We spent a week in the LA area visiting a long term resident and used this book every day! We wanted to visit both tourist sites and places off the beaten track, and were able to do both. Our family had a diverse list of places to go and things to do - see a star or two, visit hollywood, visit some ethnic areas (such as Little Saigon for an article for chaobannewsletter.com), visit an aquarium, eat family friendly food, hit the beaches, go to an amusement park, etc. It helped us with everything.
My only quibble is that we could have used even more family oriented advice and recommendations.
I looked at five or six guidebooks before picking this one - both because I have used their guides before and because it seemed to do the best job with details and off the beaten track exploration. This definately was the right choice. We used it every single day - to plan, to get to each place and also to eat.