This is a simple story of the quiet and fun filled life at the verdant Californian ranches that is disturbed by the influence of the big, bad city nearby and its restoration after some trials. The description of the beautiful landscapes and the life in the country is lively. The portrayal of Hollywood as a dangerous place for the innocent reflects the public opinion of the early twentieth century America. With a dose of romance, drama, crime, action and morals, this novel is a complete entertainment package, though a bit too simple for the modern reader. ( )

Other resource books on Hollywood during the 1920s cited this book by Burroughs and said it was not a particularly good book. Having read it myself, allow me to confirm: it is not a good book. It's essentially a morality tale/crime novel, with everything portrayed in stark black and white. To wit: Hollywood is evil. If young women go to Hollywood, they will be forced to remove their clothing and degrade themselves, and will become drug addicts. Everyone who knows and loves them will suffer because of this (They will be imprisoned! Raped! Attempt suicide! Go insane!). All Mexicans in the book are murderers and would-be rapists. However, the country life is good and pure. A week of horseriding in the country will cure prolonged addictions to cocaine and morphine!

My eyes rolled so much as I read, it's a wonder they didn't escape my skull. This is such a heavy-handed morality soap opera. I read it hoping for more insights into Hollywood in the early 1920s, but the actual city and industry barely figured---Hollywood is almost solely present as a symbol, and a very lewd, evil symbol at that. The information I did glean was about drug use at the time--the slang terms, how it was dosed, what it cost, etc--so it wasn't a completely useless read. I'm very glad I acquired the book as a free legal download through Google Books. ( )