Nonfiction

Los Angeles. Miasto-państwo w siedmiu lekcjach

Los Angeles. Miasto-państwo w siedmiu lekcjach

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  • Create Date：2022-09-12 09:51:38
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Rosecrans Baldwin
  • ISBN：8381915457
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Summary

"LA w ogóle nie jest jak miasto， za bardzo się rozciąga" – mówi jedna z rozmówczyń Baldwina。 Bo jak nazwać największy amerykański organizm polityczny niebędący stanem？ Los Angeles to liczące osiemdziesiąt osiem miast "państwo narodowe" zamieszkiwane przez około jedenaście milionów ludzi mówiących w niemal dwustu językach。 Czy LA można w ogóle zdefiniować？

Rosecrans Baldwin przez kilka lat pracował nad książką， w której stara się odpowiedzieć na pytanie urbanisty Douglasa Suismana: "Czy miasto może być miastem， wcale nim nie będąc？"。 Odnosząc się zarówno do literatury， jak i własnych obserwacji i rozmów， rozwija koncepcję Los Angeles jako miasta-państwa， zestawiając Miasto Aniołów z antycznymi megalopolis。

Los Angeles to także znakomity reportaż o przestrzeni kontrastów， gdzie sąsiadują ze sobą centra ubóstwa i zamożne zamknięte osiedla， bezdomni i celebryci， apokaliptyczne pogorzeliska i bajeczne plaże， przeludnienie i samotność。 Dzięki siedmiu lekcjom Baldwina możemy choć trochę zrozumieć miasto， które każdego dnia wymyśla siebie na nowo。

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Reviews

James ，

So much LA nonfiction falls into the categories of “look what happened to me，” “look who I hung out with” or “come with me and let’s gawk at this this cult。” Maybe also: “this place is either going to fall into the ocean or burn to a crisp， and it’s making me think about death。” And while this book does start off with a piece about a cult， it winds up surpassing so much Los Angeles nonfiction because the scope of Baldwin’s research and the variety in his reading are both so impressive。 Beautiful So much LA nonfiction falls into the categories of “look what happened to me，” “look who I hung out with” or “come with me and let’s gawk at this this cult。” Maybe also: “this place is either going to fall into the ocean or burn to a crisp， and it’s making me think about death。” And while this book does start off with a piece about a cult， it winds up surpassing so much Los Angeles nonfiction because the scope of Baldwin’s research and the variety in his reading are both so impressive。 Beautifully done 。。。more

Rob Sevier ，

if city of quartz was written by buzzfeed。 still a worthwhile read

Greg ，

Enjoyable read with an engaging and descriptive writing style; somewhere between Joan Didion and a Sociology 101 textbook， Baldwin assesses the many people that form the kaleidoscope of modern Los Angeles。 He structures this book in broad categories of Angeleno felt experience: delusion， isolation， horror at climatic disaster， homelessness， queerness， gentrification， and the internalization of sprawl all constitute， in Baldwin’s view， the spirit of Los Angeles。 While I thought this style was use Enjoyable read with an engaging and descriptive writing style; somewhere between Joan Didion and a Sociology 101 textbook， Baldwin assesses the many people that form the kaleidoscope of modern Los Angeles。 He structures this book in broad categories of Angeleno felt experience: delusion， isolation， horror at climatic disaster， homelessness， queerness， gentrification， and the internalization of sprawl all constitute， in Baldwin’s view， the spirit of Los Angeles。 While I thought this style was useful in gaining a baseline understanding of Los Angeles’ human geography and the contemporary landscape of the city， I also thought it limited the text。 Only so many experiences can fit into Baldwin’s predetermined categorizations， and I wish these sections had been either more granular in focus or more numerous in quantity。 That being said， the book gave me an appreciation of Los Angeles as an almost living project， directionless as it may be。 。。。more

Liam Oznowich ，

Way too ambitious for its own good。 Its central thesis， that Los Angeles is a city-state， is both too simplistic and too specific – too simplistic in that you could justify a 1000-page doorstopper on the entire topic， but too specific in that nothing really quite fits the mark to prove the point conclusively。 I get what Baldwin is going for， but this book would've been more successful for me if he didn't try so hard （especially when he constantly called Los Angeles "the city-state" without， in m Way too ambitious for its own good。 Its central thesis， that Los Angeles is a city-state， is both too simplistic and too specific – too simplistic in that you could justify a 1000-page doorstopper on the entire topic， but too specific in that nothing really quite fits the mark to prove the point conclusively。 I get what Baldwin is going for， but this book would've been more successful for me if he didn't try so hard （especially when he constantly called Los Angeles "the city-state" without， in my opinion， ever actually proving it） to unify everything under such an unwieldy central point。 Furthermore， this book is jam-packed with research and evidence， some sources more successful than others。 I wish that he would've gone into more detail on some very interesting sources and excised others that weren't as compelling。 That being said， on an individual chapter level， I enjoyed much of this。 The second essay's deep dive into self-improvement cults in LA was fascinating。 It's clear that Baldwin is a great reporter。 The people he interviewed were， in his rendering of them， complex， flawed， and engaging to read about。 Like my point above， I wish that he would've dwelled with them longer instead of frequently diverging into a mosaic of interrelated （but ultimately too scattered） points。 Certain sections of this book， especially the parts about Skid Row， felt very "true" to living in Los Angeles in real time。 So， on an emotional level， this book was successful - not as a whole， but when separated into parts。 Lastly， the chapter about Hollywood was funny for someone， like me， who's worked as an assistant in Hollywood。 That was the most stereotypical and sensationalized chapter for me; his portrayal of Hollywood played up the oddball nature of the industry and downplayed how monotonous and corporate it really is。 I wanted to see more of the Hollywood that I know - one that is not most memorably populated by executives， but in the shadows by their （overworked， abused） assistants。 Also， Baldwin and his wife are a screenwriting team and he describes some of the meetings he's been set up on， which sound sketchy at best - he needs better representation。。。 。。。more

Leah ，

3。5 stars。 Los Angeles has a lot of issues， which are essentially just a mirror of the country’s issues really。 Homelessness， unaffordable housing， police brutality， environmental injustice， racism-just some themes of the book。

Abe Frank ，

Meandering but occasionally very powerful and personal journey through LA。 It borrows from the four ecologies and other antecedents， but still finds some different and contemporary ways to look at the city。

Neil Griffin ，

Really thoughtful， entertaining， fair-minded look at Los Angeles and its importance in understanding where we are all headed in the next few decades; not just LA， but also the rest of the states。 His focus on how this "city state" has failed its population with housing stability， education， and inequality was especially illuminating。 I don't want to make it sound like a slog， however， as it's nimbly written。 My one critique is that it could have been longer--I basically put it down in a day and Really thoughtful， entertaining， fair-minded look at Los Angeles and its importance in understanding where we are all headed in the next few decades; not just LA， but also the rest of the states。 His focus on how this "city state" has failed its population with housing stability， education， and inequality was especially illuminating。 I don't want to make it sound like a slog， however， as it's nimbly written。 My one critique is that it could have been longer--I basically put it down in a day and wouldn't have minded having more time with it。 。。。more

Stacy Helton ，

Based on the cover and the public relations push when Baldwin’s book was released， I was expecting some Didion-level coverage of the city-state of Los Angeles。 There are some nods to Didion's storytelling， but overall， the topics meander and seem to do a disservice to the denizens of the 88 cities that make up the geography of the Los Angeles city-state。 His best chapter features a look at the expansive Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles and the history and future of LA’s housing shortage。 He Based on the cover and the public relations push when Baldwin’s book was released， I was expecting some Didion-level coverage of the city-state of Los Angeles。 There are some nods to Didion's storytelling， but overall， the topics meander and seem to do a disservice to the denizens of the 88 cities that make up the geography of the Los Angeles city-state。 His best chapter features a look at the expansive Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles and the history and future of LA’s housing shortage。 He obtains some great interviews and follows up with disturbing statistics and details。 A chapter on illegal immigration， told from the angle of ex-immigrants who leave water and clothing in the desert for wanderers， also brings a human touch to a political hot button。 For his Hollywood section he tags along with a character actress-turned-writer as she goes to Sundance。 Rosecrans also covers the mudslides， Octavia Butler， and gentrification， among many other California topics。 The book was written during COVID， so he may not have had the opportunities he thought he would have when he set out to write the book。 Despite the odd， off-putting cover， the book is an oft-fascinating tool of exploration within the city-state of Los Angeles。 。。。more

Oliver ，

Interesting anecdotes throughout， but the tone is bleak and I was hoping for more of an argument or narrative thread through the sections; it's all a bit disjointed and I think it's a copout to say， "so is LA。" Interesting anecdotes throughout， but the tone is bleak and I was hoping for more of an argument or narrative thread through the sections; it's all a bit disjointed and I think it's a copout to say， "so is LA。" 。。。more

Jason ，

The goal of the author was to give an overview of a LA。 He went for breadth rather than depth。 While there is a lot discussed， each topic takes a few pages and then he moves on。 Even though I live in LA， I still got very little emotional connection to the topics due to the brevity…it’s like reading a news report or a more avant garde version of the CIA Works Factbook。 A series of a few but longer vignettes would have been a much more compelling way to communicate the material and gain some more The goal of the author was to give an overview of a LA。 He went for breadth rather than depth。 While there is a lot discussed， each topic takes a few pages and then he moves on。 Even though I live in LA， I still got very little emotional connection to the topics due to the brevity…it’s like reading a news report or a more avant garde version of the CIA Works Factbook。 A series of a few but longer vignettes would have been a much more compelling way to communicate the material and gain some more audience attachment to the material。 。。。more

yoban ，

LA has always enthralled and confused me — this book provides a sprawlingly comprehensive insight as to why。 And the words！ The words though very far-out sometimes read out like a dream。 I enjoyed this a lot

Kacey Nicosia ，

When I reached the end of this incredibly evocative， intricate， and pragmatic exposé， I felt sad。 I was sad that the journey through Southern California and， more specifically， L。A。， had come to a close。 However， Rosecrans Baldwin’s words reverberate into the leftover white space on the last page。 “Everything Now” is a masterpiece， each page envelops you。 Being a reader whose only experience in L。A。 was LAX， it was riveting。 It confirmed thoughts I’d had on L。A。， but exposed me to new ones that When I reached the end of this incredibly evocative， intricate， and pragmatic exposé， I felt sad。 I was sad that the journey through Southern California and， more specifically， L。A。， had come to a close。 However， Rosecrans Baldwin’s words reverberate into the leftover white space on the last page。 “Everything Now” is a masterpiece， each page envelops you。 Being a reader whose only experience in L。A。 was LAX， it was riveting。 It confirmed thoughts I’d had on L。A。， but exposed me to new ones that I now have to sleep on。 I am left teary-eyed for a place I’ve never lived in。 I am left broken， but partly mended， by the humans I’ve never met。 I am left with thoughts， many thoughts。 Rosecrans Baldwin， you are a master of observation， human conversation， and social surgery。 “Everything Now” is something that EVERYONE should read NOW。 。。。more

Micah ，

A very scattershot book， which I suppose mirrors the scattershot city it's depicting。 I don't really buy his thesis about the city as a city-state （and I'm not really sure he does， either？）， but I'm glad I read it。 A very scattershot book， which I suppose mirrors the scattershot city it's depicting。 I don't really buy his thesis about the city as a city-state （and I'm not really sure he does， either？）， but I'm glad I read it。 。。。more

Lou ，

This us a must read if you're going to LA， leaving LA， thinking of LA， passing through LA， talking about LA， writing about LA， in New York and comparing LA， trying to understand LA or anything else LA。 An enjoyable （ I listened to the author on audio book version ） and insightful book about LA， the City State， that is filled with current events and age old catastrophes like earthquakes， floods and fires。 How do the locals cope？ What do they think？ How do they live ？ This us a must read if you're going to LA， leaving LA， thinking of LA， passing through LA， talking about LA， writing about LA， in New York and comparing LA， trying to understand LA or anything else LA。 An enjoyable （ I listened to the author on audio book version ） and insightful book about LA， the City State， that is filled with current events and age old catastrophes like earthquakes， floods and fires。 How do the locals cope？ What do they think？ How do they live ？ 。。。more

David Allen ，

An up-to-date look at L。A。: homelessness， inequality， self-help culture， fires， an actor's struggles and more。 With a lot of original reportage， this is insightful and compassionate， but clinical （chapters are called lessons， with sections numbered like 6。0， 6。1， 6。2， etc。）。 A worthy heir to Mike Davis' class-based， relentlessly negative view of the city， which is refreshing for a while， then tiring。 An up-to-date look at L。A。: homelessness， inequality， self-help culture， fires， an actor's struggles and more。 With a lot of original reportage， this is insightful and compassionate， but clinical （chapters are called lessons， with sections numbered like 6。0， 6。1， 6。2， etc。）。 A worthy heir to Mike Davis' class-based， relentlessly negative view of the city， which is refreshing for a while， then tiring。 。。。more

Frances ，

Interesting portrait of LA。

Willa ，

Essential reading material for anyone who lives in L。A。 or has an opinion about L。A。

Karl。bromley ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 10% DNF。 This should be a podcast。

Richard Thompson ，

I like to read books about my city， Los Angeles。 I am at home in fiction that takes place in locations that I know or that captures the spirit of the city where I have lived for forty years。 Non-fiction accounts that look at the unique features of my city also pull me in。 This book was promising at the beginning。 I liked the idea of Los Angeles as a city-state， though because the metaphor is imperfect， it wore thin by the middle of the book， and I liked the opening theme of the city as a place o I like to read books about my city， Los Angeles。 I am at home in fiction that takes place in locations that I know or that captures the spirit of the city where I have lived for forty years。 Non-fiction accounts that look at the unique features of my city also pull me in。 This book was promising at the beginning。 I liked the idea of Los Angeles as a city-state， though because the metaphor is imperfect， it wore thin by the middle of the book， and I liked the opening theme of the city as a place of great diversity with many islands of distinct culture and personality woven together into the megalopolis。But then the book descended into an extended discussion of all of the bad things about my city that you don't have to live here to know about - the personal isolation that causes some people to be unconnected and depressed and to reach out to cultish organizations， the homelessness， the racism， the poverty， the income disparity， the bad sides of the entertainment business and the well-known natural hazards of fires， mudslides and earthquakes。 It's not that Mr。 Baldwin hates the place or that he sees it as an embodiment of evil。 Nor is he a reformer with programs for fixing the many problems that the city admittedly has。 He's just Debbie Downer， focusing only on the bad things and almost completely ignoring the good。 He talks a little about the fascinating cultural diversity， but says almost nothing about the natural beauty， the weather， the arts， the food or the spirit of innovation and sense of being on the cutting edge that persists here。 I don't think that Mr。 Baldwin could have written this book if he didn't in some ways love LA， but his way of expressing his passion for the city is decidedly negative。 。。。more

Mike Sobel ，

Cool meditation on what LA is， or is not。

jeffrey ，

I didn't find any lessons from this survey of the weird and quirky goings on in Los Angeles。 I doubt many of its findings are unique to this metropolis。 I didn't find any lessons from this survey of the weird and quirky goings on in Los Angeles。 I doubt many of its findings are unique to this metropolis。 。。。more

Katie ，

Even more happy to live in NY but loved this imaginative， detailed look at LA as a city-state ☺️

Erik Shafer ，

charming and well researched

Shasun Sulur ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This book is so chaotic， beautiful， slightly mundane at parts， and filled with pockets of empty space… but how else would you write a book about LA？ This book is organized by themes， each with a series of arguments made about LA broken down into points and sub points。 These points ranged anywhere from interviews with Angelinos and excerpts from from famous authors about the city， to bible quotes。 I found some of these arguments pretty salient… like that Los Angeles is more of a city-state than a This book is so chaotic， beautiful， slightly mundane at parts， and filled with pockets of empty space… but how else would you write a book about LA？ This book is organized by themes， each with a series of arguments made about LA broken down into points and sub points。 These points ranged anywhere from interviews with Angelinos and excerpts from from famous authors about the city， to bible quotes。 I found some of these arguments pretty salient… like that Los Angeles is more of a city-state than a city with its unique social political and cultural identity， and the impact of borders， immigration， and the idea of “who belongs” in a city at the western edge of “manifest destiny”。 Some parts of the book drag on forever like the author describing his experience joining a cult in LA， where he then attempted to connect cult culture to something that is intrinsically Los Angeles… or when talking about temporality in the city， he tries to make the argument that time isn’t linear in the city， but rather that “the past， present， and future are occurring simultaneously” （it seems like the same can be said in any place）。 The most powerful parts of the book were the deep interviews he had with Angelinos， who， despite the sprawl and borders and economic inequality created by the “haves” and forced on the “have nots” had created community， taken space for themselves， helped others along the way。 It’s the idea that in a large， fragmented city where freeways are out public realm instead of parks and squares， there is more that connects us and brings us together and allows people to call Los Angeles their home， than what first meets the eye。 。。。more

Hasan ，

I really had high hopes for this book。 Though I'm not a native Angelo， I spent over five years living in Los Angeles during my late 20s and early 30s and thoroughly enjoyed my time there。 Like most Angelinos， my experience of L。A。 was confined to where I lived and worked with the odd common area experiences of touristy parts like Hollywood， Santa Monica， LAX etc。Hence I expected to read about a somewhat similar experience in this book。 Instead， the first 25% of this book is stuck talking about s I really had high hopes for this book。 Though I'm not a native Angelo， I spent over five years living in Los Angeles during my late 20s and early 30s and thoroughly enjoyed my time there。 Like most Angelinos， my experience of L。A。 was confined to where I lived and worked with the odd common area experiences of touristy parts like Hollywood， Santa Monica， LAX etc。Hence I expected to read about a somewhat similar experience in this book。 Instead， the first 25% of this book is stuck talking about some random cult， which is boring， annoying and totally irrelevant to the experience of living in Los Angeles。 So off the bat， I wasn't going to rate it higher than four stars。 But the book didn't even meet that criteria。 Though some parts were interesting， familiar and enlightening， a lot of the book delved into random parts and recency bias。 Where was the Carmageddon experience of the early 2010s？ Where was the Rodney King riots through the prism of Angelinos？ Where was the local reporting about previous Democratic looking at L。A。 as a fundraising machine？ What about the massive Asian population and cultural influence？ The book had so much potential and didn't live up to half of it。 。。。more

Berkeley ，

Genre mixing psychogeography of Los Angeles with stories from the author about the people who embody LA， the stereotypes true and overblown， and the weird bits （at one point the author temporarily joins a sort of cult） that comprise the often contradictory city-state of LA。 Having lived in the area for awhile， I loved seeing the city come to life through his stories， interwoven with quotes from other authors about/from LA。

Jennifer ，

Veers towards pessimism， but still worth reading as a primer to modern LA issues。 I’m interested in the books cited — a lot are classics about LA and could offer more depth。

Vasi Best ，

As an LA native， this book perfectly described （or didn’t， purposefully） the meaning that LA has always had to me。 So so rich with quotes and passages and interesting stories and kooky characters。 The only negative I have is with the authors writing style， it felt so much like a paper I would write in college that was presenting a lot of research but not saying all too much about it personally， and his tone leans towards dry。 I still totally enjoyed it and recommend， though！

Lisa ，

Loosely meandering or sprawling， was it meant to evoke this city？ Left me wanting more to go to the source of many refs， e。g。 accepting Octavia Butler as queen of Pasadena

Katie McLaughlin ，

read kind of like a sophomore-in-college essay， but it was a decent introduction to a lot of perspectives on aspects on los angeles

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Los Angeles. Miasto-państwo w siedmiu lekcjach

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Los Angeles. Miasto-państwo w siedmiu lekcjach&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Los Angeles. Miasto-państwo w siedmiu lekcjach&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0