Everything Now: Lessons from the City-State of Los Angeles
- Downloads：3479
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-08-30 08:41:02
- Update Date：2025-09-23
- Status：finish
- Author：Rosecrans Baldwin
- ISBN：0374150427
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2021 BY THE MILLIONS
A provocative， exhilaratingly new understanding of the United States’ most confounding metropolis—not just a great city， but a full-blown modern city-state
America is obsessed with Los Angeles。 And America has been thinking about Los Angeles all wrong， for decades， on repeat。 Los Angeles is not just the place where the American dream hits the Pacific。 （It has its own dreams。） Not just the vanishing point of America’s western drive。 （It has its own compass。） Functionally， aesthetically， mythologically， even technologically， an independent territory， defined less by distinct borders than by an aura of autonomy and a sense of unfurling destiny—this is the city-state of Los Angeles。
Deeply reported and researched， provocatively argued， and eloquently written， Rosecrans Baldwin's Everything Now approaches the metropolis from unexpected angles， nimbly interleaving his own voice with a chorus of others， from canonical L。A。 literature to everyday citizens。 Here， Octavia E。 Butler and Joan Didion are in conversation with activists and astronauts， vampires and veterans。 Baldwin records the stories of countless Angelenos， discovering people both upended and reborn: by disasters natural and economic， following gospels of wealth or self-help or personal destiny。 The result is a story of a kaleidoscopic， vibrant nation unto itself—vastly more than its many， many parts。
Baldwin’s concept of the city-state allows us， finally， to grasp a place—Los Angeles—whose idiosyncrasies both magnify those of America， and are so fully its own。 Here， space and time don’t quite work the same as they do elsewhere， and contradictions are as stark as southern California’s natural environment。 Perhaps no better place exists to watch the United States’s past， and its possible futures， play themselves out。
Welcome to Los Angeles， the Great American City-State。
A provocative， exhilaratingly new understanding of the United States’ most confounding metropolis—not just a great city， but a full-blown modern city-state
America is obsessed with Los Angeles。 And America has been thinking about Los Angeles all wrong， for decades， on repeat。 Los Angeles is not just the place where the American dream hits the Pacific。 （It has its own dreams。） Not just the vanishing point of America’s western drive。 （It has its own compass。） Functionally， aesthetically， mythologically， even technologically， an independent territory， defined less by distinct borders than by an aura of autonomy and a sense of unfurling destiny—this is the city-state of Los Angeles。
Deeply reported and researched， provocatively argued， and eloquently written， Rosecrans Baldwin's Everything Now approaches the metropolis from unexpected angles， nimbly interleaving his own voice with a chorus of others， from canonical L。A。 literature to everyday citizens。 Here， Octavia E。 Butler and Joan Didion are in conversation with activists and astronauts， vampires and veterans。 Baldwin records the stories of countless Angelenos， discovering people both upended and reborn: by disasters natural and economic， following gospels of wealth or self-help or personal destiny。 The result is a story of a kaleidoscopic， vibrant nation unto itself—vastly more than its many， many parts。
Baldwin’s concept of the city-state allows us， finally， to grasp a place—Los Angeles—whose idiosyncrasies both magnify those of America， and are so fully its own。 Here， space and time don’t quite work the same as they do elsewhere， and contradictions are as stark as southern California’s natural environment。 Perhaps no better place exists to watch the United States’s past， and its possible futures， play themselves out。
Welcome to Los Angeles， the Great American City-State。
Reviews
Ryan
，
I can't get enough of Los Angeles introspective books。 It's odd that this author was a recent transplant， but apropos。 I can't get enough of Los Angeles introspective books。 It's odd that this author was a recent transplant， but apropos。 。。。more
Lainey
，
Parts of this book were fantastic， but not always focused on its purported subject of Los Angeles。 The book was too disjointed for me。 However， maybe that’s intentional - as a microcosm of LA？
Anush Khatri
，
nicely reported book， though idk if it really broadened my understanding of LA after having lived there for a few years in a way that other books about the city do， and also it doesn't really stray from a standard left-liberal narrative of the city and its problems。 that being said， i think the chapter on homelessness is a standout in particular - the debate around this issue got deeply toxic and inhumane over time in LA。 it's nice to see a focus on the homeless as people and what the stakes of nicely reported book， though idk if it really broadened my understanding of LA after having lived there for a few years in a way that other books about the city do， and also it doesn't really stray from a standard left-liberal narrative of the city and its problems。 that being said， i think the chapter on homelessness is a standout in particular - the debate around this issue got deeply toxic and inhumane over time in LA。 it's nice to see a focus on the homeless as people and what the stakes of this crisis are for them。 also found the chapters on hollywood and environmental disaster to be quite insightful。 growth and governance was a decent chapter， and viewing immigration through the lens of human trafficking was interesting， though overall， much like with thomas dyja's book on nyc i was kind of disappointed on the relative lack of writing about latino and esp asian la。 wasn't really feeling the stuff on cults and inequality - felt like pretty standard stuff。if i do have major criticism， it's that the city-state metaphor make much sense。 i've been on this soapbox a lot with other cities ever since i read william cronon's masterful history of chicago， but the metropolis is always inextricable from what happening beyond its periphery and vice verse。 the water comes from the colorado river。 the port succeeds because the rest of america demands its goods。 hollywood's movies are watched by the world around it。 kobe bryant won five titles in a national league。 the interstates are interstates。 as tempting as it to view la （or nyc， or sf， or any other global american city） as something different from the rest of america， you can't do that。 la's a fundamentally american city， forever tied to the country， no matter how much it might want to deny that。 。。。more
Justin Nickels
，
3。5 stars。 It's nice to read something about where we choose to live written by someone who hasn't lived here much longer than us。 3。5 stars。 It's nice to read something about where we choose to live written by someone who hasn't lived here much longer than us。 。。。more
Aj Sharma
，
This book is interesting enough。 It has some interesting points that it makes about LA。 I haven't read many of the books that he cites so it may be pretty repetitive （City of Quartz， Four Ecologies of Los Angeles）。 However， the book did echo a lot of my thoughts as someone who recently moved away from LA。 This book is interesting enough。 It has some interesting points that it makes about LA。 I haven't read many of the books that he cites so it may be pretty repetitive （City of Quartz， Four Ecologies of Los Angeles）。 However， the book did echo a lot of my thoughts as someone who recently moved away from LA。 。。。more
Chloe
，
Overall this was an enjoyable analysis of LA with some really lovely poetic writing sprinkled throughout。 I do think it leaned heavily pessimistic and he backed this sentiment up with many a negative statistic or anecdote。 I would have liked for it to be more balanced with positives because it really started to feel doomy at points。 I thought he did an excellent job delving into topics/issues not strictly through numbers or fact reporting， which tends to be how a lot of non-fiction authors write Overall this was an enjoyable analysis of LA with some really lovely poetic writing sprinkled throughout。 I do think it leaned heavily pessimistic and he backed this sentiment up with many a negative statistic or anecdote。 I would have liked for it to be more balanced with positives because it really started to feel doomy at points。 I thought he did an excellent job delving into topics/issues not strictly through numbers or fact reporting， which tends to be how a lot of non-fiction authors write， but instead through storytelling and vignettes from real people。 Read like a novel in some ways which I loved。 I also could have done without the random biblical quotes。 。。。more
Melanie H
，
For those ready to dig deep into their love-hate relationship with L。A。， here’s a book for you。 Although， I can’t imagine this read is of any interest to those who have never resided in Southern California or have ever dreamed of doing so。 I loathed the liberties Baldwin took with local， fictional hero Henry Chinaski and couldn’t help but notice his take down of the cultish self-help culture missed the biggest one of all， Scientology。 Not to be all negative， Baldwin tackled the endemic problem o For those ready to dig deep into their love-hate relationship with L。A。， here’s a book for you。 Although， I can’t imagine this read is of any interest to those who have never resided in Southern California or have ever dreamed of doing so。 I loathed the liberties Baldwin took with local， fictional hero Henry Chinaski and couldn’t help but notice his take down of the cultish self-help culture missed the biggest one of all， Scientology。 Not to be all negative， Baldwin tackled the endemic problem of homelessness that’s only getting worse with more heart and originality than I was expecting。 It’s the hiding in plain sight issue that most of the country probably has no idea plagues the land of celebrities。 One final thought that continues to linger in my mind 。。。 Baldwin captures the malaise and loneliness of living in empty apartments amid the glorious sunshine。 But I can’t help but think this is merely the experience of the privileged few and what remains of the lingering middle class。 What of the Latin American and South Asian refugees and immigrants who also make So Cal their home？ What of their experience？ 。。。more
brandi g
，
i’ve only visited los angeles twice but i’ve entertained the thought of moving there over and over again in my head。 i last visited in june and have really had to weigh the loves and hates， the good and the bad， the pros and the cons in order to keep myself grounded instead of drifting into a daydream which could simply be just that—a fantasy， a delusion， a mirage。 baldwin does an exceptional job weaving all of the moving parts of los angeles into what feels like a never-ending ride， one that’s i’ve only visited los angeles twice but i’ve entertained the thought of moving there over and over again in my head。 i last visited in june and have really had to weigh the loves and hates， the good and the bad， the pros and the cons in order to keep myself grounded instead of drifting into a daydream which could simply be just that—a fantasy， a delusion， a mirage。 baldwin does an exceptional job weaving all of the moving parts of los angeles into what feels like a never-ending ride， one that’s dizzying， thrilling， nauseating， etc etc。 i learned a lot from this book and was able to expand upon my initial impressions of the sprawling city-state and while i still don’t know if i could/want/should move， i feel closer to los angeles anyway 。。。more
Joe
，
I have a fascination with Los Angeles。 I have visited it twice for a week in total and fell under its spell。 Wanting to learn more， I read a review of this book in the New York Times。 Comparable to the great Charlie Leduff’s book on NYC，Baldwin writers vignettes on people’s lives in LA with varying degrees of success。 The great victory of the book is the overall picture he paints of LA itself， vast， majestic， and at times， completely maddening。
Charles J Banasky
，
The Walls of the City State tumble downYou ride in a drone above， through and in Los Angeles。 It is not a ride for the faint of heart。 In fact， at times，it is as depressing as anything I’ve ever read about a city I love。 Yet， if you read between the lines， the boundaries of the 100+ cities within the city， the fault lines， the color lines， the lines of homeless， the lines of rich and privileged who jump lines you see a city of hope。。
Nick
，
There were some interesting stories about life in Los Angeles but the parts didn’t add up to a cohesive whole… which was perhaps the very point of the book。 Overall， not bad。 Not great， but not bad。
Claudia
，
I enjoyed this book so so much， so entertaining。 This author knows how to write and make a story flow！
Nils Jepson
，
fantastic！ maybe the best book about LA I've ever read in terms of its all-encompassing-ness。 the city state thesis makes sense but seems more like a pretense Baldwin uses to write a really messy， fragment-y book that is never super analytical， but always interesting and well-reported。 read read read！！！ fantastic！ maybe the best book about LA I've ever read in terms of its all-encompassing-ness。 the city state thesis makes sense but seems more like a pretense Baldwin uses to write a really messy， fragment-y book that is never super analytical， but always interesting and well-reported。 read read read！！！ 。。。more
Avedon Arcadio
，
It’s interesting how objective this book was regarding the many facets of living in Los Angeles。 Good or bad it makes no judgement， simply trying to amplify true stories and facts of what has happened， is happening and what will most likely come to happen。 Reporting from a perspective of a transplant now local， gives a non biased account of experiences from the writer and others， asking the question “what makes L。A。， L。A。？” And really only shrugging and go on continue to search for it as you jus It’s interesting how objective this book was regarding the many facets of living in Los Angeles。 Good or bad it makes no judgement， simply trying to amplify true stories and facts of what has happened， is happening and what will most likely come to happen。 Reporting from a perspective of a transplant now local， gives a non biased account of experiences from the writer and others， asking the question “what makes L。A。， L。A。？” And really only shrugging and go on continue to search for it as you just live in it。 。。。more
Kathy
，
Interesting bits and pieces about the city state of Los Angeles。 What defines it at the end？ Inequality。 Inequality defines L。A。
Nina
，
I enjoyed the format and anecdotal information as I find LA so enthralling， and he did a great job of painting a very robust portrait of the "city sate" （that phrase needed to be used more sparingly）。 the author felt on the fence about his own qualifications to write this book or form opinions about any of the information he presented， which hindered the experience as a reader。 wish he would commit to more conviction in his writing *or* have someone else write the book and he take on more of a r I enjoyed the format and anecdotal information as I find LA so enthralling， and he did a great job of painting a very robust portrait of the "city sate" （that phrase needed to be used more sparingly）。 the author felt on the fence about his own qualifications to write this book or form opinions about any of the information he presented， which hindered the experience as a reader。 wish he would commit to more conviction in his writing *or* have someone else write the book and he take on more of a research role。 。。。more
Chris Molnar
，
Previously published light reportage mixed with rather empty observations and interviews。 None of the boasts or mock-horror about the city seem unique。 The author’s lack of any particular insight or perspective is made uncomfortably clear by the diffusion and disconnectedness of the topics （like， say， Jia Tolentino， although there is a bit exposing human traffickers much like Jia’s parents， so he’s got that one up on her！） Book is quite handsomely packaged by Rodrigo Corral。 May actually represe Previously published light reportage mixed with rather empty observations and interviews。 None of the boasts or mock-horror about the city seem unique。 The author’s lack of any particular insight or perspective is made uncomfortably clear by the diffusion and disconnectedness of the topics （like， say， Jia Tolentino， although there is a bit exposing human traffickers much like Jia’s parents， so he’s got that one up on her！） Book is quite handsomely packaged by Rodrigo Corral。 May actually represent LA quite well。 。。。more
Erin
，
I’d read a 500 page version of this book。 Made me miss LA and deepen my love for it and at the same time regret missing it because of some of the things outlined。
Drew
，
One of the great city-chroniclers of our age， our Mr。 Baldwin。 First， his book on Paris; now， his book on LA。 I've never read another book that makes me think more keenly about LA as it exists， in all its polyphony。 One of the great city-chroniclers of our age， our Mr。 Baldwin。 First， his book on Paris; now， his book on LA。 I've never read another book that makes me think more keenly about LA as it exists， in all its polyphony。 。。。more
Virginia Walter
，
Observations and commentary on some of the defining aspects of Los Angeles: dreams of Hollywood， natural disasters， self-help gurus and mystics， inequality。 Yes， it's all true， and I still love this city。 Observations and commentary on some of the defining aspects of Los Angeles: dreams of Hollywood， natural disasters， self-help gurus and mystics， inequality。 Yes， it's all true， and I still love this city。 。。。more
Karenna
，
Fascinating exploration of Los Angeles culture and its implications for American society。 Topics covered run the gamut from wildfires and homelessness to occultism and celebrity。 I also admire how Baldwin uses scholarship and literature to emphasize and illuminate his musings。 Organized in short， numbered chunks， the text’s readability makes it a great choice for a variety of readers and reading situations （such as commuting， vacationing， or instructing）。
Lydia Turner
，
I can't stop thinking about this book—a captivating read that captures everything I love and hate about Los Angeles。 In fact I may love and hate Los Angeles even more after reading。 I was hooked from beginning to end。 I don't usually read nonfiction， but I loved the author's novel "The Last Kid Left"， so I gave it chance and I'm so glad I did。 I'm recommending it to all my Los Angeles friends so I can have people to discuss it with。 I can't stop thinking about this book—a captivating read that captures everything I love and hate about Los Angeles。 In fact I may love and hate Los Angeles even more after reading。 I was hooked from beginning to end。 I don't usually read nonfiction， but I loved the author's novel "The Last Kid Left"， so I gave it chance and I'm so glad I did。 I'm recommending it to all my Los Angeles friends so I can have people to discuss it with。 。。。more
James Beggarly
，
Thanks to Netgalley and FSG for the ebook。 This is book of articles that shows Los Angeles from varied angles。 There’s the self help seminars that veer slightly towards being a cult， he puts you inside catastrophic fires and mudslides， he follows a struggling actress who finds a Golden Ticket in her feature film going to Sundance and he follows an older character actor who works just enough to keep him going from bar to bar， betting on horse races all day （and losing）。 There are also sections de Thanks to Netgalley and FSG for the ebook。 This is book of articles that shows Los Angeles from varied angles。 There’s the self help seminars that veer slightly towards being a cult， he puts you inside catastrophic fires and mudslides， he follows a struggling actress who finds a Golden Ticket in her feature film going to Sundance and he follows an older character actor who works just enough to keep him going from bar to bar， betting on horse races all day （and losing）。 There are also sections dealing with racism and homelessness。 The author throws himself into these stories instead of reporting from afar， making these stories really shine with details that most might overlook。 。。。more
Stefan Fergus
，