California Books

If you'd like to take any of several self-guided automobile tours of Los Angeles and nearby areas, Laura Massino Smith's books are excellent. Each tour book has clear directions and easy-to-read maps, lots of fascinating notes and information, plus photos of what to look for. I've lived in LA for over twenty-five years, and Smith's books have surprised me with things I'd never seen or hadn't noticed. There are three of her books in my glove compartment so far (Hollywood, Silverlake, and Hancock Park/Miracle Mile) and I'll be getting the rest as well.

These are great guides to view all the architectural gems in my neighborhood and surrounding areas. Highly recommended for locals or people who visit Los Angeles often. You wouldn't think there are so many historical houses and buildings to see in this town, but Laura Massino Smith has compiled them into these handy books with great photos as well.

I loved Laura's architectural tour of Hollywood. Her directions are clear. She includes lots of interesting places that are both on and off the beaten path. The pictures enable the reader to easily identify the buildings she features. And, she includes helpful descriptions of the architecture and interesting facts about the buildings' history. Great tool for travellers intersted in architecture.

If you'd like to take any of several self-guided automobile tours of Los Angeles and nearby areas, Laura Massino Smith's books are excellent. Each tour book has clear directions and easy-to-read maps, lots of fascinating notes and information, plus photos of what to look for. I've lived in LA for over twenty-five years, and Smith's books have surprised me with things I'd never seen or hadn't noticed. There are three of her books in my glove compartment so far (Hollywood, Silverlake, and Hancock Park/Miracle Mile) and I'll be getting the rest as well.

A lot is packed into a great "carry with you as you tour around the hard to fully describe area of Silverlake". I give my `I keep in my car' copy to visiting out of towners so they don't have to figure out what the big deal is; it's all in the book and they can then see it for themselves right in front of them. A wonderful series of architecture books for both natives and visitors of Los Angeles.

These are great guides to view all the architectural gems in my neighborhood and surrounding areas. Highly recommended for locals or people who visit Los Angeles often. You wouldn't think there are so many historical houses and buildings to see in this town, but Laura Massino Smith has compiled them into these handy books with great photos as well.

see my review under listing of ART OF GRT HWD PORTRT
other edition.

John Kobal's The Art of the Great Hollywood Portrait Photographers is as good as his book on Hollywood with Kevin Brownlow, which is one of the essential books to read (and one of the essential TV series to watch) for anyone interested in movies.

Kobal gives an illuminating account of the function of the movies during the Depression, contrasted with eg Walker Evan's photography, and explains 'glamour', tying movie stars in with the Venus from Milos and the Mona Lisa quite convincingly. Well thought, well written. Chapters follow on the organisation of the studios, how publicity was done as it has rarely been done before or since. And some beautiful images - Garbo by Ruth Harriet Louise, Clara Bow by Nicholas Murray and Eugene Richie stand out, but there are many. The images are exceptional, taken by some of the greatest artists of the camera and the volume layout does the images justice. All complemented with reminiscences from the stars and photographers themselves. The very best history, anecdotal, with many perspectives and implications explored, and written with love.

This book has touched a deep chord sensitive to vanished beauty. The stars are now just names, some of them not even that. And of course they were not the same as their carefully crafted images displayed in this book. These evoke not only the stars themselves but the fact that they brought hope to many who perhaps would have found it otherwise hard to deal with the Depression - all those hopes, fears, ambitions, petty, grand and mean, silly and endearing. Only the images of beauty remain!

Publisher: Knopf; (October 12, 1980)
First edition copy. This book is oversized and OUTSTANDING!

291 pages of glamour. 1925 - 1940 is the tops in Hollywood glamour. Though the 40s weren't bad either.

These are some magnificent photoplates. Superbly printed in this volume. Even the pickiest at quality (like me) will be happy. Amazing images not shown in ohter books. The Kobal colection is vast and bar none the best. This is a wonderful selection from him, that he put together in this book.

See more of my reviews for more must have full page or near full page portrait glamour books from this Golden era.

BUY THIS BOOK, then thank me later.

What a wonderful read! Complex and intriguiging, covering a wide range of complex moral, physical, and emotional predicaments of the Latino community of Southern California, making them accessible to the reader in the most inclusive and spell-binding way. No simplistic situations here; Mr. Olivas is advancing American writing from the Latino perspective to the level of the great South American authors.

This books contains a series of shorts stories that are freshly written and enticing to read - at times funny and always fascinating. Although fiction, the author's references to actual locations in Los Angeles (including Pico-Union) sometimes transported me back to the "old neighborhood". Enjoyed this books many short stories involving themes of racism, Latin culture and sexuality. Highly recommend.

Assumption And Other Stories is an anthology of short stories by the demonstrably talented Chicano author Daniel A. Olivas (Deputy Attorney General, California Department of Justice). His diverse stories intermesh themes of human sexuality, tragedy, challenge, loss, gender, and ethnicity , ranging from a young lawyer who tells her parents about her lesbianism, to the dark sexual rumors of surrounding the suicide of a popular young priest at a Catholic school, to the terror that strikes families when a white supremacist starts shooting at a Jewish children's day camp. Highly recommended reading, these original and memorable stories clearly document Daniel A. Olivas as one of the best and most original Hispanic American authors working today.

In 1994, Mary Palevsky embarked on a personal quest, and with the publication of ATOMIC FRAGMENTS: A DAUGHTER'S QUESTIONS, we have all become the recipients of its outcome. What she sought was to understand the people and the times that had created the first atomic bomb and ushered in the nuclear age.

Palevsky's parents worked in Los Alamos on the Manhattan Project during the last years of World War II. Their efforts in the development of the atomic bomb helped to bring the war to an end, yet in later years they expressed regrets at having contributed to the creation of such a terrible weapon. Her father especially struggled at the end of his life to "reconcile the moral complexities of the bomb." After the deaths of her parents, their questions became a large part of Palevsky's legacy. She wondered if the other Manhattan Project scientists had misgivings, so she contacted and interviewed team members still living, among them Hans Bethe, Edward Teller, Philip Morrison, Joseph Rotblat, David Hawkins, Robert Wilson, and Herbert York. What she learned surprised her. Almost all of them still believed that they did the right thing. ATOMIC FRAGMENTS: A DAUGHTER'S QUESTIONS is the result of Palevsky's verbal journeys with these men, and it is a book that answers questions for us all. The scientists openly shared memories of their work at Los Alamos and their thoughts on its result. They reflected on the secrecy, the atmosphere of the times, the contributions of Project Director Robert Oppenheimer, and their views on the decision to drop the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They also spoke of the controversial postwar development of the hydrogen bomb as well as their endeavors to control the threat of a nuclear arms race.

This book offers a beautifully written history lesson in very human terms as Palevsky skillfully weaves dialogue with personal observations and her own impeccable research. Having grown up in Los Alamos myself, I, too, have pondered questions concerning the development and use of the bomb and the cold war that ensued. This book has clarified my thinking more than any other I have read on the subject. It also confirms my opinion that the scientists interviewed were not only great scientists but also great men. I envy Mary Palevsky's time with them, and I thank her for writing a book that allows its readers such an inner view of their thoughts.

Atomic Fragments, A Daughter's Questions, is a stunning book, beautifully written, dealing with the tough moral questions that arose after the atomic bomb was built and dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Mary Palevsky, daughter of two scientists who worked at Los Alamos, knows first-hand how profoundly their lives were changed by their roles as "bomb builders". Her father, appalled by the use of the bomb, never again worked on any type of weapons research or development. Her mother gave up her science career.

Mr. Palevsky worked for more than thirty years as an experimental nuclear physicist at the Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island, retiring in 1981, after a series of strokes. Throughout his life he had deep misgivings about the use of the bomb and his participation in its creation. In his waning days, he spent long hours talking with Mary about his life and work and philosophical conflicts.

After his death, Mary took on the task of addressing these moral complexities through a series of interviews with seven of the key figures in atomic history: Hans Bethe, Edward Teller, Joseph Rotblat, Philip Morrison, Robert Wilson, Herbert York and the philosopher, David Hawkins. Atomic Fragments is a record of those interviews, her quest to understand her late parents and the forces that shaped their lives...and hers. Her interviewing style is penetrating, yet not intrusive, giving each man an opportunity to rethink his own views on these monumental issues. The author's accompanying text and personal vignettes weave a thoughtful story of the remarkable circumstances surrounding one of the watershed events of the twentieth century.

Mary Palevsky has written a brilliant book which forces the reader to confront some of the major ethical issues of our time: scientific research, nuclear weapon decision-making, and public policy formation. It is a "must read" for thoughtful people of all generations.

Born just after the war ended, I always wondered how "we" could have dropped those awful bombs on Japan. Later, as a social scientist myself, with a particular interest in moral quandaries, the whole issue of the rightness or wrongness of the decision has fascinated me. Now, for the first time, Palevsky's ATOMIC FRAGMENTS takes on this issue in a human, compelling, heartfelt manner.

After the death of her much-loved father, who was involved in the science of that era and who spent much effort later on to ensure such horrors would never again need to be unleashed, Palevsky was drawn to interview many of the physicists, now aging, who were directly responsible for those bombs. She magnificently intersperses her questions, their responses, and her impressions -- allowing readers to feel as though we were there too.

I especially appreciate the lack of easy conclusions. In the best tradition of qualitative research, Palevsky asks, reports, wonders, considers -- and leaves the unanswerable unanswered.

I adore exclusive dining, which hardly appears in the regular guides. I have visited several restaurants reviewed by the Avantguide and I had a blast.

When I last arrived to San Francisco it was pretty late and I had trouble finding a place where I could eat. Avantguide's section on Late Night Dining saved me this time. It contains the right info, especially when you are starving.

This book has information I did not find in any other guidebook. It's got underground stuff as well as the best of what you need to do. This book made my trip to San Francisco.

On the surface, Awaiting Orders (Idylls Press, August 2006, paperback, 236 pages) is the story of young men, waiting for life's next move. They have assembled together in what appears to be a paradise situation - recent graduates of military institutions, they have nothing more responsible to do than lounge around in beachfront living, awaiting their next military assignment. Given today's military situation, is seems hard to remember that the era surrounding the first Persian Gulf War was a time of cutbacks and troop stand downs.

In the book, we meet a cast of characters who are developed wonderfully by Catholic author Farrell O'Gorman. Although the majority of the story is told through the eyes of Wes, we quickly see how his story line is interwoven with that of his friends, both male and female. It is these relationships that are at the core of Awaiting Orders. This is not a war story, or a book about the military. Although it does contain tactical information and is well based in its historical context, the characters and their interactions are truly at the heart of this book.

In the end, it becomes apparent that it is in fact a less noticeable character in the story that truly drives the message of the book home. John, Wes' roommate, seems to operate at times on the periphery of the storyline. However, John's relationship with Wes and with so many of the others in this book is really the focal point. A second and closer reading of the book brought me to the perspective that John is ultimately, in his own quiet way, leading each of his friends in a unique fashion to his or her own vocation or calling in life.

Set in a time so different from today's military climate, this book caught my attention from the first page and kept me glued to it until the very end. I am pleased to give Awaiting Orders my highest recommendation.

This is a fresh look at how the military operates - how modern soldiers serve in war time from the perspective of what appear to be very real people.

I recommend this book to anyone who would like to read a good story but who also is interested in exploring an important view of life and its purpose.

I was engaged by the story. The main characters, just out of various military colleges, go on numerous "road trips" while awaiting their military assignments. I found myself reading the book first very quickly because I wanted to know the outcomes of these adventures as well as each person's final military assignment.

However, I also found myself re-reading sections, in effect, reading the book twice. I needed to figure out how the author was informing the feelings of his characters. I guess there is a little bit of all the characters in each of us, however, I found the main character most interesting. He has it very nice/easy (a cush "assignment" while awaiting his real orders) but there is an empty feeling, a void, he needs to fill. Anyone familiar with Walker Percy's main characters would know it as the "malaise" found so frequently 20th century America. The author does a wonderful and original job of having his main character deal with and explore this issue.

Three different types of readers will enjoy this book. One who wants a story to read and nothing else; another who appreciates the underlying significance in the story. Or, if you are like me, a reader who will like both.

Dude, H.W.F. Saggs you are THE MAN (Notice how THE MAN is capitalized). This book really dishes out the skinny on ancient Mesopatamia, and homey take it from me this civilization is DOPE!! He begins by describing the studs(archaeologists, historians,etc.)who rediscovered a lot of the ancient Mesopotamian stuff. Then he breaks it down from the neolithic all the way to the end of the superfly Neo-Babylonian Empire. Saggs style is quite lucid and the pics add a lot to the material Saggs presents in this work. He really does an awesome job at introducing the amazing civilizations that made up ancient Mesopotamia. I especially like the part with the III Ur that dude Shulgi was totally sweet!! Saggs you must be butta' cause you on a roll!! In other words I highly recommend this book.

Saggs puts together a very intriguing review of life in Early Mesopotamia, using archaeological evidence and historical texts. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, even though the title is a bit misleading. I highly recommend this book to any student doing research on the early settlements in the Sumer and Akkad region. The book covers briefly the Uruk period and in much more detail the Agade , Ur III, and old babylonian periods. Another book that you would also find of great interest is H. Crawfords book called "Sumer and the Sumerians". She examines the Uruk period in more detail than Saggs. Both books are of great value Professor, Student, and novelist alike.

I found myself unable to put this book down. However, I feel that the title is a bit misleading in that while it does cover the Babylonians it also covers a whole lot more. To me the book served as an excellent summary of the history of ancient Mesopotamia from the Sumerians right on through the Babylonians. I borrowed it from the university library and ordered my own copy after I had read it. mwp

When many people visit California to tour wineries, they head for Napa Valley on the weekend and sit in traffic jams for hours on route 29. Realizing that everyone in the slowly moving train may not be totally sober, the visitors think about how much they would like to be someplace else. A little known fact is that there are back roads into virtually every wine region in California that offer stunning vistas, gorgeous greenery and constantly changing scenes around every curve.

Backroads of the California Wine Country is a great resource for those inexperienced visitors. Otherwise, these well-meaning travelers will miss the best of what the wine country has to offer: Scintillating scenery!

The photographs do a great job of picking up on the amazing sights. Here are a few of my favorites:

p. 6 -- The moon rises over vineyards in Napa County's Carneros region

p. 11 -- A dramatic sunset over Napa Valley wine country

p. 13 -- Cirrus clouds float above the hills of the Redwood Valley of Mendocino County

pp. 18-19 -- The early morning sky glows orange in the hills above Ukiah

p. 22 -- Orr Springs Road twists and turns through some of the most pristine and dramatic landscapes in wine country

p. 30 -- This lovely tree-lined drive leads to Fetzer Vineyards, a wholly organic winery and the sixth-largest premium wine producer in the country

p. 31 -- The warm valleys around Hopland offer an ideal climate for growing grapes as well as apples and pears

p. 34 -- Mount Konocti, illuminated by the setting sun, looms large above this Lake County vineyard

p. 35 -- Peaceful at sunrise, Clear Lake State Park

p. 35 -- The vibrant flower gardens of Tulip Hill Winery

p. 38 -- A distant moon sets beyond a winter vineyard in the Valley of the Moon

pp. 42-43 -- Vineyards stretch across the Alexander Valley in northern Sonoma County

p. 47 -- Downtown Geyserville is lined with charming buildings

p. 83 -- A rainbow forms

p. 90 -- Hot air ballooning

p. 94 -- Winery at Groth Vineyards

p. 99 -- Grape vines and mustard plants

Nice work, Mr. Crabbe!

The text is equally inspired with a nice mix of California history, wine background, local features, and suggestions for activities you can enjoy. The text is also well endowed with maps to show you the directions of the backroads that you are being encouraged to pursue.

Here are some of the unexpected materials:

p. 24 -- Seabiscuit's home in Willits

p. 36 -- Organic farming methods

p. 45 -- Cyrus Alexander's founding of the Alexander Valley

p. 61 -- Jack London in the Sonoma Valley

p. 89 -- The soil of Rutherford

p. 108 -- Apple Hill, east of Placerville

p. 117 -- The Gold Rush

p. 125 -- Covered bridges

p. 133 -- Steinbeck's world

Here are the areas covered:

The Redwood Valley in Mendocino County
Anderson Valley
Hopland and the McDowell Valley
Lake County
Alexander Valley
Dry Creek Valley
The Russian River Valley
Green Valley
Valley of the Moon
Sonoma Valley
Northern Napa Valley
St. Helena
Eastern Napa Valley
Yountville
Oakville
Mount Veeder
Town of Napa
Wooden Valley
Los Carneros
El Dorado County
Shenandoah Valley
Calaveras County
Santa Cruz Mountains
Carmel Valley
Salinas Valley
San Juan Bautista
Paso Robles
Edna Valley
Santa Barbara County
Santa Ynez Valley

Nice work, Ms. Misuraca!

Don't miss this gorgeous volume. It'll transform your life if you follow its advice.

I lived in the Bay Area for several years and to be honest, the Wine Country is not really my cup of tea. However, the images in this book by Gary Crabbe are amazing and makes me feel as if I were there and enjoying myself. It takes a truly dedicated photographer to make such a wonderful collection of images of Wine Country. Many photographers have published photos of the Wine Country but these are some of the best photos I've seen from there.

The text by Karen Misuraca is well-written as well. It's informative going over a touch of history without over doing it and takes you on a literary road trip through the heart of the Wine Country. The photos and text compliment each other well and the book has a fair amount of both. In 160 pages, it's packed with meat as it works both as a photo book and travel guide.

If you'd like a personally signed copy, Mr. Crabbe is selling them through his website as well.

There are other books on touring California's wine country, but BACKROADS OF THE CALIFORNIA WINE COUNTRY: YOUR GUIDE TO THE WINE COUNTRY'S MOST SCENIC BACKROAD ADVENTURES has journeys even residents may not know about. One-day excursions for weekend travelers and wine lovers chart some of the lesser-traveled routes of the wine region from central California through Santa Cruz and north to Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino counties. Gorgeous black and white and color photos pack a bright treatment which details wines, scenery and other attractions - all beyond the usual tourist routes.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This is a very well written account of obsession that escalates into absolute madness. I found it very difficult to put this book down. Since the other reviewers have done an excellent job of summarizing the story, I won't be redundant.

The author has done a wonderful job of writing a true crime story that reads like a novel.

I highly recommend it!!

This beautifully written, highly detailed and extraordinarily resarched book probes into the case of a fatal attraction.

Tanya Tarasoff is a bright Russian-American girl attending a local community college in Berkely, California. She hopes to be accepted at Berkeley. Her father, a cruel, domineering problem drinker appears to have some rather paleolithic views of women in general. He verbally and physically mistreats his wife and Tanya's younger brother and sister. He snoops in Tanya's room, roots through her drawers and reads her mail. Tanya spends as little time as she possibly can at home, preferring the company of her fat friend Cindy. Cindy is described as Tanya's opposite number. Noncerebral and not academically inclined, Cindy appears to be more interested in the dating scene and is perfectly content to remain in a community college.

Tanya's aspirations are much greater. She takes a cultural dance class at Berkeley where she meets a student from India named Prosenjit Poddar.

Poddar, an Indian native and grandson of an Untouchable sees California as the Golden Dream. He falls into an obsessive love with Tanya and demands every minute of her free time. Tanya is plainly not interested in Poddar and involves herself in a number of sporadic flings. She falls in love with a boy identified as "Jeff" in a health food store and is crushed by his refusal to see her again after they have sex; she has a relationship with a boy during the last summer of her life and becomes pregnant. Tanya does not appear to have any sexual responsibility and she does not sound like she treated other people very well. One gets the feeling that Tanya likes using Poddar and having the superior position. She appears to like manipulating Poddar by acting like the brass ring; maybe, just maybe he can win her love if he plays his cards right. Of course, this is impossible and Tanya remains out of his reach at all times.

Poddar's obsession takes a dangerous tone when he stalks the girl, making recordings of their conversations and even buying her an Indian sari. He demands that she go out with him and chastises her like a stern parent when she does not show up at the appointed time. His controlling attitude towards her probably reminds her of her father's controlling attitude towards women in general.

Her father extends that controlling philosophy towards his only son. Beaten and browbeaten too many times, Alex leaves home and takes an apartment in the Berkeley area. Poddar learns of this and rooms with Alex. Alex is described as being a lot like the father -- he is cruel, explosive and completely contemptuous of Poddar. He dangles Tanya in front of Poddar's face like a treat. If Poddar will fix his Dodge Charger, he will repay the favor by telling him about Tanya. Tanya does not like Poddar and wants him out of her life.

Other Indian students who room with Poddar in the International House (I-House) insist that he seek counselling. His running obsession with Tanya is frightening and alarming. They successfully get him in therapy where Poddar further reveals his obsession with the Russian-American girl.

He hounds Tanya by telephone, sends her gifts and waits for her at her home. Tanya's repeated entreaties that he leave her alone go unheeded. Fortunately for Tanya, she had an aunt in Brazil who had been encouraging her to visit. Tanya's parents endorsed the idea, so Tanya spent the entire summer of 1969 in Brazil. Poddar deteriorated mentally and mourned the loss of having Tanya.

When Tanya returns to California in early August, Poddar appears to be at least trying to put her out of his mind. His doctors are alarmed at his choosing Tanya's brother as a roommate. One wonders why Poddar disclosed that fact. That was asking for more intervention, which was sorely needed by that point.

Poddar never really is able to release his obsession with Tanya. He resumes following and telephoning her. When she takes her first courses at Berkeley that fall of 1969, Poddar is waiting for her and stalking her. Tanya has made plans to move in with her fat friend, Cindy. She voices her concerns about the stalking to Cindy and at one point tells Poddar she is not interested in him. Refusing to get the message, Poddar's obsession escalates and buys a gun to finish off his unfinished business. He kills Tanya at her home in late October of 1969.

In a landmark lawsuit, Tanya's parents sued Berkeley and Poddar's treating psychiatrists for failing to disclose their real concerns that he was indeed a very dangerous patient.

This is a beautifully written, painstakingly researched and organized, fearless exploration of a tragic clash of character and culture. Deborah Blum strove for objectivity and empathy, understanding and identification, and she achieved it. In so far as a true crime story can be a work of art, this is one.

The setting is Berkeley 1969, Telegram Avenue and People's Park, etc. recalled with vivid and nostalgic detail. The two central characters, Prosenjit, an Indian exchange student at the university and Tanya, an American student, begin a flirtation that ends in tragedy. She is a sweet, innocent (or nearly innocent) girl who really only deserved to be loved, but she plays head games and heart games with Prosenjit who loves her passionately, and he is deeply hurt. I guess she couldn't know from her limited experience that in such situations some men can be dangerous. He is an Untouchable, or at least his grandfather was, and a nerd, and she lords it over him with her Caucasian beauty so that gradually he becomes obsessed with her. She grows uncomfortable with his obsession and wants him out of her life. But she calls him back after being dumped by another guy. The reader knows, as in a Greek tragedy, that this calling Prosenjit back reveals her fatal flaw.

Blum includes some photos of Tanya and some of Prosenji and his village in India. Her father is a jealous and controlling alcoholic, a Russian by birth who snoops around her room looking for evidence of liaisons and follows her about and forbids her to date although she is in college. She is a bright pretty girl who lacks in confidence. Prosenjit is a genius or nearly so, who has risen from his lowly birth to be one of the most promising of his generation in India. Interesting is his friend Jal Mehta, a Parsi Indian who knows Prosenjit from school in India and believes in his genius and tries to help him. Jal is confident and charming, articulate and wise in the ways of the world, but Prosenjit is jealous of him and cannot accept his help.

At some point Prosenjit begins to threaten violence, but Tanya continues to taunt him. She gets some satisfaction out of his obsessive love for her, but she hates him because he is such a nerd, and she despises his fawning behavior. Nonetheless, she comes to his room a couple of times a week and lords it over him. He secretly tape everything, and when she is gone he listens to the tapes over and over again, looking for some sign that she really loves him. He even splices some words together so that he has her saying "I love you." She rewards him sometimes with a tongue kiss on the mouth. Prosenjit, who is a prudish Victorian Indian, is both thrilled and shocked.

This is an excellent portrait of obsession. The clear compliancy of Tanya is notable. It suggests not just carelessness or an adolescent meanness, but something sadder, perhaps a self-destructive wish. Of course we feel sorry for her. We are led to feel sorry for both of them, just as we felt sorry for Romeo and Juliet.

Incidentally Tanya's parents eventually sued UC Berkeley, the shrinks in particular, for not warning them that their daughter was in danger. They won a landmark case that makes it mandatory for mental health care workers to warn potential victims if they think their client is dangerous.