Los Angeles History - Los Angeles Pop Culture Books

LOS ANGELES HISTORY & OTHER CLASSIC POP CULTURE- GREAT BOOKS

Los Angeles history - great books on bars, restaurants, nightclubs, movie palaces, Hollywood and Los Angeles in general, as well as other books on pop culture 1920-1970. Ya gotta get these!!! Many of these books have fantastic pictures of the classic restaurants I talk about like the Brown Derby, Chasen's, Clifton's Cafeteria, Musso and Frank's Grill, the Rainbow Bar & Grill, Perino's and others.

The ancient clock of the Yorkshire Grill. When it stops, I fear Los Angeles will come to a halt! UPDATE: It's gone! Must be the clock at the Pacific Diner in San Pedro that keeps LA metro going (guess I shouldn't have been reading Picture of Dorian Grey)!

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. As a matter of fact, if I'm not mistaken, these books coined the term "Googie 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! You won't be able to put it down. 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 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	Jim Heimann and Kevin Starr. Taschen Publishing. An appropriate title for the definitive pop culturephotographic history of Los Angeles by the two Gods of Los Angeles history - Jim Heimann and Kevin Starr. This is a mighty big book with a corresponding price - and well worth it. A sin qua non for people who love Los Angeles as much as I do. As with any book by Jim Heimann - it has incredible pictures. Has Taschen ever put out a book that wasn't interesting? And of course, for those of you seriously into California history (my knowledge and interest drops off big time any place out of LA County) - Kevin Starr has written what will always be the definitive look at California history in his multi-volume study of the state. His books go into mind-blowing detail about all things California.
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.
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", and Gregory Paul Williams' The Story of Hollywood (An illustrated History).
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.
(The) Story of Hollywood (An illustrated history)	Gregory Paul Williams - BL Press LLC - mind boggling book on the history of the "City" of Hollywood. I've never read a book about a city with this much detail. To call this the "definitive" book on the history of this quasi-city would be an understatement. This is definitely at least tied as best book on any LA related history topic with Kevin Roderick's Wilshire Boulevard book and Jim Heimann's "Out with the Stars". The pictures alone will completely blow you away. Even if you have little interested in the Hollywood area, the book serves as perhaps an unintended study of how a "city" can evolve from bucolic lemon groves and adobes to a chic upscale urban area to a blighted skid row and then revive as an historic area and club venue. Strangely, I can now visualize the sleepy village of Victorian homes that Hollywood once was as I drive down Hollywood Boulevard. Almost deja vu. A must read for anyone interested in the topics of this website. Super kudos!
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" and Gregory Paul Willams' - the Story of Hollywood). 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 a picture of the forgotten "Fifth" Brown Derby (originally the Hi Hat) on Wilshire (that became Perinos) rediscovered by the authors. Jaw dropping pictures of Wilshire Blvd. - especially my favorite area of Los Angeles Wilshire Center / Koreatown . A must buy!!!

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