{"product_id":"la-noir-isbn-9780307352088","title":"L.A. Noir","description":"\u003cb\u003eNow the TNT Original Series MOB CITY\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMidcentury Los Angeles. A city sold to the world as \"the white spot of America,\" a land of sunshine and orange groves, wholesome Midwestern values and Hollywood stars, protected by the world’s most famous police force, the \u003ci\u003eDragnet\u003c\/i\u003e-era LAPD. Behind this public image lies a hidden world of \"pleasure girls\" and crooked cops, ruthless newspaper tycoons, corrupt politicians, and East Coast gangsters on the make. Into this underworld came two men—one L.A.’ s most notorious gangster, the other its most famous police chief—each prepared to battle the other for the soul of the city.\u003cb\u003eNamed One of Daily Beast's \"Favorite Books of 2009\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"The best non-fiction treatment of this era and this subject matter that I've ever read. I couldn't put it down for like two days.\" \u003cb\u003e—Academy Award nominated producer of MOB CITY\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Important and wonderfully enjoyable….A highly original and altogether splendid history that can be read for sheer pleasure and belongs on the shelf of indispensable books about America's most debated and least understood cities…..Utterly compelling reading.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Completely entertaining….a colorful and entirely different take on the vices of Tinseltown.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003eDaily Beast\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"Echoes crime stylists Raymond Chandler and James Ellroy.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003eAmerican History\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eL.A. NOIR \u003c\/i\u003eis a fascinating look at the likes of Mickey Cohen and Bill Parker, the two kingpins of Los Angeles crime and police lore. John Buntin's work here is detailed and intuitive. Most of all, it's flat out entertaining.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003eMichael Connelly\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A roller coaster ride....Gripping social history and a feast for aficionados of cops-and-robbers stories, both real and imagined.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"Packed with Hollywood personalities, Beltway types and felons, Buntin's riveting tale of two ambitious souls on hell-bent opposing missions in the land of sun and make-believe is an entertaining and surprising diversion.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Reads like a novel....almost impossible to put down. Buntin has written an important and entertaining book about one of America's greatest cities in the 20th century that echoes down to the world we live in today.\" \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003eBookreporter.com\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"In this breathtaking\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003edual biography of mobster Mickey Cohen and police chief William Parker, John Buntin confronts America's most enigmatic city.  For a half century and more, the chiaroscuro of Los Angeles, its interplay of sunshine and shadow, has inspired novelists and filmmakers alike to explore what Buntin has now explored in a tour de force of non-fiction narrative.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003eKevin Starr, University Professor and Professor of History, USC\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"John Buntin's nonfiction cops and robbers narrative about mid-20th century Los Angeles is not only compelling reading, but a heretofore unexplored look into the LAPD and the city it tried \"To Protect and Serve\" during one of the most colorful and tumultuous eras in the always provocative history of the City of Angels (and badmen). \u003ci\u003eDragnet\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eOne Adam Twelve\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePolice Story\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eLA Confidential\u003c\/i\u003e all rolled into one captivating book. Buntin nails it in this great read.'\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003eWilliam Bratton, Chief of Police, LAPD \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eJOHN BUNTIN\u003c\/b\u003e is a staff writer at \u003ci\u003eGoverning\u003c\/i\u003e magazine, where he covers crime and urban affairs. A native of Mississippi, Buntin graduated from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and has worked as a case writer for Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. A former resident of Southern California, he now lives in Washington, D.C., with his family. \u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"Crown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46301829005541,"sku":"NP9780307352088","price":17.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780307352088.jpg?v=1767730875","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/la-noir-isbn-9780307352088","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}