West of Eden

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An epic, mesmerizing oral history of Hollywood and Los Angeles from the author of the contemporary classic Edie Jean Stein transformed the art of oral history in her groundbreaking book Edie American Girl, an indelible portrait of Andy Warhol superstar Edie Sedgwick, which was edited with George Plimpton Now, in West of Eden, she turns to Los Angeles, the city of her childhood Stein vividly captures a mythic cast of characters their ambitions and triumphs as well as their desolation and grief These stories illuminate the bold aspirations of five larger than life individuals and their families West of Eden is a work of history both grand in scale and intimate in detail At the center of each family is a dreamer who finds fortune and strife in Southern California Edward Doheny, the Wisconsin born oil tycoon whose corruption destroyed the reputation of a U.S president and led to his own son s violent death Jack Warner, the son of Polish Jewish immigrants, who together with his brothers founded one of the world s most iconic film studios Jane Garland, the troubled daughter of an aspiring actress who could never escape her mother s schemes Jennifer Jones, an actress from Oklahoma who won the Academy Award at twenty five but struggled with despair amid her fame and glamour Finally, Stein chronicles the ascent of her own father, Jules Stein, an eye doctor born in Indiana who transformed Hollywood with the creation of an unrivaled agency and studio In each chapter, Stein paints a portrait of an outsider who pins his or her hopes on the nascent power and promise of Los Angeles Each individual s unyielding intensity pushes loved ones, especially children, toward a perilous threshold West of Eden depicts the city that has projected its own image of America onto the world, in all its idealism and paradox As she did in Edie, Jean Stein weaves together the personal recollections of an array of individuals to create an astonishing tapestry of a place like no other. New Download [ West of Eden ] by [ Jean Stein ] For Kindle ePUB or eBook – kino-fada.fr Hollywood will always be a mystical land that has a tinge of sadness and even worse, tragedy Not for me, mind you I lived in Los Angeles for my entire life, and I only know the joy of being in this city But then again, I m one of those rare breeds who was born in Los Angeles, and stayed here as well On top of that, I m not in the entertainment business But here, we have the roots of what became a certain type of Los Angeles culture Painfully rich, the five families that are profiled in We Hollywood will always be a mystical land that has a tinge of sadness and even worse, tragedy Not for me, mind you I lived in Los Angeles for my entire life, and I only know the joy of being in this city But then again, I m one of those rare breeds who was born in Los Angeles, and stayed here as well On top of that, I m not in the entertainment business But here, we have the roots of what became a certain type of Los Angeles culture Painfully rich, the five families that are profiled in West of Eden, are mostly iconic families and some at least to me obscure It may be my nature but I find the obscure always the most interesting Jean Stein, who is very much the queen of the oral history narrative, due to her early masterpiece with George Plimpton Edie has put together a book that is muchpersonal or in reality, her backyard The book covers five families The Dohenys, the Selznicks, the Warners...I bought this book based on a glowing review in the L.A Times and my interest in the history of Los Angeles I knew it was an oral history and I am not usually a big fan of this technique but the review called the book magnificent Well it is actually really rather a mess of unorganized quotes and gossip that mostly tells only a finger nail version of 5 different Los Angeles families Not much ties the five selected families together except high priced homes and crazy wealth, and a few suic I bought this book based on a glowing review in the L.A Times and my interest in the history of Los Angeles I knew it was an oral history and I am not usually a big fan of this technique but the review called the book magnificent Well it is actually really rather a mess of unorganized quotes and gossip that mostly tells only a finger nail version of 5 different Los Angeles families Not much ties the five selected families together except high priced homes and crazy wealth, and a few suicides and dysfunction even while creating great wealth First up is the Doheny family of oil which is a condensed version of the Teapot Dome scandal and a covered up murder I did learn that in the 1920s 20% of the world s oil was produced in Los Angeles This is an interesting story of family, greed and ruin that needs its own book Second up is The Warner family of movies focusing on Jack Warner This is the weakest section and I would rec...Somewhere between a 2.5 and a 3.0, this was a bit of an odd one, but entertaining enough for a light read that I stayed with it, because, what the heck Author Jean Stein chose five former residents of Los Angeles and compiled interviews of friends, relatives and associates to paint partial portraits of the subjects lives and characters The subjects are oil magnate Edward Doheny, movie mogul Jack Warner, a schizophrenic heiress named Jane Garland, actress Jennifer Jones, and the author editor Somewhere between a 2.5 and a 3.0, this was a bit of an odd one, but entertaining enough for a light read that I stayed with it, because, what the heck Author Jean Stein chose five former residents of Los Angeles and compiled interviews of friends, relatives and associates to paint partial portraits of the subjects lives and characters The subjects are oil magnate Edward Doheny, movie mogul Jack Warner, a schizophrenic heiress named Jane Garland, actress Jennifer Jones, and the author editor s father Jules Stein, founder of Music Corporation of America, that later became MCA Universal Mostly it was very gossipy, with some interesting tidbits, but unremarkable ov...Jean Stein knows what she is talking about being daughter to Jules Stein who invested his money in MCA, making it the most important address when it comes to talent agencies She knew lots of stars before they even become one, while they were just one of the many faces in search of glory.Therefore, Jean Stein with full right and authority delivers in front of readers the real history behind Hollywood,or less structured around some of the families that ruled Hollywood the Dohenys, the S Jean Stein knows what she is talking about being daughter to Jules Stein who invested his money in MCA, making it the most important address when it comes to talent agencies She knew lots of stars before they even become one, while they were just one of the many faces in search of glory.Therefore, Jean Stein with full right and authority delivers in front of readers the real history behind Hollywood,or less structured around some of the families that ruled Hollywood the Dohenys, the Selznicks, the Warners, and, of course, her own family And though it can be seen as biography of these powerful families, it is muchthan that because Stein is an insider and therefore it is not problem for her to introduce...Never before have I reached the middle of a non fiction book and thought Why am I reding this I kept on anyway which is my bad I wasted time that I could have spent reading somethingto my taste I love Stein s method of telling a story I loved Edie This book however seemedlike it would suit a specialized audience one that would love every word Theoretically this book is about 5 rich, successful families that built early Hollywood As an East Coaster, I rarely recognized the Never before have I reached the middle of a non fiction book and thought Why am I reding this I kept on anyway which is my bad I wasted time that I could have spent reading somethingto my taste I love Stein s method of telling a story I loved Edie This book however seemedlike it would suit a specialized audience one that would love every word Theoretically this book is about 5 rich, successful families that built early Hollywood As an East Coaster, I rarely recognized the names I also didn t find the stories that interesting since most centered on selfish, eccentric and seriously mentally ill people.Don t worry this was the hey day of therapy Some people even went 5 days a week for years For younger people I am not , you may feel adrift because even the names you recognize are pictured probably long before you were born Who remembers when Jane Fonda was married to Roger Vadim She only gets a walk on part in a bigger story featuring older...Na Zach d od Edenu to niezwyk a, miejscami nieprawdopodobna niechlubna biografia Los Angeles, a w zasadzie pr ba uchwycenia mi dzypokoleniowych, wieloletnich zale no ci i powi za , kt re wykreowa y ducha tego specyficznego miasta zachodniego wybrze a Zaskakuj ce opowie ci znane z pierwszych stron gazet, z nag wk w, z plotek Powtarzane z ust do ust zdo a y w jaki spos b przej do legendy, wraz ze wszystkimi uczestnikami poszczeg lnych wydarze Teraz to oni snuj swoje historie najbli si Na Zach d od Edenu to niezwyk a, miejscami nieprawdopodobna niechlubna biografia Los Angeles, a w...In this Hollywood tale, Jean Stein plays the Wizard of Oz, the ineffectual wizard behind the curtain with no plans to reveal herself Reading West of Eden is a lot like eating a lobster You struggle to pick out the sweet, juicy parts but overall it s a very frustrating experience A completely disappointing read Why didn t Stein s editor insist on aappropriate narrative which would have immersed the author reporter herself into the dialogue There are no thorough explanations about the qu In this Hollywood tale, Jean Stein plays the Wizard of Oz, the ineffectual wizard behind the curtain with no plans to reveal herself Reading West of Eden is a lot like eating a lobst...If you re NOT a fan old Hollywood history or don t have some type of connection to historic Los Angeles then I m sure this book might bore you to tears I m 3rd generation L.A so I grew up seeing street names such as Doheny a beach also , Sepulveda, Alvarado, etc I m also familiar with the Stein name but wasn t sure why The history of Los Angeles, Hollywood, and Malibu as far as the entertainment industry goes is very cool because you are actually reading first hand interviews from the peopl If you re NOT a fan old Hollywood history or don t have some type of connection to...This was a lot of new information for me because I knew almost nothing about Jack Warner, Jennifer Jones, Jules Stein or the Doheny family whose claim to fame was Teapot Dome and the mysterious murder suicide of Ned Doheny, the heir to the fortune It seems that most of the families in this story were cursed even though all were fabulously wealthy which I suppose is a good message during a time of economic crisis.In fact reading it felt like such a compendium of gloom and doom that I could n This was a lot of new information for me because I knew almost nothing about Jack Warner, Jennifer Jones, Jules Stein or the Doheny family whose claim to fame was Teapot Dome and the mysterious murder suicide o...Audiobook Another that I could not finish Filled with the excesses of people I just don t care about The trivial tragedies of these folks intrigue me as much as the lives of the Kardashians I am sure there are readers for this, I am not one.

West of Eden
  • English
  • 18 February 2018
  • Hardcover
  • 352 pages
  • 0812998405
  • Jean Stein
  • West of Eden