by Jean Stein
First published 2016
Jean Stein examines Los Angeles through the lives of five ambitious families who built the entertainment capital. Her oral history method weaves together personal testimonies to reveal how outsiders transformed Southern California. The book centers on Edward Doheny, a Wisconsin oil magnate whose scandals toppled a president and led to his son's murder. Jack Warner and his brothers, Polish-Jewish immigrants, created a legendary film studio. Jane Garland suffered under her scheming actress mother's ambitions. Jennifer Jones won an Oscar at twenty-five but battled depression behind her glamorous facade. Stein also traces her own father Jules, an Indiana eye doctor who revolutionized Hollywood by founding a powerful talent agency. Each dreamer's relentless drive damaged their families, particularly their children. The author shows how these figures projected American idealism worldwide while embodying its contradictions. Stein offers readers an intimate portrait of the city that manufactures dreams.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, american, biography-memoir
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-saga, rags-to-riches
Setting: Los Angeles, Southern California, Wisconsin
Period: 20th Century
352 pages · Hardcover · Random House