* 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 * Draws on decades of archival research, interviews with key Irvine Company figures and family members, and the authors' own experience as Company employees * Brings to life an unforgettable cast of characters responsible for Orange County's transformation, from the Irish immigrant turned prospector patriarch to an heiress who fought the company board and US government-and won * Traces the roots of the environmental movement-and the aggressive development that inspired it-to the activities of the Irvine Company * Ideal reading for developers, planners, architectural preservationists and historians, and anyone interested in the history of America's most famous county

* 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 * Draws on decades of archival research, interviews with key Irvine Company figures and family members, and the authors' own experience as Company employees * Brings to life an unforgettable cast of characters responsible for Orange County's transformation, from the Irish immigrant turned prospector patriarch to an heiress who fought the company board and US government-and won * Traces the roots of the environmental movement-and the aggressive development that inspired it-to the activities of the Irvine Company * Ideal reading for developers, planners, architectural preservationists and historians, and anyone interested in the history of America's most famous county