L.A. Man

by Joe Donnelly

During his many years writing for publications such as LA Weekly , the Los Angeles Times , Slake , Surfer's Journal and more, Joe Donnelly has driven to Texas with Wes Anderson, shot pool with Sean Penn, surfed with Chris Malloy, sparred (verbally) with Christian Bale, gone on a date with Carmen Electra, and listened to tall tales told by Werner Herzog. These profiles, which also include encounters with Drew Barrymore, Lou Reed, Craig Stecyk,the wolf OR7, the Z-boys and others who have indelibly stamped the cultural landscape, drill through the facade of fame to get at the core humanity behind the myth-making. This collection manages to show Los Angeles' biggest export in a light in which it is rarely seen.

Genres: Nonfiction, Essays

240 pages, Paperback

Published April 17, 2018

Reviews

[Ken Hohman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even those who prefer their stories with a layer of East Coast grit (and I count myself among them) will find West Coast editor and literary raconteur Joe Donnelly’s collection hard to put down. Donnelly has met and interviewed an incredible panoply of superstars, outlaws and creative pioneers over his career and he’s cherry-picked his personal favorites for L.A. Man. Donnelly eschews the broad stokes of biopics, preferring instead to capture his subjects at crossroads in their lives; some in their prime and others now gazing into the rearview mirror of life. Whether he’s piecing together the mayhem of drug runner Eddie Padilla’s road to ruin, riding shotgun with Wes Anderson or dining with Carmen Electra (!!), Donnelly skillfully draws out the humanity of each experience, making the big stuff seem small and the small stuff matter. Skate punks or surfers, ugly or drop-dead gorgeous, famous or almost-famous, Donnelly obviously cares deeply for them all, as together they create the human landscape of the modern day L.A. that he has grown to love.

[Aleta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastically written, funny, and gives interesting insight into celebs

[Hollyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I admire Mr. Donnelly and I think he is an exceptional journalist. My problem with the book is that I have only been to LA to fly in and out and I either didn’t know or had no interest in most of the people in his stories.