During my stay in the United States more than a year and half ago, while doing my errands, I happened to arrive at the end of the MTA Orange Line bus on its westbound extremity, in a station called "Warner Center". I jumped out of the bus and started strolling with no specific purpose in mind. Seriously, this place I've arrived at has absolutely no tourist appeal at all. Not much people walking around, traffic wasn't intense (I guess this was because it was around 10 in the morning - the rush to work was over), green yards, large boulevards and peacefulness all across. Definitely, this was not a typical Los Angeles neighborhood like Hollywood, Echo Park, Eagle Rock and Venice, much less like South L.A. and Watts. What I saw was a world apart not so far away from the "original L.A." mess, though this was also a Los Angeles neighborhood, with a different atmosphere, aiming constantly to reach perfection. Even missing that tourist appeal, I thought this was the best spot I've been in during my Southern California trip. No kidding. Laugh at me if you want to. Even the paradisiac beaches which were so close to me wasn't that special. The impact of being at SFV hit hard on me. I know this place has the typical problems that any other major area also has, but it's still enchanting. This fascination led me to purchase this book so I could learn more about it. Just finished reading the book and my advice is: This book is simply a "must-have" for every Southern California native or lover who wants to know about the history of San Fernando Valley. Kevin Rodnick did an excellent job describing nicely and in chronological order the happenings that made this once empty space where Spaniards settled in the 1700s the most representative icon of the America's suburb and a - why not - peaceful refuge in the so-troubled Los Angeles area today.Read full review
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