Part 1, Life Styles in the Golden Land: California Dreaming, Summary and Analysis

The Center of Study of Democratic Institutions was founded in the late fifties when a large villa was built in order to provide a place for people to gather and discuss important issues. People were invited to come to the center and were given an office and a salary. Papers were written and occasionally published here. Didion had long been interested in the rhetoric produced at the Center, so she arranged to attend a few sessions. Didion was warned the talk there was high-powered. She attends several discussions over such subjects as education; Didion can never get a handle on the Center's true purpose except as a meeting place for many high powered people in both politics and entertainment.

This essay details a place California...