Transforming the Irvine Ranch: Joan Irvine, William Pereira, Ray Watson, and the Big Plan

From citrus trees to spring breakers, Transforming the Irvine Ranch tells the story of Orange County’s metamorphosis from 93,000 acres of farmland into an iconic Southern California landscape of beaches and modernist architecture. Drawing on decades of archival research and their own years at the famed Irvine Company, the authors bring a collection of colorful characters responsible for the transformation to life, including:

• Ray Watson, whose nearly century-long life took him from an Oakla...