The Mirage Factory: Illusion, Imagination, And The Invention Of Los Angeles

"As I type this, I’m coming up on my sixth year living in Los Angeles, which is to say about four years longer than I ever expected to be here. I doubt I’m alone among many transplants to this confusing and exciting city with an, erm, complicated past. Gary Krist gets at that complicated past by expertly telling the stories of three iconic turn-of-the-century Angelenos, themselves once transplants: William Mulholland, the water engineer; the Canadian evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson; and the filmmaker D.W. Griffith. They’re all visionaries and leaders sharing another more dubious thing in common, their lives end in disgrace. Exported pop culture is just one layer of a much bigger symbol of American identity and free spirit that has long been wrapped up in the illusion — and invention — of LA. After reading this, I was torn between putting down roots — and driving to the airport and leaving on the next available flight."