Inventing Paradise

"In the late 1870s, Los Angeles was a violent, dusty, 29-square-mile pueblo with a few thousand souls, largely unchanged since its founding in 1781. By 1930s, its size had swelled to within 96% of its current 468 square miles, housing a staggering 1.2 million people. In just 50 years, L.A. had joined the ranks of other world-class cities. In the tradition of Mike Davis's classic work City of Quartz, Paul Haddad debunks many myths about the City of Angels with a narrative that sheds new light on the fascinating birth of modern Los Angeles."--Provided by publisher.