The Irvine Ranch: a Time for People

Book excerpt: The Irvine Ranch: A Time for People describes the excitement, the accomplishments and the conflicts during the first 50 years of development of the 90,000-acre Irvine Ranch in Orange County, California, into the largest master-planned new community in the United States. The book highlights The Irvine Company, the privately held corporation which developed the Ranch under three ownerships during the post World War II years, focusing on the firms seven presidents and current chairman. Here is the dramatic transformation of an agricultural dynasty into an urban empire told in eight engrossing chapters wrapped around the actions and personalities of Myford Irvine, Arthur McFadden, Charles Thomas, William Mason, Raymond Watson, Peter Kremer, Thomas Nielsen and Donald Bren. The book provides the reader with an intimate perspective of the workings of the sometimes mysterious and frequently misunderstood Irvine Company.