Sun Seekers: The Cure of California

During the preparation of a manuscript about health columnists of the past, I was urged to look into Phillip Lovell (1895-1978) and his writings. I had no knowledge of who Lovell was. My first exposure to Lovell was from Lyra Kilston's book. Her chapter about Lovell was an apt introduction for my research into naturopaths, and also the zeitgeist of early 20th century Los Angeles' influx of health seekers.Her writing is lucid and crisp. Medical science and technology were primitive and there was so little to offer other than sympathy and an asthenic array of limited drugs. Drugs were even dangerous at times. Thus, naturopathy and drugless practice relying on sun exposure, good nutrition and moderate life-styles had more to offer than traditional biomedicine of those days. Kilston, assisted by her editor Amanda Pellerin, provides an absorbing account of our health seeking behaviors over the decades. The illustrations illuminate their book's theme exceedingly well.

More of a sociology history than architectural history

Interesting history of Southern California