In the Spirit of Beverly Hills

Book excerpt: Assouline began with an idea and a belief: the first, a notion that beauty, perfected, has meaning that is capable of transforming our lives; and the second, that a book--artfully crafted and highly considered in its visual content--can open our eyes and minds. With our first book, La Colombe d'Or, we sought to convey the experience of a small hotel in the south of France, a tiny, sublime world of art, history, luxury, and inspiration unto itself. Over time, that world has been expanded to create a universe that is anchored by our books but no longer limited to paper and pages.