Tag Archives: Books and Authors

Holiday Gift Suggestion – ‘California Against the Sea’

Posted on December 16, 2025 by lmharnisch

California Against the Sea: Visions for our Vanishing Coastline, by my former Los Angeles Times colleague Rosanna Xia, has won a number of awards since it was published in 2023, and would make an excellent gift for anyone seeking to … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Environment | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 15, 2025 by lmharnisch

Retro Shopping Guide: “The Los Angeles Book” (1950) featuring wonderful photographs by Max Yavno, who was responsible for so many iconic shots of L.A. Continue reading →

Posted in 1950, Books and Authors | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Shopping Guide

Posted on December 14, 2025 by lmharnisch

Another of my favorite books on Los Angeles is Leo Politi’s “Bunker Hill Los Angeles: Reminiscences of Bygone Days.” Continue reading →

Posted in Art & Artists, Books and Authors | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 12, 2025 by lmharnisch

Another standard gift suggestion is Glen Creason’s “Los Angeles in Maps,” a great resource for seeing the way depictions of Los Angeles have changed over the years. Continue reading →

Posted in 2010, Books and Authors, Libraries | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 11, 2025 by lmharnisch

Today’s retro holiday shopping suggestion in Don Normark’s excellent book “Chavez Ravine, 1949.” Continue reading →

Posted in 1949, Books and Authors | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 10, 2025 by lmharnisch

One of my favorite books on Los Angeles is the 1940 Nuestro Pueblo, collected from pieces in the Los Angeles Times, with artwork by Charles Owens and text by Joseph Seewerker. Continue reading →

Posted in Art & Artists, Books and Authors, Nuestro Pueblo | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Film Books for the Holidays

Posted on December 8, 2025 by lmharnisch

Mary Mallory has suggestions for holiday books for film fans. Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Shopping Guide

Posted on December 2, 2025 by lmharnisch

A Daily Mirror gift suggestion: Mary Mallory’s latest: First Women of Hollywood. Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Shopping Guide

1944 in Print — Hollywood News and Gossip by Louella Parsons, September 24, 1944

Posted on September 24, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 24, 1944: Why is young Van Johnson the idol of the bobby sox brigade and at this moment crowding Frank Sinatra and Alan Ladd for top honors? Van isn’t handsome, he hasn’t a striking physique and he hasn’t Frankie’s ability to sing, Louella Parsons says. Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Books and Authors, Columnists, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on 1944 in Print — Hollywood News and Gossip by Louella Parsons, September 24, 1944

September 24, 1907: A Poem on the First Day in L.A.

Posted on September 24, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 24, 1907: Walter Adolf Roberts writes a poem about his first day in Los Angeles. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Books and Authors | Tagged , , | Comments Off on September 24, 1907: A Poem on the First Day in L.A.

September 23, 1947: Janet Flanner, The New Yorker’s ‘Genet,’ Visits L.A .

Posted on September 23, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 23, 1947: Janet Flanner, European correspondent for the New Yorker, says: “The carpetbagging of our American soldiers went on for two years until the Army stopped it. It made cigarettes legal tender. American money still rates high, but our morality rates low….Just now we Americans are trying to run a checkbook empire. It can’t be done.” Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Books and Authors | Tagged , , | Comments Off on September 23, 1947: Janet Flanner, The New Yorker’s ‘Genet,’ Visits L.A .

1944 in Print — Hollywood News and Gossip by Louella Parsons, September 17, 1944

Posted on September 17, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 17, 1944: All her life Vivian Blaine will be grateful to Victoria Elizabeth James and Phyllis Faye Harris for starring parts, for if these young ladies hadn’t elected to be born Vivian would still be just one of the bevy of pretty girls on the 20th lot, Louella Parsons says. Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Books and Authors, Columnists, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on 1944 in Print — Hollywood News and Gossip by Louella Parsons, September 17, 1944

1944 in Print — Hollywood News and Gossip by Louella Parsons, September 3, 1944

Posted on September 3, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 3, 1944: Phil Terry, the tall bespectacled young man whose career took a terrific nose dive just before and after his marriage to Joan Crawford, is on the beam again, Louella Parsons says. Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Books and Authors, Columnists, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on 1944 in Print — Hollywood News and Gossip by Louella Parsons, September 3, 1944

1944 in Print — Hollywood News and Gossip by Louella Parsons, August 20, 1944

Posted on August 20, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 20, 1944: Hedy Lamarr hates the word “beautiful,” Louella Parsons writes. “History of Rome” and “I Never Left Home” top the bestsellers list. Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Books and Authors, Columnists, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on 1944 in Print — Hollywood News and Gossip by Louella Parsons, August 20, 1944

August 18, 1947: John Steven McGroarty, California Poet Laureate, Honored in Memorial Tribute

Posted on August 18, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 18, 1947: John Steven McGroarty, California’s poet laureate, is remembered with poems and stories. Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Books and Authors, Obituaries | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on August 18, 1947: John Steven McGroarty, California Poet Laureate, Honored in Memorial Tribute

August 12, 1947: Distinguished UCLA English Instructor Dies in Plunge from S.F. Building; ‘He Was Not Married’

Posted on August 12, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 12, 1947: Dr. Stanley Dean Johnson, a specialist in the works of John Donne at UCLA, has been spending the summer at the Huntington Library. He is a brilliant scholar and popular with faculty and staff. But in August 1947 he plunged from the 15th floor of San Francisco’s Russ Building. He was 39 and “not married.” Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Books and Authors, Suicide | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on August 12, 1947: Distinguished UCLA English Instructor Dies in Plunge from S.F. Building; ‘He Was Not Married’

Aug. 3, 1947: ‘Kingsblood Royal’ by Sinclar Lewis Leads Bestseller List

Posted on August 3, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 3, 1947: Sinclair Lewis’ ‘Kingsblood Royal’ is the bestselling novel in Los Angeles, followed by ‘The Prince of Foxes,’ by Samuel Shellabarger, and ‘Gentleman’s Agreement,’ by Laura Hobson. John Gunther’s ‘Inside U.S.A.’ is the bestselling nonfiction book. Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Books and Authors | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Aug. 3, 1947: ‘Kingsblood Royal’ by Sinclar Lewis Leads Bestseller List

Black Dahlia: Eli Frankel’s ‘Sisters in Death,’ a Fraudulent ‘Solution’ to the Black Dahlia Case and the Murder of Leila Welsh

Posted on May 19, 2025 by lmharnisch

Just how bad can a ‘true” crime book be? Here’s another entry: Eli Frankel’s ‘Sisters in Death’ linking the murders of Elizabeth Short and Leila Welsh. The work of a zealous amateur with staggering mistakes on almost every page. Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Black Dahlia: Eli Frankel’s ‘Sisters in Death,’ a Fraudulent ‘Solution’ to the Black Dahlia Case and the Murder of Leila Welsh

Ron Chernow’s ‘Mark Twain’: Brushstrokes Instead of a Portrait of America’s Favorite Humorist

Posted on March 24, 2025 by lmharnisch

Ron Chernow’s forthcoming biography of American humorist Mark Twain: Brushstrokes Instead of a Grand Portrait Continue reading →

Posted in books, Books and Authors | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Women Behind the Scenes in Early Film Photography

Posted on March 10, 2025 by lmharnisch

Mary Mallory takes a look at women in the early days of Hollywood still photography. And she has a book coming out March 25 “First Women of Hollywood.” Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, Photography | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Women Behind the Scenes in Early Film Photography