Kudos and major props to my homie Ronald Schmidt (also, the Godfather of my nephew) for his book, This is the City: Making Model Citizens in Los Angeles, which just received a very favorable review from the LA Times. The book, which is sort of a non-fiction version of City of Quartz, focuses on the attempt by a number of civic leaders to shape the way Angelenos came to see themselves. In spite of that rather dry description, it's actually a rather entertaining read, especially for Jack Webb fans.