California Design, 1930 - 1965: "Living in a Modern Way" edited by Wendy Kaplan (MIT Press, 2011) is a major study of California midcentury lifestyle, which takes in the iconic designs of its day while also considering the continuing importance of the era.
Generously illustrated throughout and featuring ten essays by leading design commentators, it offers a complete history of California modernism - from its emergence in the 1930s, to the Eames' groundbreaking furniture postwar and the impact that 'the California Look' had on style around the world.
The book accompanies a major exhibition of the same name, which runs at Los Angeles County Museum of Art through 3 June 2012.
See also: Backyard Oasis, another study of the particular history of Californian living, but this one focused on the domestic swimming pool.
