The Story of Hollywood: An Illustrated History

This book is a very interesting history of the geographic area that became known as Hollywood. It is very well illustrated with photography, some of which are rare images from the late 1800s and very early 1900s. I lived in Southern California in the early 90s and have always found the region fascinating. This book covers its development and the growth of the film industry from the barren, rolling hills dotted with homestead homes to the eventual urban sprawl that we've all seen. Geography, SoCal history and film studio history in one great book! Book was immaculately packaged from seller, in like-new condition, and received on time.

This is a great compilation of photos and stories about Hollywood, California and its history. What I appreciated most was that it was so thorough. The book covers the usual tales about famous actors and personalities, but it also digs deep into the history of homes and businesses that had a part in making it the "town" that it was. We often forget that Hollywood was not really a "city", but rather a borough of Los Angeles. I grew up in the 1940s and 50s in Southern California and was part of the early black and white TV era. This book fills in so many gaps in my memory and makes those early years (1950s-1960s) live again for me. If you love Hollywood and southern California history and personalities - this is a book you will want to buy.

I bought this book for my Dad who grew up in Hollywood in the 30s and 40s. He could not put the book down. Filled with history, photos and interesting facts.

The collection of photographs showing the history and development of Hollywood is equisite. It was expecially gratifying to see the extensive effort given to pre 1900 Hollywood. Another pleasing aspect to the book is that it is not a "history of the movies" volume but rather a history of the place where movies were made. Unfortunately, the book needed a thorough "fact-check" before going to press. There are someimages that are misindentified and some of the stories of the building of Hollywood are only half told. The author talks about a famous Japanese movie star of the 1910s and identifies him as beingS.I Hayakawa. The actor's name was Sessue Hayakawa. S.I. Hayakawa was a Canadian born Japanese American who became a leader in the study of the semantics of the English Language. For years he taught at San Francisco State College (now known as California State University at San Francisco) He later became a United States Senator from the State of California. The wonderful collection of photograps in this book definitely make the book well worth the purchase price. Just remember to double check all the printed information.

I love learning about the history of Hollywood and this book delivers with great info and great photos that paint a picture of Hollywood’s creation and glory days.

I like the detail included in this book. I’m a student of and blogger on Hollywood history and this is an excellent resource.

I suppose it’s fine if you’re interested in Hollywood the town rather than Hollywood as the epicenter of the golden age of the film industry. I thought it was the latter rather than the former, Hollywood as idea rather than place. Some photos of film stars at premiers, eating in restaurants, clubbing, pretending to socialize or in other settings and admittedly, some if not all are not found elsewhere. Lots and lots and yet still more photos of club, restaurant, hotel, studio, and theatre exteriors. Oh, and street scenes. No back stories to films, feuds, power struggles, careers, scandals, etc. Probably a valuable niche contribution to the literature of Hollywood but just not what I was looking for.

The Story of Hollywood is such a great book. I lived in LA from 1974-1988 and got to know it pretty well. Reading about so many streets, businesses, names and where they came from, how they got started is so interesting!!Heartbreaking, too, to see how beautiful the land was before it became covered in buildings, like much of California. Born and raised in California, I find this book an important part of my own personal history. Mr. Williams did an extraordinary job of researching photographs and text. He managed to take a lot of facts and true to Hollywood, wove them into an entertaining and interesting story. Nicely printed and bound. If you are interested in Hollywood for any number of reasons, then this book should be in your library!

This large and exhaustive tome is full of rare historical photographs that chart the history of the fascinating community of Hollywood. We see it take shape from fields full or orange groves and pepper trees into the movie making capital it is today, warts and all. Lovingly crafted the text and meaty photo captions fill in the complete story of this fabled place.

Il libro è molto curato, lo consiglio a qualunque appassionato che voglia conoscere la storia di Hollywood, dal 19esimo secolo fino a quella recente ed i cambiamenti ai quali è andato incontro questo mitico "quartiere".

Not what I expected. Too much about one star...not enough about "Hollywood" in general.