Kevin Starr is the foremost chronicler of the California dream. In Material Dreams, he turns to one of the most vibrant decades in the Golden State's history, the 1920's, when some two million Americans migrated to California, the vast majority settling in or around Los Angeles.

Los Angeles, City of Angels. A city with a remarkable history, over 200 years old. Interwoven with the Caughey's commentary are over 100 of the choicest essays on Los Angeles. The saga of cowtown turned post-war metropolis unfolds before the reader.

Laszlo traces the spectacular rise and spread of citrus across the globe, from southeast Asia in 4000 BC to modern Spain and Portugal, whose explorers inroduced the fruit to the Americas. This book explores the numerous roles that citrus has played in agriculture, horticulture, cooking, nutrition, religion, and art.

Power and Control in the Imperial Valley examines the evolution of irrigated farming in the Imperial-Mexicali Valley, an arid desert straddling the California–Baja California border. Bisected by the international boundary line, the valley drew American investors determined to harness the nearby Colorado River to irrigate a million acres on both sides of the border. The “conquest” of the environment was a central theme in the history of the valley. Colonization in the valley began with the construction of a sixty-mile aqueduct from the Colorado River in California through Mexico. Initially, Mexico held authority over water delivery until settlers persuaded Congress to construct the All-American Canal. Control over land and water formed the basis of commercial agriculture and in turn enabled growers to use the state to procure inexpensive, plentiful immigrant workers.

George and William Chaffey, immigrants from Canada, founded a model colony in Southern California in 1882. They named their settlement Ontario, from an Iroquois term meaning beautiful water, not only to pay homage to their home province but to also draw other Canadians to their colony. Utilizing forward-thinking irrigation practices, the brothers laid out plots of land ready for colonists who wanted to farm or raise citrus groves. After just four years, the brothers left for Australia to develop more settlements and passed their model colony on to Charles Frankish and his partners of the Ontario Land and Improvement Company. From its earliest days, the colony became known for its citrus groves, Armstrong roses, Graber olives, Guasti grapes, and the Hotpoint iron. This book, which includes nearly 200 images, focuses on the colonys early development.