Los Angeles Stories

Available Now: World-famous musician Ry Cooder publishes his first collection of stories.

From the award-winning author of Always Running comes a brilliant collection of short stories about life in East Los Angeles. Whether hilariously capturing the voice of a philosophizing limo driver whose dream is to make the most of his rap-metal garage band in "My Ride, My Revolution," or the monologue-styled rant of a tes-ti-fy-ing! tent revivalist named Ysela in "Oiga," Rodriguez squeezes humor from the lives of people who are not ready to sacrifice their dreams due to circumstance. In these stories, Luis J. Rodriguez gives eloquent voice to the neighborhood where he spent many years as a resident, a father, an organizer, and, finally, a writer: a neighborhood that offers more to the world than its appearance allows.

A Los Angeles Times's and Southern California Indie Bookseller Association's Bestseller! Los Angeles Stories is a collection of loosely linked, noir-ish tales that evoke a bygone era in one of America's most iconic cities. In post-World War II Los Angeles, as power was concentrating and fortunes were being made, a do-it-yourself culture of cool cats, outsiders, and oddballs populated the old downtown neighborhoods of Bunker Hill and Chavez Ravine. Ordinary working folks rubbed elbows with petty criminals, grifters, and all sorts of women at foggy end-of-the-line outposts in Venice Beach and Santa Monica. Rich with the essence and character of the times, suffused with the patois of the city's underclass, these are stories about the common people of Los Angeles, "a sunny place for shady people," and the strange things that happen to them. Musicians, gun shop owners, streetwalkers, tailors, door-to-door salesmen, drifters, housewives, dentists, pornographers, new arrivals, and hard-bitten denizens all intersect in cleverly plotted stories that center around some kind of shadowy activity. This quirky love letter to a lost way of life will appeal to fans of hard-boiled fiction and anyone interested in the city itself. "Taken as a whole, this collection offers a panoramic view of a rapidly changing Los Angeles and its immigrant communities, rich in period detail and idiomatic dialogue, sometimes based on Cooder's own memories of growing up in the same neighborhoods in which the stories are often set."—Uncut Magazine "Cooder shouldn't stop making records. He should keep writing, too."—Rolling Stones "The stories of Ry Cooder are a lot like his music: stately, precise, well constructed; they grab you by the throat, quietly, and never let go … "—Andrew J. Khaled Madigan, The Iowa Review "The strict Los Angeles setting—the city's highs and lows romanticised ceaselessly—make them like Raymond Chandler or Mickey Spillane."—Chris Johnston, Sydney Morning Herald "In Los Angeles Stories, his first published collection of stories, Cooder pays homage to the jazz, the blues and the Latin beat of a bygone era. He also honors a cast of boisterous musicians, some murdered, others spared to tell their gritty tales of life and death. A few famous musicians—John Lee Hooker and Charlie Parker among them—make cameo appearances in these pages, but most of the guitar players, drummers and lounge singers are as unknown as the repossession men, waitresses and mechanics they entertain in forgotten bars and derelict nightclubs."—San Francisco Chronicle Ry Cooder is a world-famous guitarist, singer, and composer known for his slide guitar work, interest in roots music, and more recently for his collaborations with traditional musicians from many countries, including The Buena Vista Social Club. He has composed soundtracks for more than twenty films, including Paris, Texas. Two recent albums were accompanied by stories Cooder wrote to accompany the music. This is his first published collection of stories.

The past fifty years have not erased the memories of Los Desterrados, the uprooted descendants of Chavez Ravine. After extensive research, Don Normark has tracked them down in order to share his old photographs and to record their poignant reactions. He has captured the images, the stories, and the bittersweet memories of Los Desterrados in this book."--Jacket.

While Los Angeles is known for beaches, film studios and a sunny climate, it’s worth digging deeper to discover the city’s soul created by an ethnically diverse culture dating to the 18th century. Blending history and some local travel, Oldest Los Angeles takes readers on a journey through the past to the oldest buildings, businesses, and neighborhoods in the City of Angels. The pages open with a walking tour of El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument, a district that marks the city’s birthplace in 1781 when a group of 44 immigrants formed a farming community. What started as a humble pueblo evolved into a vibrant metropolis that’s home to over 10 million people and 185 languages. Explore L.A. and learn about the whimsical Looff Hippodrome on the Santa Monica Pier, why Pink’s Hot Dogs names some menu items after celebrities, and where to find a 250-year-old grapevine (still producing grapes!). Walk the halls of Rockhaven, a former women’s sanitarium in a residential neighborhood, and visit the site of California’s surprising gold discovery in Santa Clarita—also home to a nearly forgotten ghost town. Read touching family stories about the first Mexican restaurant, El Cholo; the oldest confectionary, FugetsuDo; and why the Palacios family was determined to save the oldest children’s bookstore against all odds. Seen through the lens of veteran travel journalist and L.A. native Mimi Slawoff, Oldest Los Angeles is both informative and engaging with insider stories and nuggets of fun facts.

The twelve buildings of "Iconic LA," identifiable the world over, demonstrate the personality and power of Los Angeles as a major metropolis. Their stories are the story of a city in progress, an urban biography that tells a century's worth of history. Like a character in a movie, each of these buildings has played a role in an unfolding human drama complete with intrigue, political struggle, tragedy, and triumph. The architect of the Bradbury Building accepted the commission after consulting a Ouija board and was inspired by a futuristic novel written in the late 1800s; in 1984 the building became a set for the futuristic-noir film "Blade Runner." The Jetson style LAX Theme Building provides an indelible image of one of the world's busiest airports; however, few know the poignant story of its designer, Paul Williams, one of Los Angeles's most important African-American architects. Frank Gehry's design for the Disney Concert Hall suffered criticism, public apathy, and political frustration; in 1999 construction officially began on what will arguably be the city's most visible and popular landmark. Other buildings discussed include Griffith Observatory, the Getty Center, Watts Towers, and Case Study House #22.