The Mirage Factory: Illusion, Imagination, and the Invention

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

From bestselling author Gary Krist, the story of the metropolis that never should have been and the visionaries who dreamed it into reality
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Little more than a century ago, the southern coast of Californiaâ€”bone-dry, harbor-less, isolated by deserts and mountain rangesâ€”seemed destined to remain scrappy farmland. Then, as if overnight, one of the worldâ€™s iconic cities emerged. At the heart of Los Angelesâ€™ 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 cityâ€™s identity as a center for spiritual exploration.

All were masters of their craft, but also illusionists, of a kind. The images they conjured upâ€”of a blossoming city in the desert, of a factory of celluloid dreamworks, of a community of seekers finding personal salvation under the California sunâ€”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.
Country USA
Manufacturer Crown
Binding Hardcover
ReleaseDate 2018-05-15
UnitCount 1
EANs 9780451496386

Country	USA
Manufacturer	Crown
Binding	Hardcover
ReleaseDate	2018-05-15
UnitCount	1
EANs	9780451496386

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

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