California Books

For any theatre professional, student or enthusiast. Highly recommend watching "My Dinner With Andre" as well. It's a film by Wallace Shawn.

There is no better book that I have read on the theory and practice of theatre. As Peter Brook says in the preface, "Grotowski is unique. Why? Because no-one else in the world, to my knowledge, no-one since Stanislavsky, has investigated the nature of acting, its phenomenon, its meaning, the nature and science of its mental-physical-emotional processes as deeply and completely as Grotowski."

Grotowski argues effectively that the split of the stage and the screen necessitates that the stage redefine its focus. The screen with its higher budget and countless retakes will always beat the stage in richness. So, Grotowski posits "If it [the stage] cannot be richer than the cinema, then let it be poor." The rest of the book illustrates what such a poor theatre means in practice. Brilliant.

Comprehending this book is no small feat. Sure, you start with the premise that competing with the technical spectacle of movies and TV is a fruitless pursuit. That's not difficult. Neither is the idea of embracing poverty in theatre and making the human being the only center of performance. That's dead easy. Spare costumes, little or no makeup, no sound effects, as few light effects as possible. Who can argue with that?

But this doesn't mean everybody can embrace Grotowski's vision of Poor Theatre. His is one that involves stripping away all preconceived notions of theatre from the early Modern period on. This will never fly in commercial theatre, dependent as it is on technology, nor will it satisfy many recent playwrights, who depend on technical do-funnies to make their shows work.

Grotowski also takes a funny view of plays, playwrights, and theoreticians who don't agree with him. Among other things, he considers playwrights as hired talent and plays as essentially malleable. He also suggests that the only way the writings of Artaud are useful in theatre is if they are taken elementally rather than globally - a position sure not to sit well with many avant-garde directors.

Because this book isn't a straight-ahead statement of principles, ideas, and practices, it yields its secrets only with difficulty. Parts of it aren't even written by Grotowski, but are interviews by other authors, or even observations that don't include quotes from the man himself. It was basically compiled to provide an overview of the ideas and products of the Polish Laboratory Theatre up to that time, and it encourages experiment and development by the reader.

This isn't to say that it isn't actually useful. There are exercises for actors; there are statements of theory for directors; there are even sketches, diagrams, and photos for designers. However, expect to wrestle with this book if you're going to unlock its secrets. Once you elect to start down this path, you have a long row to hoe

"Towards A Poor Theatre" by Jerzy Grotowski is probably the most important book written on acting since Stainslavsky's three famous character books. There is so little known about Grotowski and many people have tried to fake his work and people need to read the man's original words. Grotowski's vision of theatre has had the greatest effect on me more than any other person in theatre. He saw acting as a Holy experience where both the actor and spectator were transformed after the performance. Grotowski expanded from where Stainslavsky left off and drew his ideas everywhere from modern art to religious rituals to primitive theatre. Any one interested in theatre must read this book somehow and be changed forever like I have.

As we begin to see this earth suffer the effects of our presence here, these poems -with roots in every continent- speak together of this planet as a sacred place. One perhaps we might still come to treat well. Read a few aloud, sit in your garden this spring and read a Navajo corn song, stir, stir ... This is well researched, carefully and lovingly translated; it should accompany any studies of native cultures worldwide.

Back in the 1970s I discovered this book. It became my companion. Its rich poetry, its multitudes of rituals and images have inspired my batiks and paintings for the past thirty years. What variety and life!

I was introduced to this book by a fiction writing teacher to whom I'll always be grateful. It's a fresh, ingenious selection of ritual and sacred poetry from around the world, translated with irreverence and raw attitude. If you're used to the vague New Age-isms of what usually gets thought of as "ritual" and "sacred," pick this up and get a jolt--Rothenberg finds incredibly powerful language in places where it wouldn't occur to most people to look, and he's not afraid of crudeness and hilarity. Amazing stuff. A friend of mine has worn out copies of both the first edition and this one, and I don't blame her.

Technicians of the Sacred was compiled by Rothenberg after attending two 1964 readings of "Primitive and Archaic Poetry" at The Poet's Hardware Theater and the Café Metro in New York city. Intrigued with the deep intuition of these works, Rothenberg decided to collect poetry, songs, and chants from around the world.

Rothenberg's intention was not to focus on any one particular aspect of the sacred but merely to compile material that was available in English and the book's organization directly reflects this lack of apparent direction. Works are subdivided into nine sections: Origins & Namings; Visions & Spells; Death & Defeat; The Book of Events (I); The Book of Events (II); Africa; America; Asia; Europe & The Ancient Near East; and Oceana. Having material from the first five sections more or less focused around a specific theme while the remaining five sections reflect a geographic focus the work feeling a little thrown together and disorganized.

This disorganization is further reflected within each section, where there is everything from modern poetry and prose through traditional songs and chants to ancient pictographs and artwork. Moreover works from individual cultural groups are not placed together but dispersed throughout each section.

That the work only reflects English translations is also somewhat problematic. A Commentary section at the back of the book explains how Rothenberg came across each work offering explanations about the themes and topics within a particular piece. However, more often than not, these notes did not describe how the piece was translated. This lack of information would be particularly useful as Rothenberg states that the translations vary from literal to very free. This book does contain a number of interesting and useful pieces. Rothenberg has chosen a good mixture of poetry from a variety of different sources, not just the most accessible and he illustrates poems from the Paleolithic through to modern times. Moreover, this book contains some very interesting and intriguing transitional pieces reflecting Christian religious teaching modified into traditional forms. Thus, despite some very irritating and distracting organizational problems, this book contains some very valuable information. This information will likely be of use to those wishing to gain insight into aspects of the sacred in general or those wanting insight into the belief systems of particular cultures. Nonetheless, the apparent lack of organization of these pieces make this book an unlikely candidate as a classroom text.

Any who would understand Mexican culture and social issues will find at once poignant, moving, and revealing Guacamole Dip, an expose of daily life in the border town of Tecate. His vignettes are folksy, fun and often provide both a light-hearted and alternately serious look at Mexican and Mexican-American culture and issues, juxtaposing tales with views of changing border life between Mexico and the U.S. Any collection strong in Mexican or Mexican-American immigrant issues will find this an attractive, popular lend whether at the college or general lending library level.

I loved this book...the stories are very touching, funny, sad and very real. I especially enjoyed the last story, and it is that discription of the Mexican culture that makes me love Mexico. Thank you Daniel for sharing these stories from Tecate. I look forward to reading your other books. Hope to see you soon at Bar Diana or perhaps at Rancho Tecate.
Adios,
Kathleen, www.aqualink.org

Many thanks to all of you who have read my books and come on-line to say such nice things.

I'm sitting in the plaza watching the ever-changing pageant of color and listening to the sounds of Tecate.I can hear the silvery notes of a mariachi trumpet coming from somehwere. Little frills on an accordion drift across the plaza from the Bar Diana. Ah, and here comes Antonio with his guitar cradled in his arms singing an old love song.(Jurame.) The song evokes memories of Señorita X. Doña Marcelina predicted that one day Señorita X would come into my life. Doña Marcelina practices scatomancy. In other words she's our local poop psychic. For her purpose she uses a duck! But that's another story.

I'm watching Juanito Aldama pushing his Sno Cone cart over near the kiosko. I notice he has more customers than usual. I'm going to hang around to see if I can find the reason for his sudden increase in trade. I can't believe it! If you know the password (he changes it daily) he'll whip up a Sno Cone margarita!!

Mila is waving to me from her table at the sidewalk cafe. She's in black pants and knitted jersey today. The big splash of red over her heart is the result of a silk scarf. She probably has a good story to tell me so I'll say hasta luego for now.

Daniel Reveles

Or lyrically magical...Both apply, but neither serve completely. This book inspired me to visit Tecate (which I since have done!) and made me so proud of my Mexican heritage!

Michael Gaddis' work touches on some of the same territory covered by Ramsay MacMullen in his recent work, Voting About God. These works compliment each other well. MacMullen focuses on the actual church councils but touches upon the violence, while Gaddis looks more closely at the violence itself, its origins, its role in the imperial system, and its appropriation by the Christian movement.

The author's writing style, while not as engaging as that of MacMullen, is still very good and easy to follow. His prose is not turgid or difficult and it is not bogged down by foreign turns of phrase, or, as often happens in scholarly works, chunks of untranslated Latin, Greek, or German text.

I do think the author makes certain basic assumptions that are by no means proven. Necessarily, given the scope of his work, he cannot go far back into the imperial past and offer a in-depth treatment of repression and toleration and it needs to be understood that the Roman system was by no means unusually intolerant for the period. On the other hand, he does not fall into the trap of Richard Horsley, who seems to include Rome as a foremost member of the "Axis of Evil." Too, he treats the "persecutions" as though they happened exactly as Christian mythology claims, which is by no means proven. A good case can be made that none of the first nine persecutions claimed by apologists took place. The last, that of Diocletian, is more problematic, but even here we do not know enough about what Diocletian did, or why, since we have only the account of his opponents to go on. As MacMullen has elsewhere noted, the weight and bias of Christian sources distorts our view of this era.

These faults aside, Gaddis pulls no punches when it comes to examining the violent nature of late imperial rule, something MacMullen has also touched on in several of his works. It was a dark, brutal period, and Gaddis sees the origins of violence in the need for consensus. This, he thinks, motivated Diocletian, and he believes it motivated Constantine and the Christian rulers who followed him to the throne.

But it is not only the secular leadership of the empire but the rank and file who embraced violence. Gaddis does well to point out that just because a group sees itself as persecuted does not mean that it is, and that in the case of these early Christians, even the existence of polytheism was seen as persecution of a sort. Christians stopped at nothing to show their displeasure, from acts of violence guaranteed to see them beaten, imprisoned, or killed (both by pagan or Christian authorities) to open persecution of polytheists, so-called heretics, and Jews. Like MacMullen, Gaddis makes clear that Christian hatred was as great or greater for other Christians than for pagans.

What sets this book apart is its focus on religious violence. It is by no means the first book to examine monotheistic violence but it's focus on the early Christian empire makes it especially interesting as it is this period which set the tone for all that happened in the centuries following. It is a book every Christian should read. It will disabuse them of the notion that the "conversion" was some sort of peaceful process, or the myth that pagans rushed to worship the Christian god as soon as it became the state religion. As MacMullen has said, Christianity was imposed from above through violent measures, measures that had no limit, and Gaddis does not disagree.

This is a great, scholarly, work, by an accomplished writer. Much research went into the making of this book, as is evidenced by the plethora of reference notes to back it up. The bibliography is extensive and is divided into modern works and ancient sources.
From this book, my research has branched into many different directions, which for me is a little frustrating, but exciting nonetheless. Definintely not a dead-end book.
He give a thourough analysis of religious violence from both pagan and Christian perspectives and explains the history of this time period in a way this is often not explained. He shows history how it was, not how he wants it to be. I have been so used to hearing false histories or "the history of the victor's" that it is enlightening to see this author finally delve into the true historical record and uncover much of what has lain in the dark for far too long.
I strongly recommend this book to anyone with a serious interest in the Late Roman Empire, or early Christianity.

In late November 2006, the New Republic gave this book a stellar review. The book might also be read profitably alongside another good book on early Christian history: "The Closing of the Western Mind."

I hadn't known that in the Christian antique world, there was a championing, at least among some, of the idea of "sacred violence." Primarily, this manifested itself in gangs of monks attacking pagan temples and synagogues, and in the Empire coercively pursuing unity among the various factions.

Gaddis covers the "late antiquity" period in Christian history, from Diocletian's persecution to the Council of Chalcedon in 451. The roots of the violence that would occur from Constantine's time onward has its roots in the experience of the early Christian community, whose worldview was shaped by martyrdom and persecution. To my surprise, I learned that the early martyrs never saw themselves as passive victims of violence for worshiping as they pleased. Rather, they saw martyrdom as a spiritual combat against the demons of the persecutors. When Diocletian's edict was posted, one Christian angrily ripped it down, meaning that at least some wanted to actively seek out martyrdom. Records indicate that those who were killed in retaliation for smashing idols were not to be honored as martyrs, indicating that the practice was fairly common. The concept of martyrdom, which literally means witness, expanded to include avenging dangers to the faith. Gaddis covers lots of material in his excellent book, and here are some more important points:

* The early monastic movement does not come off well. Zealots who wandered the country side smashing temples were almost all monks. Further, there was virtually no check on their behavior, and they saw themselves as inflicting God's anger on His enemies. The pagan orator Libanus angrily denounced "black-robed tribes" who wandered the countryside in Syria, terrorizing peasants, begging for food and money, and generally committing banditry. The Egyptian monk Shenoute, after ransacking a prominent Pagan's house in search of idols, was charged with crimes. His reply was "there is no crime for those who have Christ."
* Some famous saints had a dark side. For instance, John Chrysostom once preached that his congregants were to admonish blasphemers, and if that didn't work, to hit them. "Sanctify thy hand by the blow." A local synod accused Chrysostom of hitting a man and forcing him to take communion while his mouth was bleeding. Ambrose, who is perhaps best remembered for rebuking Theodosius after massacring civilians in a battle, also urged him not to prosecute monks who had ransacked several Pagan temples.
* The State, like the zealots, felt it had to use violence, but to bring about unity, not purity. Augustine was particularly important in this regard.
* The State was also afraid to take strong action against the monks and mobs, out of fear that they would be seen as "persecutors." Persecution was a core concept in that time.
* In fact, many zealots saw the continued presence of idolatry and heresy as a form of persecution, and believed that the Empire was "persecuting" Christians for its continued tolerance of Paganism.

Gaddis' study gives the reader on how violence was understood within the worldview of early Christian history. Essentially, violence was used to maintain boundaries between different religious communities, or to unite them. As the author notes at the end, Shenoute's claim, that there is no crime for those who have Christ, did not go uncontested.

No need to go into the story, because if you've found this review then chances are you've already seen Jules Dassin's dark classic THIEVES' HIGHWAY which was based on this novel. What you do need to know is A. I. Bezzerides' novel is even better than the movie. So go ahead and buy a copy. It's darker (pretty much pitch black), more violent, there's foul language, it's gritty, brutal, nasty and most importantly Bezzerides is an amazing writer. His naturalist style here is like a mixture of Zola's "Germinal" and Steinbeck's "In Dubious Battle". I can't think of any higher praise than that!

It's a horrible shame that none of Bezzerides' other books are in print. If I was rich I would buy the rights to all of his novels and publish them. I wouldn't care if I made a profit or not.

An absolutely great book about the Bad Old Days of trucking. This work is more than just a dark tale about double dealing and violence in a troubled trade. It just has that ring of truth by an author that lived the life. So many of the scenarios he describes bring to mind stories I personally have heard from the old timers in my chosen profession of trucking. A great read that perfectly recreates a place and time.

This is a totally awesome book about the small produce truckers who brought food to market in post-WWII California. In very straigtforward plain prose, the book tells the story of Nick, the son of Greek immigrants. When his father dies after a long life of just squeaking by, Nick is determined he won't fall into the same cycle, and enters the cutthroat world of independent trucking. The bulk of the book concerns the trials he and his mentor Ed encounter in finding and selling their first load. The writing clearly comes from intimate personal knowledge of the life and the swindles that were a constant part of it. It's a brilliant and fascinating piece of noir literature.

After getting burnt out on contemporary fiction and finding no pleasure in my reading, after putting down yet another book that fizzled after 100 pages, I picked this gem off my shelf where it's sat for over a year. The prose, the images, the timeless energy of the story and writing got my reading muscles working again. Since I live in Oakland and work in SF, the images of those cities written 50 years ago give a fresh, vibrant perspective. Characters come alive, flawed and real. A plot that pulsates.

I read and reread this book several years ago. It gave great insight into the realms of the spirits and their rather very serious impact on those living. The departed spirits communicated through an intermediary, medium, his wife. The stories told touched my heart and enhanced my understanding of the nature and character of the spirits. That provided wealth of information for my book, Secrets of Life, Beyond...

I would highly recommend this book not only to healthcare providers but the public at large.

Mohinder Goomar, M.D., F.R.C.S. (Ret.), author, Secrets of Life, Beyond...

I read this book 15 years ago, so my memory may be getting dim. But it's about the author's experience treating cases of spirit possession. A typical case is a young man who felt the need to run away and go to sea. It turned out, as the author discovered, that he was being strongly influenced by a dead sailor. He asked the sailor to leave the young man alone, and that was the end of that.

Wickland claimed no spiritual powers but used an intermediary (I think it was his wife, who would go into a trance). His method was to interview the spirits hanging around the patient. He would inquire as to how their life had been, and what they are trying to do with the patient. He would then recommend that they leave him alone and go rather with the "Mercy Crew" (a multi-racial group of higher-lever departed spirits who chose to work with the Wicklands).

So he did confidently what Joel Haley Osmont (of "I see dead people" fame) did fearfully in "The Sixth Sense".

Forgive me if my memory deceives me in a few details. I think I'll order a copy and re-read it.

Dr. Carl Wickland MD would not have agreed with the conclusions of Dr. Stevens [...]. He specifically stated that all of the memories observed in such cases were actually originating from the discarnate spirit of the deceased, who was attached to the patient. He did not accept the case of the deceased spirit entering into a new incarnation. Of course Dr. Wickland was dealing with the psychosis of much older patients and did not to my knowledge examine any of the type of patients that Dr. Stevens did.

Dr. Wickland's work is of great importance to the understanding of Origenes' theory of "The Restoration of All Things." [...] But it only addresses one aspect and that is of the `Lost Souls". Early Christians had prayed regularly for the `Lost Souls', and Dr. Wickland gives us many reasons why we should do so today. When discarnate spirits do not accept the divine order and return to where they belong, they are able to `molest' people with whom they have had some sort of special relationship.

What does this have to early Christian teaching? First of all, it gives us a very good lesson in Free Will. As M. C. Steenberg [...] most rightly points out, if all souls were destined to go to heaven, then where does Free Will come in? Dr. Wickland describes in great detail the amount of havoc that these discarnate spirits were allowed to bring to his patients. He also shows how they must choose to stop their activities among humans and accept divine guidance.

Secondly, his work gives a hint of the order that exists in the divine spiritual world and gives us an idea as to how many angels are actually around us, active in the restoration process, guiding us during our life and afterwards.

The discarnate spirits that Dr. Wickland encountered in his work certainly represented only a small subset of the discarnate spirits. When their body dies, the majority submit to the divine order. To find out about these, we must look to different sources.

Shawn Murphy
[...]

This exciting book by Dr. Wickland, M.D., is a tremendous resource regarding spirit activity among those who have passed out of human existence. The book is arranged by categories such as Spirits and Crime, Spirits and Suicide, Psychic Invalidism, Orthodoxy, Christian Science, Theosophy, Philosophy, and so forth. You get the complete feeling of the time through the verbatim records of spirits speaking through Dr. Wickland's wife. There is plenty of spiritual insight throughout, and by the time you finish the book, you are well-versed in the essentials of a well-lived life.

This book shines light on the dark recesses of spirit activity in the insane and obsessed. It is enough to cause you to reconsider the unfortunate and even those you may know who are not themselves, perhaps classed "mentally ill" by the psychiatric profession or warehoused in mental institutions. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

What I especially liked about D. Lampton's approach to this very popular subject is how he structured the book and the terminology that he used because it is done in a way that reflects Chinese thought and vocabulary on these issues. Moreover, his analysis and understanding of the issue is top-notch!

KW

I haven't finished this book yet, but I am enjoying it. It is a difficult read, smaller print and a very interesting choice of words. I often find myself re-reading a sentance to make sure I understood the authors intent. I think the material is relevant to those who are interested in the ever growing China and how the US will be challenged by them in the future. Reads very much like a text book, which was OK because I bought this book to learn something.

It's a very interesting book that the author uses a unique argument to discuss current Asian affair and related issues. I like it because it provides a framework to decribe US-China relation, but not writting a micor-history along the time lines. Great book and reasonable assumptions of powers, "Might", "Money" and "Mind."

I gave this book to a friend, Henry Sailer, who was raised in China and very knowledgeable. This is his review.

This is a remarable book.It will enlighten the most advanced specialist and, at the same time, teach the new beginner.

There are new facts to be absorbed in virtually every sentence and Mr. Lampton's writing and organizational skills are such that the reader approachs each chapter with mounting fascination.

Mr. Lampton obviously has entree to leaders of most of the Asian states of which he writes - an entree which he has employed with commendable discretion and which brings to light facts and ideas which would otherwise not be available to the most zealot scholar, student or layman.

I have never said of any book of this kind that I intended to read it again. I do now.

Holt once again brings invaluable information about Bactria. In this book he uses mumismatics extensively. The first two chapters are very interesting. The end of the book is mostly about technical details of the coins and what they can tell us. Thundering Zeus is the figure of Zeus on coins issued by Macedonian kings in Bactria. Holt shows us the importance of the details for placing a date on the coins and for knowing who issued them. For those who are intrigued by Diodotus, I and II, this is a great book. If it is the first book you read by Holt and if you are intested in the history of Bactria, which now covers most part of Afghanistan, you can form for yourself a good idea of what other books by Holt can hold as surprises for you. It could be the gate opened to a new horizon, or just a very enjoyable way to learn about the subject. Holt writes in a simple manner so as to be accessible to all readers and I do appreciate that. Even scholars sometimes need simplicity. In any case, his simple and clear way is still carrying a lot of serious information with notes, bibliography, index, all items History students need. I would recommend this book for research as well as for readers who like to learn more.

A full effort employing a variety of source materials, good methodology, and inviting prose.

Holt does an excellent job of updating the Beginnings of the Hellenistic Bactrian kingdom. His book is a much needed repair of the misinformation spread in the beginning of Tarn's otherwise enjoyable book The Greeks in Bactria and India. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Frank Holt continues his assault on the deity of Alexander in this well-researched followup to "Alexander the Great and Bactria." Holt looks at the foundation and early history of Hellenistic Bactria, starting with the Diadochi. His analysis of the data - including a careful reappraisal of the oft misleading numistics - is fairly convincing. A good book for anyone interested in Central Asia in antiquity, ancient India, and modern historiography of Alexander of Macedon.

I highly recommend this book. It has opened a door for me. I need to read more about native people and their relationships to Africans. The story of the Shoeboot family is very interesting.

I use to be annoyed with obviously African looking folks proclaiming to have "some Indian in me", though these same people never claim such pride in being of AFrican descent. They still annoy me. I do think it has it basic in self hatred. However, this is my humble opinion.

First, let me say how much I enjoyed this book. It is a work of tremendous research informed by a mature mind which deeply understands the roles of history and story in creating self-identity.

I was alerted to its existence by Ilene Shepard Smiddy, author of DAUGHTER OF SHILOH, also a splendid narrative/adventure retelling a part of the Shoeboots story, but centering on Clarinda Allington and her children.

Dr. Miles provides us with a helpful family tree in the front of the book, and inside there are maps that help orient the story. The historical asides and reflections using Toni Morrison's BELOVED are treasures. Inside too are several illustrations and pictures, including one of a Shoeboots descendant. The text is divided into logical chapters. The notes are easy to follow and delicious to read, and they are followed by a full bibliography and a comprehensive index.

I would like to see the notes expanded to include the family of Napoleon Bonaparte, perhaps a grandson of Shoeboots, or of one of the Shoeboots, and who entered the mainstream population in Kentucky as a free black.

As Dr. Miles points out, there was more than one individual who was referred to as the Boot or Shoeboots (and other nicknames, in both English and Cherokee), and I suspect that this was a concept name involving the crow or the rooster--the hero of a Cherokee parable. It is fascinating to read about here, and her arguments are engaging. Highly recommended reading!

This book provides excellent insight into a little known part of American history. Few people realize that some American Indian tribes (particularly the "Five Civilized Tribes") practiced slavery and this text delves into the complex relationships resulting from it. The impact of the practice has repercussions still felt today. Most importantly, it reveals the rarely addressed interaction between African-Americans and Native Americans dating back to the earliest history of the United States.

I recently finished reading Tiya Miles' book. Several things impressed me regarding this work; the first one is the topic. I was surprised to learn that at one time Native Americans owned slaves! I am a college educated retired teacher and I believe this is something I should have learned somewhere in my education. I was also impressed with the research that was used as a basis for Ms. Miles' writing. A reader of her work has more than ample supply of resources to use for further reading. I also believe this book should be required reading for any American history curriculum at the college level.

TimeOut publications always have high standards. This is another one of them. Very well done high quality print, well illustrated and organized, and with highly valuable information.

Of all the L.A. pocket guides I have, this one has the best detailed maps (as much as you can fit inside a booklet like this). Choice of attractions, dining, hotels, shopping and everything else included is very well selected and info on individual entries is well written.

Although some other guides will provide more extensive lists of places to go (e.g. dining), if you were to pick up only one L.A. guide, this might be the one.

great guidebooks. Little hard read at first, but useful all the time. worth read before trip. Not the one that you can just open on scene.

These books are really helpful and useful. Even if you're like me and know your way around Los Angeles like the back of your hand, it still comes in handy. It gives web addresses and phone numbers and more correct information than I've seen in other publications. It also gives you the closest freeways to a particular location. It's a good compact size too. All the Time Out guides I've read are as good as this. They are on a par if not better to Lonely Planet.

While there are heaps of travel book guides on the market, Time Out are better than all others. Lonely Planet are good and DK are good, but this range is a little more in depth and seems to go the extra mile.
After a fun introduction, there are the usual sections you'd expect to find in a guide book; Restaurants and Bars, Hotels, Nightlife, Shopping (my personal favourite) and things Nearby to name a few. I believe their maps are more detailed and layed out really well. There are hours for shops and restaurants and websites too. They include things for people on all kinds of budgets. Another cute idea they have going on is little blue notes on various pages with a point of interest that has been used in a movie or TV show. For example, on page 116 it mentions that the Grand Olympic Auditorium (with its address) was used in Million Dollar Baby. These are just another added bonus that makes this more unique.
I have found these guides useful in the past, and this one is going to come in handy again, because they always update to include new places to stay, eat and shop. These books are so helpful and I think you'll find that too. Check them out, and you may not use other guides again.