{"title":"William Alexander Mcclung","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"landscapes-of-desire-book-william-alexander-mcclung-9780520218277","title":"Landscapes of Desire","description":"To those of us who look at Los Angeles and see no sense at all, this text offers a vivid account of the particular visions that drove the period of Anglo dominance in the Los Angeles region, from about 1850 to about 1985. William McClung's essay, supported by illustrations, shows that Anglo settlers and developers wanted nothing more than to make sense of their surroundings, but that their two dominant paradigms were at war with each other. Anglophone Los Angeles, McClung says, has tried strenuously to reconcile two competing mythologies of place and space: one of an acquired Arcadia - a found natural paradise - and the other of an invented Utopia - an empty space inviting development. The collision between these two underlying ideals is still present in the ambivalence at the heart of the city's and region's understanding of themselves.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49582110867729,"sku":"GOR009155406","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50283597103377,"sku":"CIN0520218272G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0520218272.jpg?v=1750782558"},{"product_id":"landscapes-of-desire-book-william-alexander-mcclung-9780520234659","title":"Landscapes of Desire","description":"To those of us who look at Los Angeles and see no sense at all, \"Landscapes of Desire\" offers a vivid and rewarding account of the particular visions that drove the period of Anglo dominance in the Los Angeles region, from about 1850 to about 1985. William McClung's fascinating essay, supported at every point by wonderful illustrations, shows that Anglo settlers and developers wanted nothing more than to make sense of their surroundings, but that their two dominant paradigms were at war with each other. Anglophone Los Angeles, McClung says, has tried strenuously to reconcile two competing mythologies of place and space: one of an acquired Arcadia - a found natural paradise - and the other of an invented Utopia - an empty space inviting development. The collision between these two underlying ideals is still present in the ambivalence at the heart of the city's and region's understanding of themselves. The Arcadian dream of nurturing inherited beauty entailed idealizing the region's Hispanic past. Yet that past was simultaneously belittled by the utopian vision of arid landscapes watered into Anglo plantations and ranchos reshaped into cities. From Helen Hunt Jackson's 1884 novel Ramona to the work of artists David Hockney, Edward Ruscha, and Terry Schoonhoven in the 1960s and after, Los Angeles has been an arena of competing and often incompatible constructions of ideal place and space. Looking at architecture, landscaping, literature, historiography, painting, conceptual art, and such ancillary activities and crafts as booster pamphlets, real estate promotions, and citrus box labels, McClung presents a new and refreshingly revisionist view of the city's growth. Examining designed spaces, including buildings, parks, freeways, and whole neighborhoods and communities, he gives readers a strong sense of the contradictions, failures, and triumphs that continue to govern L.A.'s image of itself. This is \"Los Angeles Times\" Best Nonfiction Book of 2000.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49931279663377,"sku":"CIN0520234650VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51928603427089,"sku":"CIN0520234650G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53521402921233,"sku":"NLS9780520234659","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0520234650.jpg?v=1751072785"},{"product_id":"country-house-in-english-renaissance-poetry-book-william-alexander-mcclung-9780520347564","title":"The Country House in English Renaissance Poetry","description":"The Country House in English Renaissance Poetry explores a unique literary genre that emerged during the seventeenth century, celebrating the ideals of the English manor estate while critiquing the societal shifts that threatened its values. These poems, written by figures such as Ben Jonson, Andrew Marvell, Robert Herrick, and Thomas Carew, praise the virtues of traditional manorial life—hospitality, responsibility, and order—set against the backdrop of expansive and ostentatious estates built by political elites of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. By juxtaposing the modest yet harmonious homes of families like the Sidneys of Penshurst against the grandiose mansions of newly affluent courtiers, these works reflect a nostalgia for a simpler, more virtuous era, tied to a hierarchical and agrarian ideal.   The book examines the classical and social influences on the genre, tracing its roots to Roman poets like Martial and its connections to the myth of the Golden Age. It also delves into the architectural and societal contexts of the period, demonstrating how poets critiqued modern extravagance and upheld the moral prestige of country living. Through a detailed analysis of seminal works, the study reveals how these poets used the country house as both a symbol of cultural stability and a stage for their critiques of contemporary life, blending aesthetic appreciation with social commentary. The genre, deeply intertwined with notions of labor, productivity, and divine order, serves as a lens through which to view the changing dynamics of seventeenth-century England.   This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1977.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53497903612177,"sku":"NLS9780520347564","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780520347564.jpg?v=1777935196"},{"product_id":"country-house-in-english-renaissance-poetry-book-william-alexander-mcclung-9780520373563","title":"The Country House in English Renaissance Poetry","description":"The Country House in English Renaissance Poetry explores a unique literary genre that emerged during the seventeenth century, celebrating the ideals of the English manor estate while critiquing the societal shifts that threatened its values. These poems, written by figures such as Ben Jonson, Andrew Marvell, Robert Herrick, and Thomas Carew, praise the virtues of traditional manorial life—hospitality, responsibility, and order—set against the backdrop of expansive and ostentatious estates built by political elites of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. By juxtaposing the modest yet harmonious homes of families like the Sidneys of Penshurst against the grandiose mansions of newly affluent courtiers, these works reflect a nostalgia for a simpler, more virtuous era, tied to a hierarchical and agrarian ideal.   The book examines the classical and social influences on the genre, tracing its roots to Roman poets like Martial and its connections to the myth of the Golden Age. It also delves into the architectural and societal contexts of the period, demonstrating how poets critiqued modern extravagance and upheld the moral prestige of country living. Through a detailed analysis of seminal works, the study reveals how these poets used the country house as both a symbol of cultural stability and a stage for their critiques of contemporary life, blending aesthetic appreciation with social commentary. The genre, deeply intertwined with notions of labor, productivity, and divine order, serves as a lens through which to view the changing dynamics of seventeenth-century England.   This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1977.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53497990021393,"sku":"NLS9780520373563","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780520373563.jpg?v=1777936963"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/collections\/author-books-by-william-alexander-mcclung.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}