Book of the Year

Just got my copy of Realtor^® Jeffrey's Hyland's stunning new book, The Legendary Estates of Beverly Hills.

I'm not sure whether I'm gasping more from lugging the boxed 20-pound, 428-page tome upstairs, from its jaw-dropping production values, or from the estates themselves.

A must read.

The impeccably researched book includes myriad historic photos but, unlike some similarly-themed volumes, also includes plenty of full-color contemporary pictures of these places. Westwood native Hyland, whose father was a screenwriter and literary agent, has Hollywood's power elite on speed dial and is a principal in Hilton & Hyland Real Estate. The extensive bibliography will appeal to those of a scholarly bent. (Guilty!)

Carolwood Drive estate.

The $250 (list) price tag is worthy of a Rodeo Drive boutique, but the book can be had at a hefty discount at . . . well, you know where you shop.

By the way, don't confuse this new book with the 1989 volume that Hyland wrote with Charles Lockwood, The Estates of Beverly Hills. The older book, even though published to spur sales of estate properties in Beverly Park, s a fine work in its own right and worth owning. As of a couple of years ago, it could still be obtained from Hennessey + Ingalls but is no longer listed on their website.