The Bungalow: The Production of a Global Culture

I just got off the sunset train
I'm from the Angel Town
The Golden West Los Angeles
Where the sun shines all year round
I left a girlie back there
She's the sweetest girl I know
She said 'Goodbye'
I'll wait for you
In the Land of the Bungalow
from In the Land of the Bungalow by George F. Devereux (1929)

The bungalow, in all its various forms, has existed since the early seventeenth century. From its origin as a Bengalese hut, or "banggolo," made of mud, thatch, and bamboo, to later developments as a one-story structure surrounded by a colonnaded veranda, and the subtle permutations exhibited in designs such as the Frank Lloyd Wright style "prairie house," the bungalow has become one of the most frequently adapted house forms throughout the world and the most popular home style in the United States. It is probably the only dwelling that, in both name and form, exists on every continent (the word bungalow has entered over twenty languages).
The first work of its kind, this richly illustrated volume takes readers on an intriguing tour of the cultural history of the bungalow, from its inception as a peasant's simple dwelling place to its present day incarnation as a much-loved suburban home looked upon with affection and pride. Here, in investigating its origins in India, and subsequent development in Britain, North America, Africa, Australia, and continental Europe, Anthony D. King explores the historical forces which, in producing the bungalow, also shaped the modern world: colonialism and industrialization, capitalism and socialism, urbanization and suburbanization. He argues that a global culture of architectural form can be identified with the bungalow, one which accords with the development of our international, capitalistic, and urban culture, and that the bungalow "was one of, if not the first, common house types of this culture." In turn, King demonstrates the bungalow's varied manifestations throughout the world: in North America, for exampl, the bungalow illustrates the relationship between ideology and environment, while in Britain we see the role of class interests in shaping "town and country" planning, and in Africa and India the bungalow reveals the way in which an international market economy can transform the housing and lifestyle of an urban bourgeoisie.
Offering the definitive history of a popular house form, this fascinating work provides an engaging look at the ubiquitous bungalow and the social, political, and cultural forces that produced it. Indeed, as this unique book shows, one might expect to hear a happy bungalow owner (whether from a bohemian summer bungalow in the woods of Vancouver or a family home in the suburbs of Jacksonville, Florida) singing a bungalow tune: "Far from the city, Somehow it seems, We're sitting pretty in, Our bungalow, Of dreams."