|
1966! A Personal View of
the Coolest Year in Pop Culture History |
Hal Lifson. Bonus Books.
Not specifically on Los Angles but the author grew up in
the San Fernando Valley. Very fun book on a year I
certainly loved with wonderful 60's nostalgia &
pictures. Some very nice pictures of Nancy Sinatra (were
women just more beautiful in the '60's or what?). Also
some Valley pictures of Du-Pars Coffee Shop, Barone's
Italian Restaurant, Casa Vega Restaurant, Crobin Bowl,
Ships Coffee Shop, etc. |
|
101 Best Bars of Los
Angeles (The)
|
Frank Mulvey, Angel City
Press. Very nice reviews, well written and very
extensively and well researched histories for each
place. Reviews of Dan Tana’s bar & restaurant, Musso and
Frank Grill, Tiki Ti bar, El Coyote restaurant,
Boardner’s bar, Barney’s Beanery bar & restaurant, HMS
Bounty bar & restaurant and much more. This is the best
book I've found on classic bars in Los Angeles. A number
of places in this book are now gone. I wish he would do
a second edition and expand.
|
|
Access Los
Angeles |
Access Press -
Best general guide to Los Angeles hands down. Very well
organized and comprehensive. I've been using their
guides since 1980 (actually I still use my 1980 edition
quite a lot, since little has occurred since then that
is of any interest!). You'll find maps and descriptions
of Musso and Frank's Grill, Cole's PE Buffet, Genios
Restaurant (now gone) Pink's Famous Chili Dogs,
Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, Pantages Theater, La Frite
Restaurant, Langer's Delicatessen, My Father's Office
bar, Canter's Fairfax Restaurant, the Queen Mary and
100s more great places. |
|
Book of Tiki (The)
|
Sven A. Kirsen, Taschen,
the definitive book on Tiki anything. Even if you
had no interest in the Tiki craze, you would love the
pictures. Researched and explored in infinitesimal
detail. This guy is even more obsessed with Tiki
than I am with old restaurants. I wish I had his
dedication. This book is probably already a collector’s
edition in the hardback form. Buy up as many
copies as you can! You also can’t beat Taschen for
books on nostalgia and just about everything else.
I’ve never seen a Taschen book I didn’t like. You’ll
find the Tiki Ti bar, the Luau Restaurant, the Tropics
Restaurant, Trader Vics Restaurant, the Bali Hai
Restaurant and many more in here.
|
|
Brown Derby Cookbook (The)
|
Leonard Louis Levinson,
Dolphin Books. This book on Brown Derby recipes is
obviously a collector’s item and will cost you a
fortune, unless you can find it in paperback.
Mostly Brown Derby recipes, but it has a great biography
of Robert Cobb, inventor of the Cobb Salad and cofounder
of the Brown Derby and some Brown Derby history as an
introduction. It would be so easy to recreate a new
Brown Derby in Los Angeles with these recipes (and a
license from the Corporation!). Why is the only
remaining Brown Derby in Florida? Good news though, they
are recreating a Brown Derby Restaurant in
Albany, New York. Should be great!!!
|
|
Brown Derby Restaurant
(The); A Hollywood Legend
|
Marc Willems and Sally Cobb
– A Brown Derby lover’s dream! Mind blowing
collection of photos of the Brown Derby with all the
stars in the heavens. Sally Cobb, wife of Brown
Derby owner Robert Cobb, reminisces on the golden age of
the Brown Derby and leaves nothing out! The Brown
Derby recipes are a lot of fun as well. You will
also find the stories of the other three Brown Derby
restaurants, not in the form of a hat (but surprisingly
no mention of the mysterious 5th Brown Derby that took
over the Hi Hat in the 1930s) .
|
|
California Babylon
|
Kristan Lawson and Anneli
Rufus, St. Martin’s Griffin. The tour book
counterpart to Hollywood Babylon. Lot’s of great
scandals and how to find out where they occurred.
Articles on Barney's Beanery, Canter'sDeli, the Black
Dahlia (Elizabeth Short) the Brown Derby
Restaurant, the Ambassador Hotel, Musso and Frank's
Restaurant and Grill and many others.
|
|
Chasen's (where
Hollywood dined - recipes and memories) |
Betty Goodwin,
Angel City Press. Wonderful book on Chasen's history and
recipes. Believe it or not - Chasen's Chili recipe is
included. |
|
City Center To Regional
Mall
|
Richard Longstreth – The
MIT Press. Fascinating book that explains why Los
Angeles developed in the pattern it did and the
interrelationship between the automobile and California
Commercial Architecture. Wonderful historic
pictures, including Bullock's Wilshire, the Pellissier
Building, and the Pacific-Southwest Trust and Savings
Bank. Essential to having an understanding as to why Los
Angeles is the way it is (maybe I could state that
better but I'll let you read this great book).
|
|
Curbside L.A. |
Cecilia Rasmussen. Los
Angeles Times. Nice tour book that includes a lot of
offbeat places the conventional tour books leave out.
Places like the Alta Cienega Motel, Chateau Marmont
Hotel, Barney's Beanery, Lucy's El Adobe Mexican
Restaurant, the Golden Gate Theater, Dan Tana's
Restaurant, Polo Lounge bar and restaurant, etc. |
|
Downtown Los Angeles - A
walking Guide |
Robert D. Herman. GEM
GUIDES. Nice book with tons of information for exploring
downtown Los Angeles - a treasure trove of history and
architecture. When exploring downtown, it's a good idea
to carry a lot of change with you! |
|
Fabulous Boulevard
|
Ralph Handcock – Funk and
Wagnells. This book was formerly the definitive story on
Wilshire Boulevard (but see below - Kevin Roderick's new
book on Wilshire Blvd.). The book actually covers
Los Angeles history as well from the dinosaurs until
1949 when it was written. Might be hard to find,
although I picked up a copy recently for a fairly cheap
price. Neat old pictures on the cover like the Brown
Derby Restaurant, Lawry’s Restaurant, and the Miracle
Mile.
|
|
Fabulous Las Vegas in the
50s. |
Fred E. Basten & Charles
Phoenix. This book has a wealth of incredible pictures
on the real Las Vegas - the original 50's version that
has all but disappeared. These were the Rat Pack days of
the Pioneer Club, the Sands Hotel, El Rancho Vegas Hotel
and Casino and the Show Boat Casino. Companion book to
"Southern California in the '50's. Lot's of fun! |
|
Googie and Googie Redux
|
Alan Hess, Chronicle Books
- Fifties Coffee Shop Architecture. Wonderful
books on Googie with great pictures and extremely well
researched. Loads of pictures on California Coffee
shops (since Googie was “invented” in Los Angeles),
including Tiny Naylor's Coffee Shops, Biff's Coffee
Shops, Ship's Coffee Shops, Coffee Dan's Coffee Shops,
and Carolina Pines, Jr. Coffee Shops. These are the
definitive books on California Coffee Shops and the
Googie style of architecture. A must buy!
|
|
Great American Movie
Theaters
|
David Naylor, The
Preservation Press. This has got to be the best
book there is on movie palaces, although I wish he had
included even more on the Los Angeles theaters. The
movie palace is one of America's most endangered
treasures.
|
|
Hollywood Haunted |
Laurie Jacobson and Marc
Wanamaker. Angel City Press. Very fun book about
Hollywood (even though I don't personally believe in
ghosts - although I had a fleeting believe recently when
forced to eat in a chain restaurant and got good
service) by some of Hollywood's greatest historians. |
|
Hollywood Babylon
|
Kenneth Anger’s definitive
book on the seedy side of Hollywood. You don’t get much
more entertaining than this! Straight Arrow Books, 1975
|
|
Hollywood du
Jour - Lost recipes of Legendary Hollywood Restaurants |
Another book by
Betty Goodwin and the Angel City Press at a bargain
price (see Chasen's above). Includes histories and
recipes from The Brown Derby Restaurant, Tick Tock Tea
Room, Cock 'n Bull Restaurant, Scandia Restaurant,
Schwab's Pharmacy, Romanoff's Restaurant and other
great Hollywood places. |
|
Hollywood in Vintage
Postcards
|
Rod Kennedy, Jr. in
association with Hollywood Heritage, Inc. Lots of
wonderful old postcards of Hollywood and Los Angeles.
Hollywood Heritage conducts some great tours in the
Hollywood area. Pictures of Baron Long's Ship's
Cafe, the Paris Inn French Restaurant, the Brown Derby
Restaurant, Earl Carroll's Theater and night club, the
"It" Cafe, Florentine Gardens night club, Ciro's night
club, the Trocadero night club, the Mocambo night club
and Bob Brooks' Seven Seas night club, among others.
|
|
Hollywood: The movie
Lover’s Guide
|
Richard Alleman.
Without a doubt, the definitive LA/Hollywood related
tour book. Incredible detail and very extensive coverage
of all movie related Los Angeles. Excellent book
for finding out where places like the Brown Derby
Restaurant, Perino's restaurant and Chasen's used to be.
|
|
Hungry? A guide to LA’s
Greatest Diners, Dives, Cafeterias, and Coffee Shops.
|
Publisher “Really Great
Books” They live up to their name. This is
the most extensive listing of restaurants I have found.
Well organized and helpful reviews. There is also
a “Thirsty” edition for bars and coffee shops.
They also publish these for other big cities.
Highly recommended.
|
|
In My Own Words |
Mickey Cohen (as told to
John Peer Nugent) Prentice-Hall, Inc. - While by no
means do I wish to glorify a criminal, Mickey Cohen was
an integral part of Los Angeles history (history is
always a story of good and evil). This book, which does
a great job of retaining Cohen's vernacular speech,
clarifies which places in town were true mob hangouts or
at least visited by Mr. Cohen, like Slapsie Maxies,
Lucey's Restaurant, Goodfellow's Grotto, and the Rhum
Boogie. Of course, Cohen would visit perfectly
legitimate places where the movie stars hung out, like
Barney's Beanery, Mike Lyman's, and the Brown Derby
restaurant. His most famous shootout occurred in the
Battle of the Sunset Strip at Sherry's Restaurant
(formerly the LaMaze Cafe and now the Key Club). |
|
L.A. Noir - The City as
Character |
Alain Silver & James Ursini.
Santa Monica Press. Anyone who loves both film noir and
Los Angeles will love the focus of this book. Very
helpful in selecting noir films with an L.A. backdrop. I
always get a real kick out of seeing the Los Angeles
City Hall or Broadway, Angel's Flight, the Gaylord
Apartments, the Bryson Apartments, the Bradbury
Building, etc. in old noir films. Good book of course to
understand that genre of films in general. |
|
L.A. Musical History Tour
(The)
|
Art Fein, Faber and Faber.
The definitive guide to Los Angeles for music lovers.
Addresses, pictures and stories for all the great
happenings in the Los Angeles music world. A nice
adventure checking out these sites. Stories about
Chateau Marmont Hotel, Ben Frank's Coffee Shop, Pink's,
and the Sunset Tower's.
|
|
(The) Leisure Architecture
of Wayne McAllister |
Chris Nichols. Gibbs Smith,
Publisher. The definitive book on Wayne McAllister,
perhaps the greatest Architect in the Modernist Style.
McAllister did so many incredible places it is futile to
make any list here other than to mention a few like the
Zebra Room in the Townhouse, Melody Lane, Bob Big Boy in
various locations, the Ontra Cafeteria, El Rancho Vegas,
the Sands. The list goes on forever. Based on their
books, Chris Nichols and Jim Heimann have to be two of
the greatest living Restaurant and mid-Century Modern
historians around (along with Mary Margaret Stratton on
Modernism in general). This particular book will
someday in the distant future be a collector's item like
"Out with the Stars", so you might want to buy two or
three copies now! A must buy. |
|
Life at the Marmont
|
Raymond R. Sarlot and Fred
E. Basten, Roundtable Publishing, Inc. Good luck
in finding this book! But if you do, it tells the
unbelievable story of this most mysterious,
important and hidden of Hollywood Hotels, the Chateau
Marmont Hotel. Quite literally anyone who was anybody in
Hollywood has stayed at this hotel. If it was haunted,
it would have an all star cast of ghosts!
|
|
Los Angeles A to Z |
Leonard and Dale Pitt,
University of California Press. This book is a
comprehensive resource and encyclopedia for all things
LA. Amazing detail and depth. |
|
Los Angeles Then and Now
and Hollywood Then and Now |
Rosemary Lord. Thunder Bay
Press. I've always enjoyed then and now photos and these
books delivers up a lot of interesting ones that really
give you a very graphic feel for how much things have
changed in Los Angeles. Lot's of great old pictures
including the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, the El Capitan,
Union Station, the Los Angeles Theater and many other
Los Angeles landmarks. |
|
Lost Hollywood |
David Wallace, LA Weekly
Books. Fun book on the Golden Age of Hollywood and some
of the lesser known anecdotes of interest. |
|
(The) Man Who Invented Las
Vegas |
W.R. Wilkerson III, Ciro's
Books. Fascinating book by Billy Wilkerson's son, which
dispels the myth that Benjamin Siegel came up with the
idea for the Las Vegas Flamingo hotel and invented
"upscale" modern Las Vegas. The book, while it
concentrates on the events around the Flamingo, also
gives wonderful insights into the life of one of
Hollywood's greatest restaurateurs (and tabloid
journalists). Billy Wilkerson almost single handedly
created famous night clubs and restaurants such as the
Vendome Restaurant, Cafe Trocadero, Ciro's Night club
and La Rue Restaurant. A must buy for anyone seriously
into Hollywood or Las Vegas history. |
|
May I Take Your Order? |
Jim Heimann, Chronicle
Books. Another absolute "must buy" by Jim Heimann with a
glorious collection of restaurant menu graphics from
1920-1960, including Los Angeles and the entire nation.
A sure collectors item in the making. The book includes
menus from the Brown Derby Restaurant, Pig 'n Whistle
Restaurant, Carolina Pines Jr. Coffee Shop, the Luau
Restaurant, Trader Vic's Restaurant, Romeo's Time Square
Restaurant, Ship's Coffee Shop, Googie's Coffee Shop and
hundreds of other great time machines. |
|
On The Outside Looking In (A Maitre D's Memoirs) |
Jimmy Vollmer. This is a wonderful book detailing Mr.
Vollmer's long and illustrious career working as a
Maitre D' in what were once the only two five star
hotels in the Los Angeles area - "The Beverly Wilshire
Hotel" and the "Bel Air Hotel". He started his career
is venerable "Smoke House" and the former restaurant to
the stars "The Tail of the Cock". The book is written in
a very sincere style, as if you were lucky enough to sit
down and have a long drink with Mr. Vollmer, as he
regales you with countless classic anecdotes of the
middle and end of what were in my opinion the "true"
Hollywood years. The type of people he describes are, as
he often comments, one of a kind, never to be found
again in the present world of corporate chains and
generic movies. This book is a must read for anyone
interested in the topics covered by my website, as well
as any fan of classic Hollywood. |
|
Out With the Stars
|
Jim Heimann, Abbeville
Press. This book definitely inspired my interest
in 1920-1960s Los Angeles and Hollywood (almost single
handedly and out of the blue). Full of one of a kind
pictures and incredible research into Hollywood
nightlife in the Golden Era. If you can get this
book for under $100 (and you generally can on Amazon.com
and Barnes and Noble.com) get while you can. It’s
quite a collector’s item. Jim Heimann has written
many other great nostalgia books as well on California
and America’s golden age. I just can't say enough about
Jim Heimann or his books! One of a kind pictures of the
Coconut Grove Night Club, Ambassador Hotel, the various
Brown Derby Restaurants, the Trocadero Night Club, The
Mocambo Night Club , Ciro’s Night Club, Earl Carroll’s
Night Club, Frank Sebastian's Cotton Club, the
Montmartre Night Club, the Seven Seas Night Club, Don
the Beachcomber Restaurant, the Nicabob Restaurant, the
Wilshire Bowl Restaurant, the Biltmore Bowl, Sardi's
Restaurant, Musso & Frank Grill and countless others. By
my tastes, tied for the best book on Los Angeles with
Kevin Roderick's "Wilshire Boulevard".
|
|
Southern California in the
50’s
|
Charles Phoenix, Angel City
Press. Fun book on California 1950s nostalgia.
Has pictures of the Brown Derby Restaurant, Coconut
Grove Restaurant, and the Paramount Theater, among
others.
|
|
Sunshine and Wealth – Los
Angeles in the Twenties and Thirties
|
Bruce Henstell - Chronicle
Books. Very valuable resource on this relatively
forgotten period in Los Angeles history.
|
|
Tiki Road Trip – A guide to
Tiki Culture in North America.
|
James Teitelbaum, Santa
Monica Press – the definitive tour book on how to find
Tiki Culture sites all over America. Lots of
places to explore in California including the Tiki Ti
bar, Trader Vic's Restaurant, the Bali Hai Restaurant,
Humphrey's Half Moon Inn, and Sam's Seafood. With
this book and a car - you have an instant adventure and
vacation.
|
|
Ultimate Hollywood Tour
Book
|
William A. Gordon, North
Ridge Books. More accurately the penultimate Hollywood
Tour Book - it makes a great supplement to “Hollywood:
The movie Lover’s Guide”. Articles on the Yamashiro
Restaurant, Barney's Beanery, the Chateau Marmont Hotel,
Union Station, the Ennis-Brown House, and much more.
|
|
Visceral Bukowski - Inside
the Sniper Landscape of L.A. Writers |
Ben Pleasants. Sun Dog
Press. Very entertaining and enjoyable read as a
semi-biography of Charles Bukowski and 60's underground
Los Angeles poets and writers in general. Pleasants
being one of Bukowski's longest running and best friends
reveals an honest and insightful view of Bukowski,
pulling no punches. Paints a great ambiance of the '60s
LA literary scene. |
|
Walking L.A. |
Erin Mahony. Wilderness
Press. Very nice guide for the urban archeologist or
hiker. Good for planning tours of different areas of Los
Angeles. |
|
When the Mob Ran Vegas |
Steve Fischer. Berkline
Press. Very interesting and informative book on the
rather sordid origins of Las Vegas. Written in a down
home style, it's a real page turner. I look forward to
his next book on Las Vegas Showgirls. |
|
Wilshire Boulevard - Grand
Concourse of Los Angeles |
Kevin Roderick with
research by J. Eric Lynxwiler, Angel City Press - This
is an incredible book. You won't believe the pictures
and the depth of information (which is understandable
given the reputation and knowledge of both authors
regarding Los Angeles). In my opinion this is at least
tied for best book ever on Los Angeles by my tastes
(with Jim Heimann's "Out with the stars"). Regardless of
whether you have a specific interest in Wilshire Blvd. -
anyone interested in Los Angeles or history in general
will love this book. It contains of picture of the
almost forgotten "Fifth" Brown Derby (originally the Hi
Hat) on Wilshire (that became Perinos). Jaw dropping
pictures of Wilshire Blvd. - especially my favorite
area of Los Angeles Wilshire Center / Koreatown . A
must buy!!! |
