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April 15, 2000
William Alexander McClung Landscapes of Desire: Anglo Mythologies of Los Angeles Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000. 300 pp.; 150 b/w ills. Cloth (0520218272)
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CrossRef DOI: 10.3202/caa.reviews.2000.37

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LA is a hard city to get in focus. Many American and non-American immigrants thought of it as an ideal destination. But much of the local literature is devoted to the natural disasters-earthquakes and fires-and to stories of crime. Because it is a new, very rich city without well-established cultural traditions-and because it is the center of the film industry and a place dependent on massive water imports-LA can seem a highly artificial city. Perhaps...