Case Study House #22 and Julius Shulman's photos of it are iconic and recognizable to book buyers and consumers around the world. This book is a new look at the never-before-told backstory behind this famous house and the family that made it their home. Case Study House #22, also known as the Stahl House after the family who built it, is considered one of the most iconic and recognizable examples of mid-century modern architecture in the world. Designed by architect Pierre Koenig and immortalized by photographer Julius Shulman, this 1960 glass-and-steel home in the Hollywood Hills has come to embody the idealism of a generation in search of the American dream. As one of the Case Study Houses designed between 1945 and 1966 under the vision of John Entenza and ARTS & ARCHITECTURE magazine, this was an affordable yet progressive design experiment to address the postwar housing shortage. The result--a two-bedroom, 2,200-square-foot house with glass walls that disappear into a 270-degree panorama of Los Angeles--became Koenig's pi ce de r sistance. The Stahl House broke rules, defied building codes that discouraged building on cliffs, and expanded the possibilities of residential architecture. The glass walls blurred the boundary between indoors and outdoors. The building seemed to merge with the city itself, the lines of the structure aligning with the geometry of the city's gridded streets. "Los Angeles becomes an extension of the house and vice versa," Koenig said. "The house is just a part of the city." The book shares the never-before-told inside story by the Stahl family's adult children who grew up there and still own the home. Many stories and personal photos are featured, including Buck Stahl's initial vision of the home and his own DIY schematic model for how to build on the complicated site. Instead of living in a rarefied museum, the family enthusiastically loved their home and its prominent swimming pool. In fact, as children, they were trained to put on their life jackets over their pajamas as soon as they woke up, as the swimming pool came right up to the sliding glass door of their bedroom. They all became expert swimmers and later jumped off the flat roof into the pool, defying any preciousness that may have been associated with such a highly designed home. UNIQUE VIEWPOINT: Although there have been numerous successful books on the Case Study program, on Pierre Koenig's architecture, and Julius Shulman's architectural photography, this is the first book by the actual family who dreamed up the home, who persevered to see it built, and who to this day care for it. IDEAL GIFT/ COVETABLE OBJECT: This is a great gift for any mid-century design and architecture enthusiast. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: This house is one of the most recognizable and revered modernist homes in the world, and its significance in the history of modernism is well established. MERCH / DISPLAY OPPORTUNITIES: Julius Shulman's iconic photograph on the cover is a recognizable image that makes for great display and merchandising. Perfect for: Design-savvy shoppers, mid-century design fans, Palm Springs-lifestyle fans, interior design fans, decorators, buyers looking for a distinctive gift for someone with discriminating taste, architects, designers, fashionistas, California-design enthusiasts