The open plains, sublime mountains and glorious West Coast of America have provided the inspiration for some of the most inventive and exciting residential design in contemporary America. Highly original modern designs or variations on classical ruins, moorish fantasies, Deco delights and prismatic follies are found in works by such internationally known architects as John Lautner, Charles Moore, Ace Architects, Bart Prince and Ed Niles, in places ranging from the barren desert of Baja California to the precipitous Rocky Mountains. This book uses a mixture of text and photographs which combine to thread together the many ideas that run through the buildings.