Ecco. (2015). 314 pp. Torres-Rouff, David Samuel. Before L.A.: Race, Space, and Municipal Power in Los Angeles, 1781–1894. New Haven: Yale University press, 2013. Verge, Arthur C. Paradise Transformed: Los Angeles during the Second World War. (1993). 177 pp. Verge, Arthur C. "The Impact of the Second World War on Los Angeles" Pacific Historical Review 1994 63(3): 289–314. 0030–8684 in JSTOR Other nonfiction General Architecture and urban theory LGBT Environment Art and literature Guides, architecture, geography Herman, Robert D. Downtown Los Angeles: A Walking Guide (2004) 270 pp. Mahle, Karin, and Martin Nicholas Kunz. Los Angeles: Architecture & Design (2004) 191 pp. Nelson, Howard J. The Los Angeles Metropolis. (1983). 344 pp. geography Pitt, Leonard and Dale Pitt. Los Angeles A to Z: An Encyclopedia of the City and County. (1997). 605 pp. short articles by experts excerpts and text search Contemporary issues Abu-Lughod, Janet L. New York, Chicago, Los Angeles: America's Global Cities (1999) online edition Dear, Michael J., H. Eric Schockman, and Greg Hise, eds. Rethinking Los Angeles (1996) interprets LA in terms of "postmodern urbanism" model. It consists of several fundamental characteristics: a global-local connection; a ubiquitous social polarization; and a reterritorialization of the urban process in which hinterland organizes the center (in direct contradiction to the Chicago School model of cities). The resultant urbanism is distinguished by a centerless urban form termed "keno capitalism." Fine, David. Imagining Los Angeles: A City in Fiction. (2000). 293 pp. Flanigan, James. Smile Southern California, You're the Center of the Universe: The Economy and People of a Global Region (2009) excerpt and text search Fulton, William. The Reluctant Metropolis: The Politics of Urban Growth in Los Angeles. (1997). 395 pp. Gottlieb, Robert. Reinventing Los Angeles: Nature and Community in the Global City (2007) excerpt and text search Scott, Allen J. and Soja, Edward W., eds. The City: Los Angeles and Urban Theory at the End of the Twentieth Century. (1996). 483 pp. Planning, environment and autos Bottles, Scott L. Los Angeles and the Automobile: The Making of the Modern City. (1987). 302 pp. Davis, Margaret Leslie. Rivers in the Desert: William Mulholland and the Inventing of Los Angeles. (1993). 303 pp. Davis, Mike. City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles. (1990). 462 pp. Desfor, Gene, and Roger Keil. Nature And The City: Making Environmental Policy In Toronto And Los Angeles (2004) 290 pp. Deverell, William, and Greg Hise.