For the second straight year, I’ve chosen a baker's dozen of books we’ve featured on AirTalk that have impressed me with their descriptions and accounts of our region.

I love talking about Greater Los Angeles with listeners and guests because of each of our neighborhood’s uniqueness and the ways we benefit from them. We tolerate a lot to live here — most prominently the expense and traffic. The benefit is in the wide span of creative and interesting people who make this an exciting place to be.

Each book offers excellent information about Southern California’s history or present-day offerings. I hope you enjoy reading about it and, perhaps, purchasing one or more books for family and friends.

Happy Holidays!

Also On View: Unique And Unexpected Museums Of Los Angeles

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Courtesy Angel City Press at the Los Angeles Public Library

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The Museum of Jurassic Technology, the African-American Miniature Museum, and the Museum of Skid Row History are just a few of the hundreds of public collections in Southern California. I thought I was aware of most of them, but Also on View, by Todd Lerew with photos by Ryan Schude, dispelled my assumption. I want to plan out my visits to many of these locations. From the poignant to the bizarre, there are museum subject areas here I’d never expect. Another reason to celebrate what we have here!

Inventing Paradise: The Power Brokers Who Invented The Dream Of Los Angeles

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Cover and interior design and production by Future Studio | Map courtesy of Los Angeles Public Library Map Collection

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L.A.’s population first exploded in the early 20th century, concurrent with the rise of these six men who envisioned what the region could become. Some of their names might be familiar, but you’d really have to be a student of local history to know them all — William Mulholland, Henry Huntington, Harry Chandler, Harrison Gray Otis, Phinneas Banning, and Moses Sherman.

As a fourth-generation Angeleno, I spent a lot of time listening to my grandparents and great grandparents descriptions of an earlier L.A. This book by Paul Haddad fills in the details of who was making the world in which they lived happen. (LAist readers also know Haddad from the series of great walks around L.A. that he wrote for us earlier this year.)

Perfect Eloquence: An Appreciation Of Vin Scully

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Courtesy University of Nebraska Press

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Longtime local sports reporter Tom Hoffarth edited this moving collection of 67 remembrances of the beloved Dodgers announcer who provided fans with 67 years of mesmerizing play-by-play. Contributors include broadcasters Bob Costas, Al Michaels, Joe Davis, Jim Hill, and Joe Buck. Former Dodger players Orel Hershiser, Steve Garvey, and Eric Karros are also here, along with acclaimed sports journalists and former Dodger executives.

The essay that affected me most was written by my friend, L.A. Times columnist Patt Morrison. She asked Vin to call our longtime KPCC Morning Edition host Steve Julian as Steve was dealing with the effects of the brain tumor that would take his life. Vin’s message to lifelong Dodger fan Steve was absolutely beautiful and encouraging. Like much of this book, it showed what kind of a person Vin was, beyond his magnificent gift as a broadcaster.

California Eden: Heritage Landscapes Of The Golden State

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Courtesy Angel City Press at the Los Angeles Public Library

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This is a coffee table book that will impress anyone who loves gardens and landscape design. From private gardens to lesser-known public places, California Eden by Christine Edstrom O’hara and Susan Chamberlin shows how much care and expense has been invested into making spectacular outdoor spaces. The photographs capture the scale and intricacy of many of these landscapes. My grandmother spent countless hours in her gardens as I was growing up, giving me a sense of how much planning and care are needed to create spaces that wow visitors. California Eden shows how it’s done largescale.

The Lost Landmarks Of Orange County

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Courtesy Chris Epting

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This takes us back to the days of Lion Country Safari, Orange County International Raceway, The Golden Bear nightclub, and multiple drive-in movie theaters and classic restaurants. I was a student at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa in the mid to late 1970s, when many of these attractions were still around. The earliest places here go way back, prior to the construction of Disneyland. For those of us who remember 20th century Orange County, this guide by Chris Epting is a terrific nostalgia trip!

Compton In My Soul: A Life In Pursuit Of Racial Equity

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Courtesy Stanford University Press

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Longtime Stanford professor Albert M. Camarillo is arguably the founder of the field of Chicano studies. His memoir links his Compton childhood with the Mexican-American political awakening of Vietnam era Los Angeles. His firsthand accounts of protests, coupled with his intellectual development into a foremost scholar, gives the reader a feeling of being there. This is also a terrific look at Compton’s demographic evolution from the mid to late 20th century. Professor Camarillo’s appreciation for his hometown comes through clearly.

Kingdom On Fire: Kareem, Wooden, Walton, And The Turbulent Days Of The UCLA Basketball Dynasty

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Courtesy Atria Books | Simon and Schuster

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This takes us back to the time when UCLA dominated college basketball under the legendary John Wooden. In this era of players who are openly paid and able to move from school to school, it’s hard to remember what the college game was like. Growing up here in L.A., I vividly remember the athleticism and discipline of those great UCLA teams. As author Scott Howard-Cooper details here, there was also social conflict and clashing cultures that Coach Wooden couldn’t keep from his doorstep. The interviews with players from these great teams reveal how Wooden managed this changing time.

Terminal Island: Lost Communities On America’s Edge

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Courtesy Angel City Press at the Los Angeles Public Library

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For many years a Japanese-American fishing community lived and worked on the L.A. harbor’s Terminal Island. Archival photos and vivid descriptions take us back to that community, as well as others who lived on the island from the 19th century on. From massive oil derricks to wetlands, Southern California’s waterfront has dramatically changed over the last century. This important slice of history by Naomi Hirahara and Geraldine Knatz depicts a less known part of our city that has only been getting its due in recent years. Now we can drive onto Terminal Island and see historic markers and displays that tell us what used to be.

The Unclaimed: Abandonment And Hope In The City Of Angels

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Courtesy Crown Publishing Group

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Sociologist authors Pamela Prickett and Stefan Timmermans follow the stories of four Los Angeles County residents whose lives put them at risk of being unclaimed after death. Their stories are stand-ins for the estimated 150,000 Americans a year who have no, or limited, social or family connections when they die. I knew nothing about this world, or the ways counties handle the bodies of those without anyone to arrange for their cremation, burial, or memorial. This book could leave a reader depressed about how many of us die alone. However, it’s full of examples of how communities come together to memorialize the unclaimed. It’s a highly empathetic account.

Palm Springs Tiki: Polynesia In The Desert

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Front cover art by Shag

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Courtesy Gibbs Smith

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The Coachella Valley might be the last place you’d think would conjure up images of the tropics. However, this book by Sven Kirsten and Peter Moruzzi examines a style of architecture, hospitality, and cocktails that captures a mid 20th century era of entertainment, not actual island life. From Don the Beachcomber to the Chi Chi nightclub to Waltah Clarke’s Hawaiian Shops, here are vintage photos and descriptions of how Polynesian Pop became synonymous with romanticized travel and entertainment, even in the resort capital of the desert.

The New Suburbia: How Diversity Remade Suburban Life In Los Angeles After 1945

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Courtesy Oxford University Press

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Author Becky Nicolaides is a historical researcher who’s spent significant time documenting the evolution of our communities. She presents four case studies covering diverse populations that migrated to local suburbs in the latter part of the 20th century. More than 50 oral histories and interviews of local residents are included. I really appreciate how Nicolaides provides a nuanced look at communities in transition.

Santa Monica Pier: America’s Last Great Pleasure Pier

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Courtesy Angel City Press at the Los Angeles Public Library

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Updated from author James Harris' original edition of a decade ago, we get additional new photos and the terrific story of the pier’s challenges and current success. Much has changed in Santa Monica during my lifetime. It’s gone from a bedroom community where most of its residents commuted east to the entertainment, tech, and hospitality magnet of today. We need only look at the reversal of traffic patterns on the Santa Monica freeway/Interstate 10 to see how big a change it’s been. Now more people start their day heading into town than heading east. Despite many changes, Santa Monica continues to offer its iconic pier to locals looking for a break and international travelers looking for quintessential L.A.

Bowlarama: The Architecture Of Mid-century Bowling

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Courtesy Charles Phoenix Collection

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Angel City Press at the Los Angeles Public Library

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Though we’ve still got bowling alleys in Southern California, only a few are left from the sport’s post-World War II heyday. Shatto 39 Lanes, Corbin Bowl, Del Rio Lanes, Bowlero El Dorado, Gage Bowl, La Habra “300” Bowl, Linbrook Bowl, and Simi Bowl are among the few local ones left. Bowlarama, by Chris Nichols with Adriene Biondo, is full of beautiful photos and superb descriptions of the lanes we’ve largely lost. It’s a trip back to when your friends and neighbors bowled in weekly leagues, while sipping beer and smoking cigarettes. A significant slice of Americana and full of great examples of 1950s and 60s design.