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What: “Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum” pictorial history

Author: Chris Epting

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Price: $19.99

The Coliseum has a rich history, and much of it is captured in this 128-page paperback book that contains more than 200 black-and-white photos.

But much is left out. The chapter on football is only 12 pages. USC football, in particular, gets short shrift. And the selection of pictures seems odd.

There is a picture of Bert Jones, who played for the Rams one season (1982), lining up at quarterback. But he is in a Baltimore Colt uniform.

There is a photo of Joe Namath in a Ram uniform, but the Coliseum was his home field for only one season (1977).

The best part of the book deals with the building of the Coliseum. Construction began Dec. 21, 1921, and the work was completed on time and within the $800,000 budget on May 1, 1923. The first football game was played there between USC and Pomona College on Oct. 23, 1923, before 12,836.

The book also includes a chapter on the history of the Sports Arena.

This is the second book Chris Epting, an advertising executive from Huntington Beach, has done for Arcadia Publishing. His first was on the history of Huntington Beach.

Arcadia Publishing has nothing to do with the city of Arcadia. Started as a one-room operation in Dover, N.H., in 1993, it has published more than 1,700 regional history books. The company has its headquarters in Charleston, S.C.