For further reading on the geography and political economy of California, I strongly suggest Mike Davis' City of Quartz, which is a series of essays about LA:

For further reading on the geography and political economy of California, I strongly suggest Mike Davis' City of Quartz, which is a series of essays about LA: http://www.amazon.com/City-Quartz-Excavating-Angeles-Edition/dp/1844675688/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360355406&sr=8-1&keywords=city+of+quartz http://www.amazon.com/City-Quartz-Excavating-Angeles-Edition... Warning for HN readers: the book is written in the same critical and class conscious vein as this article, so you may not like it.