A quirky recounting of the birth of one of America’s first post-war suburbs: Long Beach. Written by a city councilman who has lived his entire life in the same tiny house. Each section appears as a short, numbered entry, like another nearly identical house on the block, Waldie unveils a grid of humanity that is simultaneously awesome and awful, in some ways the climax of human evolution. It’s a quick read that succeeds like all great literature. You will see the world a little differently when you are through. February 2007.