How Long to Read Land of Smoke and Mirrors

How Long Does it Take to Read Land of Smoke and Mirrors?

It takes the average reader 4 hours and 57 minutes to read Land of Smoke and Mirrors by Vincent Brook

Assuming a reading speed of 250 words per minute. Learn more

Description

Unlike the more forthrightly mythic origins of other urban centers—think Rome via Romulus and Remus or Mexico City via the god Huitzilopochtli—Los Angeles emerged from a smoke-and-mirrors process that is simultaneously literal and figurative, real and imagined, material and metaphorical, physical and textual. Through penetrating analysis and personal engagement, Vincent Brook uncovers the many portraits of this ever-enticing, ever-ambivalent, and increasingly multicultural megalopolis. Divided into sections that probe Los Angeles’s checkered history and reflect on Hollywood’s own self-reflections, the book shows how the city, despite considerable remaining challenges, is finally blowing away some of the smoke of its not always proud past and rhetorically adjusting its rear-view mirrors. Part I is a review of the city’s history through the early 1900s, focusing on the seminal 1884 novel Ramona and its immediate effect, but also exploring its ongoing impact through interviews with present-day Tongva Indians, attendance at the 88th annual Ramona pageant, and analysis of its feature film adaptations. Brook deals with Hollywood as geographical site, film production center, and frame of mind in Part II. He charts the events leading up to Hollywood’s emergence as the world’s movie capital and explores subsequent developments of the film industry from its golden age through the so-called New Hollywood, citing such self-reflexive films as Sunset Blvd., Singin’ in the Rain, and The Truman Show. Part III considers LA noir, a subset of film noir that emerged alongside the classical noir cycle in the 1940s and 1950s and continues today. The city’s status as a privileged noir site is analyzed in relation to its history and through discussions of such key LA noir novels and films as Double Indemnity, Chinatown, and Crash. In Part IV, Brook examines multicultural Los Angeles. Using media texts as signposts, he maps the history and contemporary situation of the city’s major ethno-racial and other minority groups, looking at such films as Mi Familia (Latinos), Boyz N the Hood (African Americans), Charlotte Sometimes (Asians), Falling Down (Whites), and The Kids Are All Right (LGBT).

How long is Land of Smoke and Mirrors?

Land of Smoke and Mirrors by Vincent Brook is 288 pages long, and a total of 74,304 words.

This makes it 97% the length of the average book. It also has 91% more words than the average book.

How Long Does it Take to Read Land of Smoke and Mirrors Aloud?

The average oral reading speed is 183 words per minute. This means it takes 6 hours and 46 minutes to read Land of Smoke and Mirrors aloud.

What Reading Level is Land of Smoke and Mirrors?

Land of Smoke and Mirrors is suitable for students ages 12 and up.

Note that there may be other factors that effect this rating besides length that are not factored in on this page. This may include things like complex language or sensitive topics not suitable for students of certain ages.

When deciding what to show young students always use your best judgement and consult a professional.

Where Can I Buy Land of Smoke and Mirrors?

Land of Smoke and Mirrors by Vincent Brook is sold by several retailers and bookshops. However, Read Time works with Amazon to provide an easier way to purchase books.

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