Translating La: A Tour of the Rainbow City

At a time when it is Americas leading candidate for the star role of Armageddon, Los Angeles still reigns as the destination p<em>ar excellence</em> and de facto trendsetter for the United States. Despite its curse of ancient and modern-day plagues--what other city can claim the rights to earthquakes and smog as well as riots and gang warfare?--Los Angeles remains the mythical source for the blood flowing through the American heart: the "pot of gold" that lies on the other coast of the rainbow. In <em>Translating L</em>A, Peter Theroux leads us beyond the rainbow in an affectionate and anecdotal guide to the human centers of Los Angeles. By bringing LAs thousand-and-one ethnic enclaves together with its broad range of social classes, Theroux understands LA by stretching across its fault lines with results that are "surprising and illuminating" (<em>LA Reader</em>). With its genuine sensitivity towards past, present, and future, <em>Translating LA</em> searches the souls of Angelenos to deliver a remarkable commentary on Americas most complex and diverse city.