Over her lifetime, Stein also produced two other essential oral histories in collaboration with journalist and editor George Plimpton, who served as editor on some of her projects. In the New York Times, critic Maria Russo wrote that Stein’s expertly collaged narratives offered “a glimpse of what seems like deep truth” - “as close as we’re going to come to the real story of anything.” but also the real drama of this town, as reflected in the lives of some of its most powerful players.” Reviewer Judith Freeman, in the Los Angeles Times, described it as “compulsively readable, capturing not just a vibrant part of the history of Los Angeles. “West of Eden” had been well-received by critics. She too was a member of Hollywood royalty. Her father, Jules Stein, was the co-founder of Music Corp. It also included a section on her own family: the Steins.

Sign up for our weekly Essential Arts & Culture newsletter » Her 2016 book “West of Eden,” her most recent oral history, tracked the development of Hollywood and Southern California through the lives of five powerful Los Angeles families, such as the Warners and the Dohenys - individuals for whom roadways and movie studios have been named. It was a circle of people who were very tough and demanding.” “She had the respect of the heavy hitters,” he said, “people who weren’t interested in the small talk - people like Joan Didion, Jules Feiffer. “We were all worried.”īut even in shock, he recalled a small, soft-spoken woman who harbored an incredibly sharp mind.

Edie by jean stein