{"product_id":"the-mirage-factory-illusion-imagination-and-the-invention-of-los-angeles-9780451496393","title":"The Mirage Factory: Illusion, Imagination, and the Invention of Los Angeles","description":"\u003cb\u003eFrom bestselling author Gary Krist, the story of the metropolis that never should have been and the visionaries who dreamed it into reality\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eLittle more than a century ago, the southern coast of California--bone-dry, harbor-less, isolated by deserts and mountain ranges--seemed destined to remain scrappy farmland. Then, as if overnight, one of the world's iconic cities emerged. At the heart of Los Angeles' 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 city's identity as a center for spiritual exploration. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAll were masters of their craft, but also illusionists, of a kind. The images they conjured up--of a blossoming city in the desert, of a factory of celluloid dreamworks, of a community of seekers finding personal salvation under the California sun--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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSpanning the years from 1900 to 1930, \u003ci\u003eThe Mirage Factory\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGARY KRIST has written for the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eEsquire, Salon, Washington Post Book World, \u003c\/i\u003eand elsewhere. He is the author of the bestselling\u003ci\u003e Empire of Sin\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eCity of Scoundrels\u003c\/i\u003e, as well as the acclaimed \u003ci\u003eThe White Cascade. \u003c\/i\u003eHe has been the recipient of the Stephen Crane Award, the Sue Kaufman Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Lowell Thomas Gold Medal for Travel Journalism, and a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Crown Publishing Group (NY)","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50610124062994,"sku":"9780451496393","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_bfe807f7-2ed3-4c5c-b0e8-c0b2ddffa92b.jpg?v=1732334212","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-mirage-factory-illusion-imagination-and-the-invention-of-los-angeles-9780451496393","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}