" The City Beneath . tells a rich story of another L.A., left behind in the sometimes hidden and coded "I was here" of hoboes, surfers, soldiers, gay outcasts and striking students -- graffiti that, like many of the people who made them, have often gone unseen by the rest of us."--Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times "The alternative history of L.A. you didn't know you needed."-- PureWow "An important addition to graffiti studies and.

a resource for those interested in graffiti for years to come. The City Beneath is a beautiful book."--John F. Lennon, Visual Inquiry " The City Beneath takes the mandate to write history from below to new heights, offering a radically inclusive account of a city known too well from the top down."--Eric Avila, Western Historical Quarterly 2021 Jane Jacobs Urban Communication Book Award finalist, sponsored by the Urban Communication Foundation "An astonishing book and a revelation, from first to last. I learned from every single page and from the sheer exuberance of Phillips's long journey into these places, spaces, histories, and inscriptions."--William Deverell, Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West "Susan Phillips insightfully shows how the study of graffiti can provide evidence for the changing nature of the city itself."--Rafael Schacter, author of The World Atlas of Street Art and Graffiti "Crack open the canon and make room at the top for The City Beneath .

Deeply researched and consistently breathtaking, this book will change the way you see and understand Los Angeles."--Josh Kun, author of The Autograph Book of L.A. "A fascinating investigation into graffiti as visual history, highlighting the inherent desire we have to leave our mark or message on a place."--Roger Gastman, graffiti historian "Susan A. Phillips's wonderfully researched book is truly unique in the study of graffiti. Not only has she examined the cultural origins of mark-making, but she also re-defines the geographical narrative, stealing the crown from New York and placing it on the head of the West Coast as the cultural epicenter of the birth of American graffiti."--Aaron Rose, Beautiful Losers.