for it. The map lacked coverage of areas of the western city beach communities both central and north. The map is printed on some kind of plastic that makes it tearproof and that feature works well, but it must be an expensive material because the map's just small. There are all these inserts that cover up areas that I needed.

No comments about Thomas Guide 2004 Los Angeles County Street Guide.

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No comments about Location spotlight: Embassy Suites Hotel Mandalay Beach Resort.(Meetings & Events Guide): An article from: Los Angeles Business Journal.

No comments about Afoot & Afield Los Angeles County: A Comprehensive Hiking Guide.

No comments about Los Angeles (World City Map).