And a bonus question!

What nonfiction book do you think is the best, or is widely considered to be the definitive work about Los Angeles? (If you nominate You'll Never Eat Lunch In This Town Again or any other relatively modern Hollywood tell-all, please also include a non-Hollywood-focused nominee.)

I realize, asking this question, that with the exception of Hollywood tell-alls, most significant or influential works about Los Angeles are fiction (Raymond Chandler, Ross MacDonald, Francesca Lia Block), or not books at all: Chinatown, Short Cuts, The Player.

Ideally, I'd like to read some books that are focused on neither Hollywood nor gangs.

And a bonus question!

What nonfiction book do you think is the best, or is widely considered to be the definitive work about Los Angeles? (If you nominate You'll Never Eat Lunch In This Town Again or any other relatively modern Hollywood tell-all, please also include a non-Hollywood-focused nominee.)

I realize, asking this question, that with the exception of Hollywood tell-alls, most significant or influential works about Los Angeles are fiction (Raymond Chandler, Ross MacDonald, Francesca Lia Block), or not books at all: Chinatown, Short Cuts, The Player.

Ideally, I'd like to read some books that are focused on neither Hollywood nor gangs.