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    The Mirage Factory: Illusion, Imagination, and the Invention of Los Angeles
    Unavailable
    The Mirage Factory: Illusion, Imagination, and the Invention of Los Angeles
    Unavailable
    The Mirage Factory: Illusion, Imagination, and the Invention of Los Angeles
    Audiobook11 hours

    The Mirage Factory: Illusion, Imagination, and the Invention of Los Angeles

    Written by Gary Krist

    Narrated by Rob Shapiro

    4.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    From bestselling author Gary Krist, 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, harbor-less, 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' meteoric rise were three flawed visionaries: William Mulholland, an immigrant ditch-digger turned self-taught engineer, designed the massive aqueduct that would make urban life here possible. D.W. Griffith, who transformed the motion picture from a vaudeville-house novelty into a cornerstone of American culture, gave L.A. its signature industry. And Aimee Semple McPherson, a charismatic evangelist who founded a religion, 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 dreamworks, of a community of seekers finding personal salvation under the California sun—were like mirages liable to evaporate on closer inspection. All three would pay a steep price to realize these dreams, 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.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateMay 15, 2018
    ISBN9780525526520
    Unavailable
    The Mirage Factory: Illusion, Imagination, and the Invention of Los Angeles
    Author

    Gary Krist

    Before turning to narrative nonfiction, Gary Krist wrote three novels and two short story collections. He has been a regular book reviewer for The New York Times Book Review, Salon, and The Washington Post Book World. His satirical op-eds have appeared in The New York Times and Newsday, and his stories, articles, and travel pieces have been featured in National Geographic Traveler, The Wall Street Journal, GQ, Playboy, The New Republic, and Esquire.

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    Reviews for The Mirage Factory

    4.5/5

    3 ratings1 review

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    • 5/5
      listened to audio book was a very pleasurable experience and I learned a lot about la. took me back in time in a good way.