Sunnylands

Sunnylands, the Annenberg estate in Rancho Mirage, California, is one of America's great estates. This richly illustrated book chronicles its extensive history, and individual essays by distinguished specialists document each major collection and the home's significance as an example of California midcentury modernist architecture.

With its pastel green and yellow interior, its dazzling collection of Impressionist paintings, and long, low sofas that look like vintage Cadillac convertibles, Sunnylands was a Versailles for the Space Age. In Palm Springs, the mecca of midcentury modern architecture, this immaculately preserved estate is considered the undisputed masterpiece, envisioned by A. Quincy Jones, one of California's most important architects; and furnished by California's great decorator-to-the-stars, William Haines. Built by media moguls, art collectors, and diplomats Walter and Lenore Annenberg, Sunnylands became a seat of power, where politicians, movie stars, and corporate leaders could meet, relax, reflect, make deals, and run the world - all with nobody watching. For four decades, an invitation to New Year's at Sunnylands was the ultimate social prize. Exquisitely illustrated and with a foreword by Architectural Digest contributor Michael Smith, Sunnylands is a must-have for every fan of midcentury design.

Rancho Mirage is a beautiful residential and desert-resort community nestled along the Santa Rosa Mountains, located between the cities of Palm Springs and Palm Desert in the Coachella Valley. Bighorn sheep and the Agua Caliente tribe of Cahuilla Indians were the area's early inhabitants. Date farms and ranchos developed after aquifers were discovered. Guest ranches soon followed and became favorite destinations for the rich and famous in the 1940s and 1950s. By the early 1950s, residential communities designed in classic Desert Modern style were being constructed along with the valley's first two country clubs with 18-hole golf courses. Rancho Mirage soon emerged as the "golf capital of the world" and has since grown to be a premier resort and residential community with a permanent population of 16,870 and several thousand additional winter residents who enjoy the city's 10 country clubs, three world-class resorts, and scores of restaurants.