Taschen - Book - Los Angeles. Portrait of a City

Explore the City of Angels, from its beaches to its streets, a city that is as much a modest frontier town as it is a glittering urban metropolis and the entertainment capital of the world. This sun-drenched book perfectly celebrates all its facets, through dazzling photographs that capture its life and transformations, from the 1880s to the present day .

From the earliest known photograph taken in Los Angeles to the most recent sprawling panoramas, this photographic tribute to the City of Angels offers a captivating exploration of L.A.'s cultural, political, industrial, and sociological history. The book examines the major stages of the city's history from the housing boom of the 1880s to the uncontrolled sprawl of the second half of the 20th century. With more than 500 images , L.A. is shown emerging from a desert no man's land to become a horticultural paradise thanks to massive irrigation projects.

The major events that have captivated the public's attention—the two Olympic Games, the assassination of Robert Kennedy, the riots following the Rodney King scandal—reveal a city of many facets. Alongside Los Angeles's personalities, architects, artists, and landmark events, Hollywood, the show business capital of the world, and its stars, are not forgotten. Many of the pop cultural movements that began in Los Angeles—such as surfing, health food restaurants, and hot rods—are also featured here, as are the city's famous crimes and criminals. This book portrays LA in all its splendor and energy through hundreds of newly discovered images by Julius Shulman , Garry Winogrand , William Claxton , and many others. Drawn from major historical archives, museums, private collections, and universities, they are accompanied by illuminating texts by Kevin Starr , a renowned Los Angeles historian, and David L. Ulin , an expert on LA's literary history.

Hardcover, 25 x 34 cm, 4.22 kg, 572 pages