{"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\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Broadway Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/14\/2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780451496393\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 432\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.70lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.00h x 5.20w x 1.00d","brand":"Gary Krist","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":36637455122588,"sku":"9780451496393","price":15.3,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_1e07f701-d119-49eb-b726-b933c9f0f892.jpg?v=1603844812","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-mirage-factory-illusion-imagination-and-the-invention-of-los-angeles-9780451496393","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}