An original collection of paintings, 100 Not So Famous Views of L.A. offers intimate, often recognizable, sometimes unexpected glimpses of a city known and loved by the artist. Inspired by nineteenth-century Japanese artist Utagawa Hiroshige's One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, Los Angeles artist Barbara Thomason captures the charm and personality of her vibrant city, with commentary and history.

Barbara Thomason is a Los Angeles?based artist and professor of printmaking, sculpture, and painting at California Polytechnic University, Pomona. Her paintings, drawings, and prints have been shown in exhibitions at many galleries, museums, and universities. She received a masters degree in printmaking from California State University, Long Beach, and worked as a master printer in lithography at the renowned Gemini G.E.L., where she printed for Robert Rauschenberg, Claes Oldenberg, Jasper Johns, Frank Stella, Ed Ruscha, Ellsworh Kelly, and many others. She has been on the art faculty at the University of California, Santa Cruz; University of Redlands; Otis College of Art and Design; and other fine institutions.

David Ulin is a book critic for the Los Angeles Times and the editor of The Library of America's Writing Los Angeles.

With a chronological narrative that offers a truly global context, The Making of the West: A Concise History tells the story of the cross-cultural exchanges that have shaped Western history. This author-abridged version of the parent text offers the flexibility of a brief book along with a full-color map and art program and comprehensive supplement options, including a free sourcebook. The result is a brief book that, in addition to being an excellent price, is an excellent value.