Transforming the Irvine Ranch: Joan Irvine, William Pereira, Ray Watson, and the big plan
"Transforming the Irvine Ranch tells the story of Orange County's metamorphosis from 93,000 acres of failing farmland into an iconic Southern California landscape of beaches and modernist architecture. This vivid chronicle draws on decades of archival research and the authors' time at the famed Irvine Company to bring the colorful characters responsible for the transformation to life. Spanning the history of modern California from its goldrush past to high tech present, this family and social history recounts the Irvine Company's largely successful attempts to remake the state in its own image"--