LAPD '53 Download Free (EPUB, PDF)
James Ellroy, the undisputed master of crime writing, has teamed up with the Los Angeles Police Museum to present a stunning text on 1953 LA. While combing the museum’s photo archives, Ellroy discovered that the year featured a wide array of stark and unusual imagery—and he has written 25,000 words that illuminate the crimes and law enforcement of the era. Ellroy o ffers context and layers on wild and rich atmosphere—this is the cauldron that was police work in the city of the tarnished angels more than six decades ago. More than 80 duotone photos are spread throughout the book in the manner of hard-edged police evidence.
Hardcover: 208 pages
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams; 1St Edition edition (May 19, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1419715852
ISBN-13: 978-1419715853
Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 0.8 x 8.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #61,079 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #30 in Books > Arts & Photography > Photography & Video > History #77 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Specific Topics > Law Enforcement #78 in Books > Law > Criminal Law > Law Enforcement
If you've read John Butin's L.A. Noir, Glynn Martin's foreword to LAPD '53 is interminable and unintentionally funny. If, like me, you're buying this book for Mr. Elroy's wonderful prose, you will probably get some pleasure out of it. But let me get this across, you need to see these "crime scene" photos about as badly as you need to see another I Love Lucy re-run. There is nothing in these photos of the least interest to crime buffs. I think I can say without equivocation that I have NEVER seen a duller collection of crime scene photos. Anyone can feel perfectly safe leaving this book on their coffee table and allowing their children to peruse it REGARDLESS of the age of the children. Rotten.com this is NOT.
For a "collection" of photos, there sure aren't many. The quality on the iPad is terrible; tiny, grainy pictures and poor formatting. The stylistic writing took away from the real stories of the photos. Very disappointed in this book. A wasted opportunity.
Didn't care for the way it's written. I thought it would be crime photos with the back stories, but instead it's a weird animated jumble of what he thought part of their personal lives were (with very little of the real story). Nothing interesting here.
I'm researching LA in the fifties for a series I'm writing and this collection is a remarkable resource that offers a solid glimpse of the 'mean streets' of Los Angeles in that time period. If you enjoy American culture and history of the 20th century as much as I do, then this is a must read.
If you're an Ellroy fan, as I am, this book will be a fabulous little read. If you are not...this might not be the best place to start your journey into the literary world of this prolific author.
Not what I was expecting. No real details to go with the photos. The writing is a bit off putting at the beginning and takes getting used to. Normally I am a huge fan of Ellroy, but this book just left me wanting something more in-depth. The photos themselves are interesting, would liked to have seen more of them.
Shrill, hysterical, and uninformative; this purportedly non-fiction book praises Chief Parker, features truly awful writing, paints James himself as an over-sexed five-year-old, and is illustrated with boring, unclear crime scene photographs that rarely match the text. To start this book is to sadly realize that gas will be wasted returning it to the library as soon as possible. Not even a remote resemblance to Ellroy's novels.
I could not get through this book. It's rare that I give up on any book. His style was so annoying. Trying to talk like some hip cat from the 60s. A little of that goes a long way.
LAPD '53
