Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Los Angeles A to Z: an Encyclopedia of the City and County by Leonard Pitt, Dale Pitt

1998; University of Hawaii Press; Volume: 60; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/pcg.1998.0015

1551-3211

Matthew T. Rosenberg,

Urban and Rural Development Challenges

Los Angeles A to Z: an Encyclopedia of the City and County Leonard Pitt and Dale Pitt University of California Press, 1997 Reviewed by M a t t h e w T . R o s e n b e r g California State University, Northridge T h is 605-page encyclopedia is essential for anyone interested in or researching any aspect of Los Angeles. Although authors Leonard and Dale Pitt were forced to limit themselves to Los Angeles County instead of southern California as a whole (therefore, the encyclope­ dia does not include an entry for “Disneyland”), the encyclopedia includes information on just about every place of any geographic interest in the county (from Acton to Zuma County Beach) and the people and events that shaped L.A.’s history (from Kareem AbdulJabbar to film mogul Adolph Zukor). It’s a shame that other cities don’t have such an illustrious vol­ ume of their own since Pitt and Pitt’s model is exemplary. While there is no detailed index, there is cross-referencing which makes finding information a breeze. Each entry ranges from a few sentences to several paragraphs. There are shorter, very specific entries (such 179 180 APCG YEARBOOK • VOLUME 60 • 1998 as the “El Capitan Theater”) as well as lengthy entries from broad topics (e.g., “Theater, 1917-1945”). The book includes over 300 his­ torical and contemporary photographs, charts, and maps. Scattered throughout the text are pithy quotes from residents and visitors alike, who share their thoughts about L.A., e.g., from William Faulkner: “There’s nobody here with any roots. Even the houses are built with mud and chicken wire.” Appendices include a nice chronology, ba­ sic data, a listing of the incorporation dates of all cities in the county, organizational charts for city and county government, a bibliogra­ phy of “selected readings,” both non-fiction and fiction, and even a listing of films that portray Los Angeles. Additional charts in the text include a listing of museums, the mayors of L.A., the value of international trade (as of 1992, Japan absorbed almost $7 million in trade from L.A. while Hong Kong sent $14.5 million in goods), and more. Though an encyclopedia, if you’re interested in Los Angeles, you’ll pick it up, flip through it, and just keep reading entry after entry. The writing style is concise and each sentence is chock full of information and fascinating facts. While reading the book, I felt as though I were gaining the “inside scoop” on all things Angeleno and do highly recommend it for any student of southern California. There were only a few drawbacks. Though it either would have dramatically increased the size of the book or reduced the number of entries (there are “nearly 2,000” in the encyclopedia), I would have liked a bibliographic reference for those entries where the reader could be referred to an additional source for more information. The two reference maps in the front of the book don’t show any freeways (the de facto grid of Angelino’s mental maps) and the map of the county doesn’t include labels for unincorporated areas. A paperback edition is anticipated soon and is expected to be approximately $30.00—I’d recommend picking up the currently available hardcover for only a few dollars more, for its list price of $34.95 is well worth it. ...