The Ultimate L.A. Bookshelf: Nonfiction

For our Ultimate L.A. Bookshelf, we asked writers with deep ties to the city to name their favorite Los Angeles books across eight categories or genres. Based on 95 responses, here are the 14 most essential books of general nonfiction, including histories by Kevin Starr, Carey McWilliams, Reyner Banham and, ruling them all, Mike Davis’ “City of Quartz.” If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores. — DK Los Angeles by Morrow Mayo, 1933 Although also woefully out of print, Mayo’s 1933 exegesis is, along with James M. Cain’s essay “Paradise” and Louis Adamic’s “Laughing in the Jungle,” among the great early studies of the city. The answer is Water.” As Michael Hiltzik observes, “Mayo’s acerbic book about the city presaged and inspired ‘City of Quartz.’” — DLU Books The Ultimate L.A. Bookshelf Your ultimate L.A. Bookhelf is here — a guide to the 110 essential L.A. books, plus essays, supporting quotes and a ranked list of the best of the best. Architecture critic Greg Goldin especially loves 1965’s original “pocket-sized paperback, filled with hand-drawn maps.” At Occidental College, Winter wound up mentoring a generation of indispensable Los Angelists.