Synopses & Reviews
"Samir Kassir's
Beirut is a passionate tour de force, a love letter to that sparkling capital that takes us on a careening ride through its history. It's a tale that reads like a novel, peopled by missionaries and city-builders, warlords and intellectuals, diplomats and clan leaders. And all along, we know how it ends: in Beirut's implosion into the senseless violence and civil war from which, sadly, it has never fully recovered. Epic in scope, Kassir's masterwork shows us Beirut in all its richness, from its vibrant past to its uncertain, shaky future."and#151;Robert Dreyfuss, author of
Devil's Game: How the United States Helped Unleash Fundamentalist Islam"Until the outbreak of the civil war in Lebanon in 1975, Beirut was the unparalleled queen of the Eastern Mediterranean. In this panoramic work Samir Kassir invites us into 'the cosmopolitan capital of the Arabs', navigated through unearthing Beirut's Ottoman, Mandate, and post-independence past. Kassir's exquisite cultural history combines an erudite scholarship of urban form with an intimate reading of the city's collective biography. A truly exceptional work."and#151;Salim Tamari, author of Mountain Against the Sea: Essays on Palestinian Society and Culture
"Samir Kassir has given us a memorable history of Beirut. His tribute to the city he loved, and in which he was killed, is a testament of great fidelity and truth. A work that never falters, an exquisite narrative of a city that has known both joy and heartbreak. The definitive history of this city that has juggled and brokered competing identities."and#151;Fouad Ajami, author of The Dream Palace of the Arabs
"This is a fine book, accessible and well written, which will appeal to specialist and general readers alike. It explains why Beirut has been a byword not only for spasmodic violence, but also for some of the most interesting and important developments in the Middle East over the past two centuries. Balanced, tempered and learned, this book reminds us of how great a loss resulted from Samir Kassir's untimely death."and#151;Rashid Khalidi, author of Sowing Crisis: The Cold War and American Dominance in the Middle East
"Kassir was an unusual kind of martyr in today's Middle East, a staunch secularist who wanted to live in a free country, not to die for one. In a region driven increasingly by a politics of death and sacrifice, he stood for a vision of peaceful reform, progressive social change and democratic secularismand#151;the values of any left worthy of the name."and#151;Adam Shatz, in The Nation
Review
and#8220;Imagine Howard Zinn, the late renegade professor who gave us and#8216;A Peopleand#8217;s History of the United States,and#8217; kidnapping Huell Howser and rewriting your Auto Club TourBook. . . . But you donand#8217;t have to agree with the authorsand#8217; politics to be intrigued by their work. Even though Iand#8217;ve been working on an L.A. guidebook myself for the last 18 months, this and#8216;Peopleand#8217;s Guideand#8217; taught me plenty.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;High Gas Prices make staycations more inviting, so start planning with and#8216;A Peopleand#8217;s Guide to Los Angeles.and#8221; The focus here is on the people, places, struggles and triumphs that make our area unique.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;A beautiful collection of short essays, maps, stories, photographs, directions and secret histories.and#8221;
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and#8220;An intriguing and important book of alternative tourism.and#8221;
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and#8220;A rare and refreshingly new take on the tourist guidebook. . . . O?ers a more balanced and accurate picture of Los Angeles.and#8221;
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and#8220;F**k Rodeo Drive: A People's Guide to Los Angeles is an L.A. Guidebook for the 99 Percent.and#8221;
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"It should become a permanent feature on bookshelves and course syllabi across the region."
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"A rich, full, and fascinating alternative tour of Los Angeles that is sure to hold something of interest for just about anyone who is curious about the subterranean history and hidden current life of the city . . . a groundbreaking and important project."
Review
and#8220;An indispensable guide for those seeking to understand Los Angeles beyond its well-hyped glitz and glamour.and#8221;
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and#8220;The masterfully executed book subverts the typical Los Angeles guidebook. . . . It's an invaluable source of little known or forgotten but very necessary L.A. history.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Weand#8217;ve found a great summer read thatand#8217;s giving us a new perspective on the city we love. Itand#8217;s got intrigue, actionand#8212;and enough shocking stories for a miniseries. Plus, itand#8217;s all true. . . . Its thoroughly researched, intelligent text is edifying no matter where you stand. And like any good guidebook, there are dining recommendations along the way.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Offering an interesting alternative to the usual tourist guides, A Peopleand#8217;s Guide to Los Angeles is a socio-political look at the West Coastand#8217;s occasionally explosive cultural melting pot that . . . illuminates a few corners that donand#8217;t turn up in the usual tourist guides.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;This is not your usual roundup of traditional tourist sites in L.A. but, instead, a unique and vastly informative guide to places of interest and importance in the struggles of race, labor, gender, and the environment.and#8221;
Review
"A Peopleand#8217;s Guide is much more than a guidebook, it is a unique and much-needed peopleand#8217;s history of Los Angeles; an historical document to resist the erasures, and to capture stories, struggles (both historical and ongoing), successes and defeats, that may otherwise be lost or remain inaccessible to those not intimately familiar with and embedded in the region."
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and#8220;An evocative portrait of a great but tragic metropolis.and#8221;
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and#8220;A significant and important book for anyone with an interest in the city and its ongoing troubles, the Middle East in general and in the relationship between modernity and urbanity.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Kassir embodied Beirutand#8217;s variant of the polyglot Levantine ideal. . . . His biography of the city of which he was a vital constituent is unlikely to be surpassed.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;A unique contribution to the growing literature on modern and contemporary Lebanon. . . . Erudite, evocative, and highly compelling.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Kassir charts in intricate detail the damage done to Beirut through architectural crimes that portended the greater destruction to come.and#8221;
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and#8220;A definitive history of the city.and#8221;
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and#8220;Diamond contends that young Euro-American men forged their masculine and racial identities . . . around their encounters with the colour line.and#8221;
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"In Mean Streets Andrew J. Diamond offers a fascinating, meticulous, and entertaining account of the relationship between youths, street culture, race, and racial violence in twentieth-century Chicago."
Review
"Mean Streetsis a deeply researched account of how youth gangs shaped neighborhood boundaries in Chicago."
Review
and#8220;Diamondand#8217;s engaging writing allows him to weave a rich tapestry about life in this multiracial city.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;A fascinating, meticulous, and entertaining account. . . . An important, engaging book.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Sugrue, Hirsch, Robert Self, and now Diamond...offer sophisticated understandngs of the origins of and#8216;a new configuration of inequality with rearranged featuresand#8217;.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Diamondand#8217;s book makes considerable contributions to multiple fields of scholarship.and#8221;
Review
"A book that will prove central to understanding Chicago, urban culture, and the role that youth gangs have played in their development."
Synopsis
Heralded as America's most quintessentially modern city, Chicago has attracted the gaze of journalists, novelists, essayists, and scholars as much as any city in the nation. And, yet, few historians have attempted big-picture narratives of the city's transformation over the twentieth century. Chicago on the Make traces the evolution of the city's politics, culture, and economy as it grew from an unruly tangle of rail yards, slaughterhouses, factories, tenement houses, and fiercely defended ethnic neighborhoods into a truly global urban center. Reinterpreting the familiar narrative that Chicago's autocratic machine politics shaped its institutions and public life, Andrew J. Diamond demonstrates how the grassroots politics of race crippled progressive forces and enabled an alliance of downtown business interests to promote a neoliberal agenda that created the stark inequalities that ravage the city today. Chicago on the Make takes the story into the twenty-first century, chronicling Chicago's deeply entrenched social and urban problems as the city ascended to the national stage during the Obama years.
Synopsis
Winner of the 2017 Jon Gjerde Prize, Midwestern History Association
Winner of the 2017 Award of Superior Achievement, Illinois State Historical Society
"Effectively details the long history of racial conflict and abuse that has led to Chicago becoming one of America's most segregated cities. . . . A wealth of material."
--New York Times
Heralded as America's quintessentially modern city, Chicago has attracted the gaze of journalists, novelists, essayists, and scholars as much as any city in the nation. And, yet, few historians have attempted big-picture narratives of the city's transformation over the twentieth century. Chicago on the Make traces the evolution of the city's politics, culture, and economy as it grew from an unruly tangle of rail yards, slaughterhouses, factories, tenement houses, and fiercely defended ethnic neighborhoods into a truly global urban center. Reinterpreting the familiar narrative that Chicago's autocratic machine politics shaped its institutions and public life, Andrew J. Diamond demonstrates how the grassroots politics of race crippled progressive forces and enabled an alliance of downtown business interests to promote a neoliberal agenda that created stark inequalities. Chicago on the Make takes the story into the twenty-first century, chronicling Chicago's deeply entrenched social and urban problems as the city ascended to the national stage during the Obama years.
Synopsis
"Effectively details the long history of racial conflict and abuse that has led to Chicago becoming one of America's most segregated cities. . . . A wealth of material."--New York Times Winner of the 2017 Jon Gjerde Prize, Midwestern History Association
Winner of the 2017 Award of Superior Achievement, Illinois State Historical Society
Heralded as America's quintessentially modern city, Chicago has attracted the gaze of journalists, novelists, essayists, and scholars as much as any city in the nation. And, yet, few historians have attempted big-picture narratives of the city's transformation over the twentieth century. Chicago on the Make traces the evolution of the city's politics, culture, and economy as it grew from an unruly tangle of rail yards, slaughterhouses, factories, tenement houses, and fiercely defended ethnic neighborhoods into a truly global urban center. Reinterpreting the familiar narrative that Chicago's autocratic machine politics shaped its institutions and public life, Andrew J. Diamond demonstrates how the grassroots politics of race crippled progressive forces and enabled an alliance of downtown business interests to promote a neoliberal agenda that created stark inequalities. Chicago on the Make takes the story into the twenty-first century, chronicling Chicago's deeply entrenched social and urban problems as the city ascended to the national stage during the Obama years.
Synopsis
A Peopleand#8217;s Guide to Los Angeles offers an assortment of eye-opening alternatives to L.A.and#8217;s usual tourist destinations. It documents 115 little-known sites in the City of Angels where struggles related to race, class, gender, and sexuality have occurred. They introduce us to people and events usually ignored by mainstream media and, in the process, create a fresh history of Los Angeles. Roughly dividing the city into six regionsand#151;North Los Angeles, the Eastside and San Gabriel Valley, South Los Angeles, Long Beach and the Harbor, the Westside, and the San Fernando Valleyand#151;this illuminating guide shows how power operates in the shaping of places, and how it remains embedded in the landscape.
Synopsis
and#147;Forget the starsand#8217; map of Hollywood: this is the real trip through an L.A. history of militant strikers, civil rights activists, and unforgettable feminists. A tour de force of imagination and memory.and#8221; and#151;Mike Davis, author of
City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles"A Peopleand#8217;s Guide brings the reader to the Los Angeles I know and love. The amazingly diverse, vibrant, gritty LA filled with history and struggle. Finally, hereand#8217;s a guidebook that takes visitors to the places and people that make me proud to call Los Angeles my home.and#8221; and#151;Madeline Janis, Executive Director, Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE)
Synopsis
Los Angeles pulsed with economic vitality and demographic growth in the decades following World War II. This vividly detailed cultural history of L.A. from 1940 to 1970 traces the rise of a new suburban consciousness adopted by a generation of migrants who abandoned older American cities for Southern California's booming urban region. Eric Avila explores expressions of this new "white identity" in popular culture with provocative discussions of Hollywood and film noir, Dodger Stadium, Disneyland, and L.A.'s renowned freeways. These institutions not only mirrored this new culture of suburban whiteness and helped shape it, but also, as Avila argues, reveal the profound relationship between the increasingly fragmented urban landscape of Los Angeles and the rise of a new political outlook that rejected the tenets of New Deal liberalism and anticipated the emergence of the New Right.
Avila examines disparate manifestations of popular culture in architecture, art, music, and more to illustrate the unfolding urban dynamics of postwar Los Angeles. He also synthesizes important currents of new research in urban history, cultural studies, and critical race theory, weaving a textured narrative about the interplay of space, cultural representation, and identity amid the westward shift of capital and culture in postwar America.
Synopsis
"In Popular Culture in the Age of White Flight, Eric Avila offers a unique argument about the restructuring of urban space in the two decades following World War II and the role played by new suburban spaces in dramatically transforming the political culture of the United States. Avila's work helps us see how and why the postwar suburb produced the political culture of 'balanced budget conservatism' that is now the dominant force in politics, how the eclipse of the New Deal since the 1970s represents not only a change of views but also an alteration of spaces."and#151;George Lipsitz, author of The Possessive Investment in Whiteness
Synopsis
Widely praised as the definitive history of Beirut, this is the story of a city that has stood at the crossroads of Mediterranean civilization for more than four thousand years. The last major work completed by Samir Kassir before his tragic death in 2005, Beirut is a tour de force that takes the reader from the ancient to the modern world, offering a dazzling panorama of the city's Seleucid, Roman, Arab, Ottoman, and French incarnations. Kassir vividly describes Beirut's spectacular growth in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, concentrating on its emergence after the Second World War as a cosmopolitan capital until its near destruction during the devastating Lebanese civil war of 1975-1990. Generously illustrated and eloquently written, Beirut illuminates contemporary issues of modernity and democracy while at the same time memorably recreating the atmosphere of one of the world's most picturesque, dynamic, and resilient cities.
Synopsis
Mean Streets focuses on the streets, parks, schools, and commercial venues of Chicago from the era of the 1919 race riot to the civil rights battles of the 1960s to cast a new light on street gangs and to place youths at the center of the twentieth-century American experience. Andrew J. Diamond breaks new ground by showing that teens and young adults stood at the vanguard of grassroots mobilizations in working-class Chicago, playing key roles in the formation of racial identities as they defended neighborhood boundaries. Drawing from a wide range of sources to capture the experiences of young Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, African Americans, Italians, Poles, and others in the multiracial city, Diamond argues that Chicago youths gained a sense of themselves in opposition to others.
Synopsis
"In a city that social scientists feel we know well,
Mean Streets provides new and exciting insights into the spatial dimensions of urban life. Not afraid to talk about both attraction and repulsion, Diamond provocatively unearths the critical role of youthsand#151;ages 15 to 25and#151;in leading their wider communities in the negotiation of race."and#151;George Sanchez, author of
Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture, and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles 1900-1945"In Mean Streets, Andrew Diamond brilliantly bridges social, political, and cultural history. His deeply researched account of Chicago's black, white, and Latino youth subcultures offers a fresh perspective on the entangled histories of identity, power, and place. This is a first-rate book."and#151;Thomas J. Sugrue, author of Sweet Land of Liberty: The Forgotten Struggle for Civil Rights in the North.
"This excellent social history of Chicago's youth gangs not only demonstrates their centrality to the vaunted community and turf consciousness of the city's neighborhoods; it also explains the widespread ethnic and racial conflict that has characterized the city for most of the twentieth century. Diamond accomplishes this with a remarkable amount of empirical research on the gritty streets, playgrounds and parks, dance halls, 'can houses' (brothels), and industrial wastelands in, between, and around these neighborhoods."and#151;James R. Barrett, author of Work and Community in 'The Jungle': Chicago's Packing House Workers, 1894-1922.
About the Author
Laura Pulido is Professor of American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California. Among her books is Black, Brown, Yellow, and Left: Radical Activism in Los Angeles (UC Press). Laura Barraclough is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Kalamazoo College and the author of Making the San Fernando Valley: Rural Landscapes, Urban Development, and White Privilege. Wendy Cheng is Assistant Professor of Asian Pacific American Studies and Justice and Social Inquiry at Arizona State University.
Table of Contents
List of Maps
An Introduction to A Peopleand#8217;s Guide to Los Angeles
Los Angeles County Map
Chapter One: North Los Angeles
An Introduction to North Los Angeles
Map of North Los Angeles
North Los Angeles Sites
1.1 Biddy Mason Park and#149; 1.2 Black Cat Bar and#149; 1.3 Bus Riders Union and Labor/Community Strategy Center and#149; 1.4 Caballeros de Dimas-Alang and Philippines Review and#149; 1.5 California Club and#149; 1.6 Calle de Los Negros and#149; 1.7 Chavez Ravine and#149; 1.8 Chinatowns and#149; 1.9 ChoSun Galbee Restaurant and#149; 1.10 Downey Block and#149; 1.11 El Congreso del Pueblo de Habla Espaand#241;ola and#149; 1.12 Embassy Hotel and Auditorium and#149; 1.13 Fernandoand#8217;s Hideaway and Sisters of GABRIELA, Awaken! and#149; 1.14 Gay Liberation Front (1969and#150;1972)/Former Home of Morris Kight and#149; 1.15 Gay Womenand#8217;s Service Center and#149; 1.16 If Cafand#233; and Open Door and#149; 1.17 Instituto de Educaciand#243;n Popular del Sur de California (IDEPSCA) and Villa Park and#149; 1.18 Kyoto Grand Hotel and#149; 1.19 L.A. Live and#149; 1.20 La Placita and Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels and#149; 1.21 League of Southern California Japanese Gardeners and#149; 1.22 Los Angeles Police Department Headquarters and Parker Center and#149; 1.23 Los Angeles River Center and Gardens and#149; 1.24 Los Angeles Times Building (Former) and#149; 1.25 Musicians Union Hall (Local 47) and#149; 1.26 Orpheum Theatre, Sleepy Lagoon Murder, and Ventura School for Girls and#149; 1.27 Partido Liberal Mexicano and#149; 1.28 Pershing Square and#149; 1.29 Roosevelt Hoteland#151;the Cinegrill and#149; 1.30 Tropical America Mural and#149; 1.31 Yang-Na
Chapter Two: The Greater Eastside and San Gabriel Valley
An Introduction to the Greater Eastside and San Gabriel Valley
Map of the Greater Eastside and San Gabriel Valley
Greater Eastside and San Gabriel Valley Sites
2.1 Alma Avenueand#151;Residential Discrimination Site and#149; 2.2 Altadena Open Housing Covenant and#149; 2.3 AMVAC Chemical Corporation and#149; 2.4 Atlantic Square and#149; 2.5 Cathay Bank and#149; 2.6 East Los Angeles Prison (Proposed) and Vernon Incinerator (Proposed) and#149; 2.7 El Espectador and#149; 2.8 El Monte Sweatshop and#149; 2.9 Haramokngna American Indian Cultural Center and#149; 2.10 Hicks Camp/Rio Vista Park and#149; 2.11 Lacy Park and#149; 2.12 Llano del Rio and#149; 2.13 Mariachi Plaza and#149; 2.14 Mount Sinai Home Care Agency and#149; 2.15 Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (Richard Chambers Courthouse) and#149; 2.16 Owen Brownand#8217;s Gravesite and#149; 2.17 Quemetco, Incorporated and#149; 2.18 Ruben Salazar Park and Silver Dollar Cafand#233; and#149; 2.19 San Gabriel Mission and#149; 2.20 Santa Anita Park and Pomona Fairgrounds and#149; 2.21 Self-Help Graphics and Art and#149; 2.22 Upton Sinclairand#8217;s House and#149; 2.23 Whittier State School
Chapter Three: South Los Angeles
An Introduction to South Los Angeles
Map of South Los Angeles
South Los Angeles Sites
3.1 Alameda Boulevard and#149; 3.2 Alondra Park and#149; 3.3 American Indian Movement, Los Angeles Chapter and#149; 3.4 Bicycle Club Casino and#149; 3.5 Black Panther Party Headquarters and#149; 3.6 California Eagle and#149; 3.7 Chucoand#8217;s Justice Center and FREE L.A. High School and#149; 3.8 Compton Communicative Arts Academy and#149; 3.9 Dorothy Ray Healeyand#8217;s House and#149; 3.10 Duke Brothersand#8217; Automotive Shop and#149; 3.11 Dunbar Hotel and#149; 3.12 Eso Won Bookstore and Leimert Park and#149; 3.13 Firestone Tire and Rubber and#149; 3.14 Holiday Bowl and#149; 3.15 Holman United Methodist Church and#149; 3.16 Indian Revival Center and#149; 3.17 Kashu Realty and Thirty-sixth Street Residential Discrimination Site and#149; 3.18 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and#149; 3.19 Maywood City Hall and#149; 3.20 Mercado La Paloma and#149; 3.21 Peace and Freedom Party, Los Angeles Chapter and#149; 3.22 Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research and#149; 3.23 Trianon Ballroom and#149; 3.24 USC McDonaldand#8217;s Olympic Swim Stadium
Chapter Four: The Harbor and South Bay
An Introduction to the Harbor and South Bay
Map of the Harbor and South Bay
Harbor and South Bay Sites
4.1 Baypoint Avenue Residential Discrimination Site and#149; 4.2 Bixby Park and#149; 4.3 Lakewood City Hall and#149; 4.4 Mark Twain Library and Cambodia Town and#149; 4.5 Miramar Park and#149; 4.6 Port of Los Angeles and Liberty Hill and#149; 4.7 Puvungna and#149; 4.8 Terminal Island and#149; 4.9 White Point Preserve and Education Center and#149; 4.10 Ziba Beauty Center
Chapter Five: The Westside
An Introduction to the Westside
Map of the Westside
Westside Sites
5.1 Ballona Wetlands and#149; 5.2 Campbell Hall, UCLA and#149; 5.3 Century City and#149; 5.4 Federal Buildings and#149; 5.5 Highways Performance Space and#149; 5.6 The Ink Well and#149; 5.7 Los Angeles International Airport and#149; 5.8 Malibu Public Beaches and#149; 5.9 Midnight Special and Sisterhood Bookstores and#149; 5.10 West Hollywood City Hall and#149; 5.11 Workmenand#8217;s Circle/Arbeter Ring
Chapter Six: The San Fernando Valley and North Los Angeles County
An Introduction to the San Fernando Valley and North Los Angeles County
Map of the San Fernando Valley and North Los Angeles County
San Fernando Valley and North Los Angeles County Sites
6.1 BUSTOP and#149; 6.2 Chicana and Chicano Studies and Pan African Studies Departments, California State University, Northridge and#149; 6.3 Everywomanand#8217;s Village and#149; 6.4 General Motors Van Nuys and#149; 6.5 The Great Wall and Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC) and#149; 6.6 KPFK Radio Station and Pacifica Archives and#149; 6.7 Lang Station and#149; 6.8 Saint Francis Dam and#149; 6.9 Santa Susana Field Laboratory and#149; 6.10 Simi Valley Courthouse and Site of Rodney King Beating and#149; 6.11 Siutcanga/Village of Los Encinos and#149; 6.12 Tarzana and#149; 6.13 Theodore Payne Foundation for Wildflowers and Native Plants and#149; 6.14 Val Verde Park and#149; 6.15 Wat Thai of Los Angeles
Chapter Seven: Thematic Tours
First Peoples Tour and#149; Radical People-of-Color Movements of the 1960s and '70s Tour and#149; Queer Politics and Culture Tour and#149; Independent and Alternative Media Tour and#149; Economic Restructuring and Globalization Tour and#149; New Organizing Tour and#149; Environmental Justice Tour
Recommended Reading
Acknowledgments
Credits
Index