A biography of the engineer who designed and built the Los Angeles Aqueduct traces the rise and fall of William Mulholland, the architect of an aqueduct 250 miles long designed to bring Los Angeles all the water it needed. 15,000 first printing.

Rivers in the Desert: William Mulholland and the Inventing of Los Angeles

Biographies & Memoirs

Davis, Margaret Leslie

Regional U.S.

Harpercollins

Historical

Perennial

In December 1962 Da Vinci's Mona Lisa set sail from Paris to New York for what was arguably the riskiest art exhibition ever mounted. The fragile icon traveled like a head of state, with armed guards and military surveillance, in a temperature-controlled vault. Masterminding the entire show was First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. For eighty-eight charmed days, Lisa Fever” swept the nation as nearly two million Americans attended exhibits in Washington, D.C. and New York. It was the greatest outpouring of appreciation for a single work of art in American history and the beginning of our nation's love affair with the arts.
Acclaimed biographer Margaret Leslie Davis tells the tale in charming fashion” (USA Today), revealing a saga filled with international intrigue and the irresistible charm of Camelot and its queen.

Mona Lisa in Camelot: How Jacqueline Kennedy and Da Vinci's Masterpiece Charmed and Captivated a Nation

Arts & Photography

History & Criticism

Da Capo Press

“A lively tale of historical innovation, the thrill of the bibliophile’s hunt, greed and betrayal.” – The New York Times Book Review\n"An addictive and engaging look at the ‘competitive, catty and slightly angst-ridden’ heart of the world of book collecting.” - The Houston Chronicle\nThe never-before-told story of one extremely rare copy of the Gutenberg Bible, and its impact on the lives of the fanatical few who were lucky enough to own it.\nFor rare-book collectors, an original copy of the Gutenberg Bible--of which there are fewer than 50 in existence--represents the ultimate prize. Here, Margaret Leslie Davis recounts five centuries in the life of one copy, from its creation by Johannes Gutenberg, through the hands of monks, an earl, the Worcestershire sauce king, and a nuclear physicist to its ultimate resting place, in a steel vault in Tokyo. Estelle Doheny, the first woman collector to add the book to her library and its last private owner, tipped the Bible onto a trajectory that forever changed our understanding of the first mechanically printed book.\nThe Lost Gutenberg draws readers into this incredible saga, immersing them in the lust for beauty, prestige, and knowledge that this rarest of books sparked in its owners. Exploring books as objects of obsession across centuries, this is a must-read for history buffs, book collectors, seekers of hidden treasures, and anyone who has ever craved a remarkable book--and its untold stories.

The Lost Gutenberg: The Astounding Story of One Book's Five-Hundred-Year Odyssey

TarcherPerigee

Dark Side of Fortune: Triumph and Scandal in the Life of Oil Tycoon Edward L. Doheny

Dark Side of Fortune contains all the elements of a Hollywood thriller. Filling in one of the most important gaps in the history of the American West, Margaret Leslie Davis's riveting biography follows Edward L. Doheny's fascinating story from his days as an itinerant prospector in the dangerous jungles of Mexico, where he built the $100-million oil empire that ushered in the new era of petroleum. But it was a tale that ended in tragedy, when—at the peak of his economic power—Doheny was embroiled in the notorious Teapot Dome scandal and charged with bribing the U.S. Secretary of the Interior. Few captains of industry have matched Doheny's drive to succeed and his far-reaching ambition. Drawn to the West in search of fortune, he failed at prospecting before finding oil in a smelly, tar-befouled lot in Los Angeles in 1892. Certain that the substance had commercial value, he envisioned steamships and locomotives no longer powered by coal, but by oil. After developing massive oil wells in Mexico, Doheny built an international oil empire that made him one of the wealthiest men in the world. But in 1924 the scandal of Teapot Dome engulfed him. As accusations mounted, he hired America's top legal talent for his defense. During the ten-year-long litigation, Doheny's only son was mysteriously murdered by a family confidant. The government's case against Doheny ended in an astounding jury decision: The cabinet official accused of taking a bribe from Doheny was found guilty and sent to prison, yet Doheny was fully acquitted. Despite the verdict, the scandal had overshadowed the achievements of a lifetime, and he died in disgrace in 1935. Margaret Leslie Davis recreates the legal drama and adds details of behind-the-scenes strategy gleaned from the personal diaries and archives of Doheny's famed defense attorneys. Previously hidden personal correspondence adds to this first complete portrait of the man and answers questions about Doheny that have eluded historians for almost seventy-five years.

University of California Press

Dark Side of Fortune contains all the elements of a Hollywood thriller. Filling in one of the most important gaps in the history of the American West, Margaret Leslie Davis's riveting biography follows Edward L. Doheny's fascinating story from his days as an itinerant prospector in the dangerous jungles of Mexico, where he built the $100-million oil empire that ushered in the new era of petroleum. But it was a tale that ended in tragedy, when―at the peak of his economic power―Doheny was embroiled in the notorious Teapot Dome scandal and charged with bribing the U.S. Secretary of the Interior. Few captains of industry have matched Doheny's drive to succeed and his far-reaching ambition. Drawn to the West in search of fortune, he failed at prospecting before finding oil in a smelly, tar-befouled lot in Los Angeles in 1892. Certain that the substance had commercial value, he envisioned steamships and locomotives no longer powered by coal, but by oil. After developing massive oil wells in Mexico, Doheny built an international oil empire that made him one of the wealthiest men in the world. But in 1924 the scandal of Teapot Dome engulfed him. As accusations mounted, he hired America's top legal talent for his defense. During the ten-year-long litigation, Doheny's only son was mysteriously murdered by a family confidant. The government's case against Doheny ended in an astounding jury decision: The cabinet official accused of taking a bribe from Doheny was found guilty and sent to prison, yet Doheny was fully acquitted. Despite the verdict, the scandal had overshadowed the achievements of a lifetime, and he died in disgrace in 1935. Margaret Leslie Davis recreates the legal drama and adds details of behind-the-scenes strategy gleaned from the personal diaries and archives of Doheny's famed defense attorneys. Previously hidden personal correspondence adds to this first complete portrait of the man and answers questions about Doheny that have eluded historians for almost seventy-five years.

In December 1962, Da Vinci's Mona Lisa set sail from Paris to New York for what was arguably the riskiest art exhibition ever mounted. The fragile icon traveled like a head of state, with armed guards and military surveillance, in a temperature-controlled vault. Masterminding the entire show was First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, who tirelessly campaigned to persuade National Gallery Director John Walker, French President Charles de Gaulle, and her own husband to debut the legendary smile here. For 88 charmed days, Lisa Fever” swept the nation as nearly two million Americans attended exhibits in Washington, D.C. and New York. It was the greatest outpouring of appreciation for a single work of art in American history. And as only Jacqueline Kennedy could do, she infused America's first museum blockbuster show with a unique sense of pageantry, igniting a national love affair with the arts.
 Gathering rare archival documents and interviews, acclaimed biographer Margaret Leslie Davis has woven a tantalizing saga, filled with international intrigue and the irresistible charm of Camelot and its queen.

This elegant book chronicles the efforts of the impressive team of international architects, designers and businessmen who created L.A.'s famed deco masterpiece. Based on extensive interviews and research, Bullocks Wilshire recounts the lives of two immigrant entrepreneurs, John Gillespie Bullock and Percy Glenn Winnett who, with this magnificent department store, tested a new theory of retailing in the (then) suburbs.

Bullocks Wilshire

Architecture

Princeton Architectural Press

Rivers in the Desert is the quintessential American story. It follows the remarkable career of William Mulholland, the visionary who engineered the rise of Los Angeles as the greatest American city west of the Mississippi. He sought to transform the sparse and barren desert into an inhabitable environment by designing the longest aqueduct in the Western Hemisphere, bringing water from the mountains to support a large city. Davis chronicles Mulholland’s dramatic ascension to wealth and fame, followed by his tragic downfall after the sudden collapse of the dam he had constructed to safeguard the water supply. The disaster, which killed at least five hundred people, caused his repudiation by allies, friends, and a previously adoring community. Epic in scope, Rivers in the Desert chronicles the history of Los Angeles and examines the tragic fate of the man who rescued it.

Open Road Media

Rivers in the Desert tells a mythlike American story of how one man, through vision, daring, and engineering genius, invented the Los Angeles of the future, only to fall tragically from grace due to an unforeseen disaster. The man was William Mulholland; his creation, the Los Angeles Aqueduct, the tremendous 235 mile waterway that transformed an arid and sparsely populated town into a thriving city of millions. The story of the aqueduct, the heroism of its builders, the record-breaking feats of engineering, the political shenanigans of land speculators, and the impact it had on the lives of ordinary people, is much more than a chronicle of a gifted engineer. It is the history of the birth and development of southern California, and of a man who was as unique a talent as any in America's history.

Rivers in the Desert

Olmstead Pr

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Davis, Margaret Leslie. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Davis, Margaret Leslie

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Davis, Margaret Leslie. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Rivers in the Desert: William Mulholland and the Inventing of Los Angeles

Rivers in the Desert: William Mulholland and the Inventing of Los Angeles

Mona Lisa in Camelot: How Jacqueline Kennedy and Da Vinci's Masterpiece Charmed and Captivated a Nation

The Lost Gutenberg: The Astounding Story of One Book's Five-Hundred-Year Odyssey

Dark Side of Fortune: Triumph and Scandal in the Life of Oil Tycoon Edward L. Doheny

Dark Side of Fortune: Triumph and Scandal in the Life of Oil Tycoon Edward L. Doheny

Mona Lisa in Camelot: How Jacqueline Kennedy and Da Vinci's Masterpiece Charmed and Captivated a Nation

Bullocks Wilshire

Rivers in the Desert: William Mulholland and the Inventing of Los Angeles

Rivers in the Desert