Freewaytopia

Freewaytopia deftly connects dreams, politics, new suburbs, and white privilege to tell the stories of L.A.'s freeways. Hostile to communities of color when they were built and loathed today by gridlocked drivers, the freeways still reveal a rough grandeur in their overpasses and interchanges. When the road ahead is unexpectedly open, L.A.'s freeways can be poetic. Paul Haddad has caught their vital rhythm. -D. J. Waldie, author of Becoming Los Angeles: Myth, Memory, and a Sense of Place Open to almost any page and you'll find a saga, a drama, a nugget to amaze your friends. -Patt Morrison, journalist, best-selling author, and radio-television personality Over the years there have been others like Joan Didion, Thomas Pynchon, David Brodsly, and Eric Avila among others that have also spotlighted Los Angeles freeways, but [Paul Haddad] might be the most comprehensive in how he examines the complete landscape. -Mike Sonksen, L.A. Taco The freeways of Los Angeles are so ubiquitous and functional that they're easy to ignore. But every mile of elevated roadway was carved from lost landscapes worth knowing. And in his nimbly written, deeply researched, myth-busting book, Paul Haddad chronicles both the growth and what was taken away-most often from the Angelenos who had the least to lose-as the city reshaped itself in the service of cars, speed and sprawl. Recommended for transit policy wonks, local history lovers and anyone who has missed their lane in a complicated cloverleaf and wondered why they built it that way. -Kim Cooper, Esotouric In his latest book, Freewaytopia: How Freeways Shaped Los Angeles, author Paul Haddad takes readers on a whirlwind tour through the history and lore of Los Angeles' sprawling highway system. -Engadget.com Endlessly absorbing and a joy to read. Paul Haddad knows Los Angeles inside and out and his love of the area shines forth in this book. -LA-Explorer.com