Top 5 books about Los Angeles

3. "City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles," by Mike Davis

City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles, by Mike Davis, Verso, 462 pp.

Originally meant to be a PhD dissertation, City of Quartz is a sociological examination of Los Angeles as both a utopia and a dystopia. The book also serves as a Marxist examination of LA culture, history, and economics. If slightly radical in slant, "City of Quartz" is full of sparkling prose and soaring extremes, and captures the unique feel of Los Angeles to perfection.

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