The mirage factory : illusion, imagination, and the invention of Los Angeles / Gary Krist.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Krist, Gary, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mulholland, William, 1855-1935.

Mulholland, William.

Griffith, D. W. (David Wark), 1875-1948.

Griffith, D. W.

McPherson, Aimee Semple, 1890-1944.

McPherson, Aimee Semple.

Los Angeles (Calif.)--History--20th century.

Los Angeles (Calif.).

Los Angeles (Calif.)--Social conditions--20th century.

Los Angeles (Calif.)--Economic conditions--20th century.

Los Angeles (Calif)--History--20th century.

Los Angeles (Calif)--Social conditions--20th century.

Los Angeles (Calif)--Economic conditions--20th century.

Genre:

Nonfiction.

Physical Description:

402 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Crown, [2018]

Summary:

"The story of the metropolis that never should have been and the visionaries who dreamed it into reality. Little more than a century ago, the southern coast of California--bone-dry, harborless, isolated by deserts and mountain ranges--seemed destined to remain scrappy farmland. Then, as if overnight, one of the world's iconic cities emerged. At the heart of Los Angeles's meteoric rise were three flawed visionaries: William Mulholland, an immigrant ditchdigger turned self-taught engineer, who designed the massive aqueduct that would make urban life there possible; D.W. Griffith, who transformed the motion picture from a vaudeville-house novelty into a cornerstone of American culture and gave L.A. its signature industry; and Aimee Semple McPherson, a charismatic evangelist who founded a religion and cemented the city's identity as a center for spiritual exploration. All were masters of their craft, but also illusionists of a kind. The images they conjured up--of a blossoming city in the desert, of a factory of celluloid dream-works, of a community of seekers attaining personal salvation under the California sun--were like mirages liable to evaporate on closer inspection. To realize these dreams, all three would have to pay a steep price in a crescendo of hubris, scandal, and catastrophic failure of design that threatened to topple each of their personal empires. Yet when the dust settled, the mirage that was LA remained. Spanning the years from 1900 to 1930, The Mirage Factory is the enthralling tale of an improbable city and the people who willed it into existence by pushing the limits of human engineering and imagination."--Dust jacket.

Contents:

Prologue: An echo of dynamite ; Implausible city

A thirsty place

Alternate realities

Stories in light and shadow

On location

"A river now is here"

The birth of an industry

Water and celluloid

Epic times

One million souls to save

A drinking problem

Scandals in Bohemia

"Jesus, Jesus all the day long"

Thunder in the valley

A sound proposition

The missing saint

A silent twilight

A perfect disaster

Epilogue: World city.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 307-314) and index.

ISBN:

0451496388

9780451496386

OCLC:

1001744511