'West of Eden' Looks At Los Angeles History

The history of Los Angeles is a history of the families that shaped it. In a new book called West of Eden, oral historian and author Jean Stein tells the stories of five families who shaped our city, including her own. Her father was Jules Stein, founder of the media giant MCA in the 1920s. The Dohenys, the Garlands, the Warners and the Selznicks round out the cast of characters in West of Eden. Stein’s works tackle similar themes: The cult of celebrity, the loneliness of fame, and the tensions between West Coast and East Coast ideas of success. Madeleine speaks to a reviewer about the writer’s latest.