The Archaeology of Hollywood

March 1, 2014

Cinema has been powerfully shaped by Hollywood, yet few Americans realize how much of its physical history in Tinseltown has been lost. It's not just the loss of the early films themselves--only ten to 20 percent have survived--but also that studios, film sets, celebrity homes, movie palaces, costumes, props, equipment, hotels, and restaurants have all but disappeared. Bahn's (Disgraceful Archaeology; Archaeology: Theories, Methods, and Practice) latest is aptly subtitled, because, as he reveals, traces are all that are left of early Hollywood. The author examines those remnants through a pop culture lens, moving from industrialized areas to the final resting places of the early industry giants and several areas in between. It is evident that Bahn enjoyed writing this book, both when rooting through the vestiges of an almost vanished era as well as disproving the myth that archaeologists only investigate the long-distant past. VERDICT This title will circulate well in public libraries and will be of interest to those fascinated by the iconography of Hollywood, early film history, and digging through the past.--Teri Shiel, Univ. of Connecticut Health Ctr. Lib., Farmington

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.