Noted California historian Kevin Starr (the former State Librarian and current USC professor) continues his multi-volume look at the Golden State with this extensive analysis of a period that included the Los Angeles riots, the O.J. Simpson trial, the dot com boom and collapse, and Arnold Schwarzenegger's gubernatorial victory.
Critic Reviews
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Outstanding
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Kirkus Reviews
An unfailingly interesting, highly readable contribution to Starr's grand series. [1 Jul 2004, p.624]
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Outstanding
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Booklist Bryce Christensen
In recounting how Californians have tested their utopian blueprints against reality, Starr illuminates ideals and exposes pipe dreams that will matter to readers all across the country. [Aug 2004, p.1894]
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Favorable
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Chicago Tribune Ann Fabian
There is still something profoundly heartfelt in Starr's book, long and uneven though it is. [3 Oct 2004, p.C4]
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Favorable
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Wall Street Journal Catherine Seipp
He is more of a bemused chronicler than a compelling storyteller, which is OK: "Coast of Dreams" may not be a page turner, but it is a useful chronicle and a handy reference guide for settling bar bets about the nuttier aspects of California life.
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Favorable
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Library Journal Stephen H. Peters
Starr, who organizes his book topically, devoting a chapter to each issue, admits that this is a premature report, but future historians will use it as a starting point. [Aug 2004, p.95]
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Favorable
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Los Angeles Times Benjamin Schwarz
This laissez-faire approach works well, owing to the volume, range and creativity of his research and to his quite astonishing organizational skills. But it inevitably means that the reader imposes his own construal on Starr's mass of evidence and impressions. [19 Sep 2004, p.R3]
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Favorable
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Publishers Weekly
We're left with a smorgasbord offering of the Golden State--delicious but not, like Starr's previous volumes, a digestible, integrated meal. [5 Jul 2004, p.44]
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Favorable
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San Francisco Chronicle David Kipen
An indispensable brick of a book, agreeably stranded halfway between clip job and masterpiece.
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Favorable
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Daily Telegraph Raymond Seitz
Starr obviously reads and clips every newspaper published in the state, for each essay is saturated with facts, statistics, quotes, details and anecdotes. In less capable hands, this might prove dreary; but Starr enlivens the text with his punchy, pacy prose.
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Favorable
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The Guardian Lawrence Norfolk
As Starr admits, this is history on the hoof.... A forensic hastiness is sometimes evident as convenient journalistic suspects are paraded in place of more complex explanations.
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Favorable
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The Observer Robert McCrum
As much as he is concerned to debunk, he also paints a vivid picture of a society in the midst of appropriately volcanic change, from its surging immigration to its imploding economic base.
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Mixed
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The New York Times Book Review Adam Hochschild
Unfortunately, the book as a whole is less a pleasure to read than are some of its parts.
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Mixed
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The Nation Jon Wiener
Starr's cultural history isn't always sure-footed.
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