Tomorrow I am teaching a book I admire--Paul Krugman's Development, Geography and Economic Theory. The book contains three Olin Lectures that are beautifully written, accessible and insightful. But on page 58, he quotes Gertrude Stein as having said that Los Angeles had "no there there."
She actually was referring to her home town. Specifically, she wrote:
What was the use of my having come from Oakland it was not natural to have come from there yes write about it if I like or anything if I like but not there, there is no there there.I am not sure Oakland deserves the insult either, but still, LA gets enough abuse as it is.
