Books published by publisher Ancient City Press

The map may not be the territory, and the word may not be the thing, but this guide is as close as it gets. Since its first publication by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1965, this seminal vade mecum of Los Angeles architecture has explored every rich potency of the often relentless, but sometimes―as the authors have captured here―relenting L.A. cityscape. Revised extensively and updated rigorously since its fifth edition published in 2003, The Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles now contains ninety-six sections organized in thirteen geographic chapters, boasting over 200 new additions to over thousands of entries cataloging every crease of Los Angeles County’s metropolitan sheath. Originally written by leading architectural historians Robert Winter―described by Los Angeles Magazine as both the “spiritual godfather” and “father” of L.A. architecture―and the late, great David Gebhard, the guide has been revised and edited for a sixth edition by award-winning L.A. urban walker and Winter’s trusted collaborator Robert Inman. Nathan Masters, historian and Emmy-award-winning host, producer, and managing editor of KCET’s Lost LA, writes the foreword. The Architectural Guidebook to Los Angeles, hailed by many as the built L.A. opus, explores the manmade structures, gardens, parks, and other physical features of a fulgurous Los Angeles. With singular wit and brio, the authors artfully steward readers through all regions and styles, from the Spanish Mexican Period to Postmodern, American Take-over to High Tech, and Beaux-Arts to Craftsman. Sites covered begin with the missions of Spanish California and end with projects completed in 2017. Dilettantes and experts, practitioners and students, aficionados and osmotic natives alike: all are blood type-compatible with this rich and peerless Bible for architecture enthusiasts. All of its own ilk, this book is thick and alive with a tone of its own making―and doing. A unique style of writing renders the guide simultaneously funny, tasteful, and historically-comprehensive, all with equal measure. Gebhard and Winter fill in the diegetic blanks with a droll eye. More than a critical reference for the bookshelves of scholars, enthusiasts, and practitioners alike, Architecture in Los Angeles is a faithful snapshot of the city as she lives and breathes. Dr. Robert W. Winter (1924–2019)―lauded as a “Guru,” “Father,” and “Godfather” of Los Angeles architecture―was a renowned historian of fabricated California, claiming a rich bibliography of various guides and histories on California architecture, including Craftsman Style (2004). Dr. David Gebhard (1927–1996) was a preeminent architectural historian and preservationist. After a long career teaching at UC Santa Barbara, he is remembered through his many written contributions to both the field writ large and his preservation efforts in both Santa Barbara and Pasadena. Robert Inman is the author of A Guide to the Stairways of Los Angeles (2008) and Finding Los Angeles by Foot: Stairstreet, Bridge, Pathway, and Lane (2013). A native son of Los Angeles, he is an award-winning urban walker and frequent collaborator of his mentor, Dr. Robert W. Winter.

Celebrating a quarter-century since its initial release, Edith Head’s Hollywood is reissued in trade paper, complete with an expanded photo section featuring the best work of the world’s most famous costume designer. Through six decades of Hollywood fashion, Edith Head dressed the screen’s best―Dietrich, Lombard, the Hepburns, Hope and Crosby, Grace Kelly and Elvis Presley, to name a few. She won eight Oscars®. As Bette Davis says in her Foreword, “You'll read her story the way she would have told it―and, indeed, did tell it . . .” Edith Head worked as a costume designer in Hollywood for more than sixty years. She holds the distinguished record of winning eight Academy Awards, a number which will never be matched by a single costume designer. Miss Head died in 1982. Paddy Calistro has co-authored several Angel City Press books, and is the publisher and editor-in-chief of Angel City Press.

There Still Are Buffalo tells the story of a buffalo calf that grows up to be Chief of the Thundering Herd. The herd roams the Dakota Indian Country, where the Sioux people have set aside a preserve for buffalo, elk, antelope, and deer. It is here that the Buffalo can live the grand life they were meant to. Over the past fifty years Ann Nolan Clark has been a prolific author of children's books. Especially well known are her books about Native American life. Working for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, she traveled to numerous tribal lands writing lyrically crafted children's stories about their lives. In 1953 one of her titles received the prestigious Newberry Award for children's literature. Mrs. Clark is now in her nineties and lives in Tucson, Arizona.

Kokopelli, the mysterious, humpbacked flute player of the American Southwest, has been a sacred figure to Native Americans since prehistoric times. Fertility symbol, rain priest, roving minstrel and trader, hunting magician, and trickster, Kokopelli was painted and carved on rock walls and boulders from the time of the Anasazi, the Ancient Ones, to the 1700s. The authors, whose research took them into the remote reaches of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah discovered more than 300 rock art portraits of Kokopelli. In this richly illustrated and well-researched book, they give descriptions of sites in the Southwest where this most compelling figure may be found. Included also is a generous sampling of Native American myths and stories about Kokopelli. The result is a perfect guide to Kokopelli for lay people and an invaluable resource for professionals.

Clifton’s Cafeteria―it might just be the most famous restaurant in the history of L.A. Nah, not because of the movie stars who showed up (oh, yeah, there were plenty), but because real people ate there. Millions of ’em since 1931. Nobody forgot that if a hungry person couldn’t pay, that was OK. The Golden Rule. That’s what the place was all about. So everybody came. Clifford Clinton owned Clifton’s―all of ’em―everything he did was about doin’ unto others. Nobody goin’ hungry on his watch. When he saw corruption in his City of Angels, he went after it. He led a campaign to recall the mayor. He cleaned up the town. His story is as good as it gets―straight outta Raymond Chandler, only real―Clifford Clinton’s never-published story, and more stuff about L.A. you just won’t believe. And the pictures. So many. They’re like everything you remember about Clifton’s―delicious. Like green Jell-O with whipped cream. (You gotta pay for the book, but it’s worth every penny.)

The Economic Consequences of the Peace was written by the British economist John Maynard Keynes. It was a best-seller throughout the world. It established the general opinion that the treaties were designed to crush the defeated Central Powers, especially Germany and this perception by much of the British public was a factor in later public support for Hitler. The success of the book established Keynes' reputation as a leading economist, especially on the left. When Keynes was a key player in establishing the Bretton Woods system, in 1944, he remembered the lessons from Versailles and the Great Depression. The Marshall Plan, promulgated to rebuild Europe after the Second World War, was similar to the system proposed by Keynes in this book.

The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant is an autobiography by Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th President of the United States, focused mainly on his military career during the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War. It was first published as a two-volume set by Mark Twain shortly after Grant's death. The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant has been highly regarded by the general public, military historians, and literary critics. Positive attention is often directed toward Grant's prose, which has been praised as shrewd, intelligent, and effective. He portrayed himself in the persona of the honorable Western hero, whose strength lies in his honesty and straightforwardness. He candidly depicts his battles against both the external Confederates and his internal Army foes.

The sprawling, complex tapestry of Los Angeles is portrayed in vivid color by bestselling artist Elisa Kleven and authors Julie Jaskol and Brian Lewis in their bestselling picture book City of Angels: In and Around Los Angeles. The artist and authors recreate the final stuggle of ancient mammoths at the La Brea Tar Pits. They walk along First Street and see the proud heritage and bittersweet history of Little Tokyo. They capture the grandeur of Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Los Angeles Public Library. Twenty sites of interest are included, and each detailed, full-color spread is accompanied by engaging, informative text. Featured: Olvera Street. Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at UCLA. San Fernando Mission. Exposition Park. Getty Center. Museum of Tolerance. Angels Flight. Mariachi Plaza. Watts Towers. And more . . . Known for the rich collage artwork featured in such picture books as Abuela (written by Arthur Dorros), The Paper Princess and City by the Bay, Elisa Kleven is a native of Los Angeles. Julie Jaskol and Brian Lewis are both Los Angelenos who met as reporters for the Los Angeles Independent. Here they draw on countless people, places and histories to tell the stories of America's second-largest hometown.