{"product_id":"2940170762590","title":"A Student of History: A Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSet in a modern-day Los Angeles that's both familiar and unknown, \u003ci\u003eA Student of History\u003c\/i\u003e is a story of uncrossable social lines, allegiance and betrayal, immeasurable power, and the ways the present is continually shaped by the past.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRick Nagano is a graduate student in the history department at USC, struggling to make rent on the South Los Angeles apartment near the neighborhood where his family once lived. When he lands a job as a research assistant for the elderly Mrs. W--, the heir to an oil fortune, he sees it at first simply as a source of extra cash. But as he grows closer to the iconoclastic, charming, and feisty Mrs. W--, he gets drawn into a world of privilege and wealth far different from his racially mixed, blue-collar beginnings.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePutting aside his half-finished dissertation, Rick sets up office in Mrs. W--'s grand Bel Air mansion and begins to transcribe her journals amp;mdash; which document an old Los Angeles not described in his history books. He also accompanies Mrs. W-- to venues frequented by the descendants of the land and oil barons who built the city.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne evening at an event, he meets Fiona Morgan amp;mdash; the elegant scion of an old steel family amp;mdash; who takes an interest in his studies. Irresistibly drawn to Fiona, he agrees to help her with a project of questionable merit in the hopes he'll win her favor.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eA Student of History\u003c\/i\u003e explores both the beginnings of Los Angeles and present-day dynamics of race and class. It offers a window into the usually hidden world of high society and the influence of historic families on current events. Like \u003ci\u003eGreat Expectations\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Great Gatsby\u003c\/i\u003e, it features, in Rick Nagano, a young man of modest means who is navigating a world where he doesn't belong.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Recorded Books, LLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47105138196720,"sku":"2940170762590","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940170762590_p0.jpg?v=1763716896","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940170762590","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}