This coffee table book on the photography of the late Julius Shulman (also the subject of the 2009 documentary Visual Acoustics) is full of many pleasant surprises. Many people, like me, probably associate Shulman's photographs with the mid-20th-century houses in Los Angeles; his iconic photo of Case Study House #22 is one of many he created. Yet houses comprise only one of five chapters in this book, the other four comprising the surprises for me: LA's urban landscape, blooming developments, life in all its mundane glory, and workplaces, be they offices or industry. We see a city captured at a time of great change (like the rest of the country), but also a photographer with a diverse portfolio (unlike many pros today) and an insatiable appetite for capturing life around him.