"As hard as it is to wrap the mind around the urban mosh pit known as Los Angeles, it is always comforting to think someone has given a knowing push toward deciphering its DNA. Victor Jones's compilation of critical essays and native observations does just that. Every L.A. explorer needs a copy in his or her back pocket." - Craig Hodgetts, partner of Hodgetts+Fung and professor of architecture, University of California, Los Angeles

"What form will the contemporary city, with all its fugitive qualities, continue to take? This book, with Los Angeles as the backdrop, tackles the question head on, adding ideas and dimension that will be relevant to the debates concerning all emerging cities." - Michael Maltzan, principal of MMA and architect of Innercity Arts, Los Angeles

"The studio at the heart of this book, and the essays that circle around it, show how architectural practice and pedagogy can open up a space of possibility for more democratic and just forms of political life to emerge if we are willing to embrace and build upon their fragile yet persistent reverberations." - Aron Vinegar, Director of Art History and Visual Culture, University of Exeter, UK and author of I AM A MONUMENT: On Learning from Las Vegas