{"product_id":"the-mirage-factory-illusion-imagination-and-the-invention-of-los-angeles","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","brand":"Crown Publishing Group (NY)","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47994897432765,"sku":"BS-TC0-496393","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0771\/9767\/2637\/files\/9780451496393-HD.jpg?v=1786741454","url":"https:\/\/boundigo.com\/products\/the-mirage-factory-illusion-imagination-and-the-invention-of-los-angeles","provider":"Boundigo Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}