A historian’s nostalgic trip to a series of local daytrip sites takes an unexpected turn as she explores the mysterious draw of these places. Childhood memories and urban myths lead to research into hidden stories, and what’s revealed tells much about the politics of history-making.Wri ting in a personal, funny, and engaging style, Dana Frank brings the reader along on her process of discovery. Full of surprises and plot twists along the way, her adventures are quirky, fun, and informative. Each essay is accompanied by a map and illustrated with photos, news clippings, and memorabilia. Dana Frank is a professor of history at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Northern California's Best 100 Golf Courses, nicknamed the Best 100, is the first book to give unbiased reviews of all 220 public 18-hole golf courses in Northern CA. It is designed to aid golfers who seek new experiences choose those which fit their game and interests. The top 100 courses receive rankings, in order of quality, and provide complete analysis including: local folklore, course history, recent changes to the features, comments on conditioning, and a description of the design features with the most distinction. The other 120 receive shorter reviews. All essays provide summary course statistics, i.e. the course address, phone numbers, website, driving directions, architect, management company, greens fees, par, total distances, ratings and slopes. Special feature chapters... Less

This sweeping history explores the growing Latino presence in the United States over the past two hundred years. It also debunks common myths about Silicon Valley, one of the world's most influential but least-understood places. Far more than any label of the moment, the devil of racism has long been Silicon Valley's defining force, and Stephen Pitti argues that ethnic Mexicans--rather than computer programmers-- should take center stage in any contemporary discussion of the "new West."Pitti weaves together the experiences of disparate residents--early Spanish-Mexican settlers, Gold Rush miners, farmworkers transplanted from Texas, Chicano movement activists, and late-twentieth- century musicians--to offer a broad reevaluation of the American West. Based on dozens of oral histories as... Less

More girls are producing media today than at any other point in U.S. history, and they are creating media texts in virtually every format currently possible-- magazines, films, musical recordings, and websites. Girls Make Media explores how young female media producers have reclaimed and reconfigured girlhood as a site for radical social, cultural, and political agency. Central to the book is an analysis of Riot Grrrl--a 1990s feminist youth movement from a fusion of punk rock and gender theory-and the girl power movement it inspired. The author also looks at the rise of girls-only media education programs, and the creation of girls' studies.This book will be essential reading for anyone seeking to understand contemporary female youth in today's media culture.

CALIFORNIA: THE POLITICS OF DIVERSITY, Seventh Edition, explores the uniqueness and excitement of California's political environment through two key themes: diversity and hyperpluralism. An experienced educator with a background in local government, the author brings an informed, insightful perspective to the examination of the numerous pressures that make governing the state increasingly challenging. To help readers better understand California politics in a national context, the book also discusses aspects of American politics such as the democratic, elite, and pluralist theories and shows how those concepts can aid in understanding California politics.

"Penetrating insight into the processes by which our collective historical memory is constructed. Through a range of case studies, the authors explore how and why certain landscapes and monuments are intentionally endowed with specific messages, why certain stories are obscured or forgotten, and how collective memories change over time." --James Delle, Franklin and Marshall College The authors in this collection show how the creation of a collective memory of highly visible objects and landscapes is an ongoing struggle, their meanings always being constructed, changed, and challenged.  The sites and symbols the authors address are nationally recognized and include a balance of places that illuminate class, ethnic, racial, and historical experiences. Focusing on material culture, they... Less

In 1989 Martha Norkunas relocated to Lowell, Massachusetts, the center of America's Industrial Revolution, a National Historical Park, and her family's home for 150 years. As cultural affairs director for the federally funded Lowell Historic Preservation Commission, she worked with artists from around the country to interpret the city's past. Traveling throughout Lowell, she found that the city had more than 250 locally constructed monuments memorializing ethnic communities, local men and boys, and many other groups. Realizing the rich potential for exploring issues of memory and history through both the local monuments and the federally funded public art, she began this in-depth study, approaching it in a very personal way. At the center of Martha Norkunas's narrative is her intimate... Less

This long-awaited study, the magnum opus of a leading railroad historian, describes the conception, construction, and early operation of the first narrow gauge railroads in northern California. It is lavishly illustrated by some 600 photographs and drawings, almost three-quarters of which have never before been published.The topic is approached through an unusual lens: the history of the relatively small but extraordinarily inventive contracting and engineering firm of the brothers Thomas and Martin Carter. The Carters were able to reduce the cost and complexity of light railroad construction to the point where local narrow gauge lines could initially compete with the state’s notorious railroad monopolies. Pioneering a mobile manufacturing operation that could supply locally funded... Less

Told in alternating voices, these stories are funny and lyrical, disturbing and healing, each a lesson in survival, a reminder of the ties of blood, and the power of friendship....

Northern California Bouldering highlights 50 of the best bouldering areas from just north of Yosemite all the way up to the Oregon border and west to the Pacific Ocean. With color maps, action photos and supertopo photos as well as detailed descriptions of all the boulder problems it s easy to use and easy on the eyes. Nearly every type of rock imaginable is included from limestone and sandstone to granite and volcanic tuff. All of the areas included are immersed in a variety of world class scenery from sea level to the alpine environments of the high Sierras. This guide contains new material highlighting new areas, and a selection of the best areas from the other two guides already in use, Bay Area Bouldering and Lake Tahoe Bouldering. Northern California Bouldering includes new areas... Less

David Myrick's monumental railroad histories have become essential reference works for railroaders, historians, and hobbyists. His previous two volumes on the railroads of Nevada and Eastern California provide a rich record of rail transport in the region, including independent roads, short lines, and narrow-gauge roads, as well as many ephemeral roads built to serve mines or construction projects. Lavishly illustrated with period photographs and maps, and rich in historical detail, they are a major contribution to the transportation history of the West. Volume III contains additional information about the northern roads, including some not covered in previous volumes, and about developments since the publication of the first two volumes in the railroads of the region. It provides new... Less

Wars over natural resources have been fiercely fought in the Humboldt Bay redwood region of Northern California, a situation made devastatingly urgent in recent decades of timber war that raised questions of economic sustainability and ecological preservation. In Trouble in the Forest, Richard Widick narrates the long and bloody history of this hostility and demonstrates how it exemplifies the key contemporary challenge facing the modern societies-the collision of capitalism, ecology, and social justice.An innovative blend of social history, cultural theory, and ethnography, Trouble in the Forest traces the origins of the redwood conflict to the same engines of modernity that drove the region's colonial violence against American Indians and its labor struggles during the industrial... Less

Afghanistan, a country which for generations has inspired writers, travellers and explorers, does not lend itself to easy categorization. Straddling Central Asia, and situated at the edges of the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East, Afghanistan distills elements and characteristics from all three of these regions. For Afghanistan is part of them all--and at the same time a part of none. And, as Warwick Ball shows in this richly illustrated and timely book, herein lies an explanation for Afghanistan’s allure, its cultural wealth, and ultimately perhaps its tragedy. For it is a country whose complex essence is hard to define, a land which has always taken on aspects from outside, but which remains as stubbornly individualistic as its own mountainous landscape. That challenge posed by... Less

Like its predecessors, this seventh edition of a best-loved publication recounts California's history from its origin to the present in a format that is engaging and informative. Even in the five years since the last edition of the book appeared, enormous social and material changes have overcome the Golden State. This new edition reflects these developments, considering them in historical context and pondering their implications for the future. Likewise, those sections of the book devoted to women, the environment, ethnic diversity, crime, sports, energy, and transportation have been expanded. It features new photographs, maps, tables, and charts, making it the perfect core text for courses on California history as well as engaging reading for anyone interested in what is in many ways... Less

What is kitsch? What is behind its appeal? More important, what is wrong with kitsch? Though central to our modern and postmodern culture, kitsch has not been seriously and comprehensively analyzed; its aesthetic worthlessness has been generally assumed but seldom explained. Kitsch and Art seeks to give this phenomenon its due by exploring the basis of artistic evaluation and aesthetic value judgments. Tomas Kulka examines kitsch in the visual arts, literature, music, and architecture. To distinguish kitsch from art, Kulka proposes that kitsch depicts instantly identifiable, emotionally charged objects or themes, but that it does not substantially enrich our associations relating to the depicted objects or themes. He then addresses the deceptive nature of kitsch by examining the makeup of... Less

No one knows ghosts towns--nor what ghost town lovers want to know about them--like Philip Varney. Tony Hillerman. Get ready for adventure as ghost town expert Philip Varney takes you on a tour of Northern California’s most fascinating historic mining camps and ghost towns. Ghost Towns of Northern California provides background on the Gold Rush of 1849 and later strikes, as well as comprehensive information on more than 50 towns and sites--from out-of-the-way Campo Seco and New Idria to popular sites such as Coloma and Bodie. Varney also covers ghost forts, Chinese fishing villages, and the famous "ghost prison" of Alcratraz. If you’re an armchair visitor, you’ll appreciate the rich color photographs and descriptive text that bring the region to life. With chapters arranged by region and... Less

This book is the chronological history of the gold rush and gold discoveries from 1848 through 1875, as viewed and reported by the newspapers and miners, on what was called the Northern Mines area of California's Mother Lode Gold Belt. The Northern Mines was that area north of the Cosumnes River, which included Placerville on northward. It included the region containing the South, Middle and North forks of the American River, the Bear River, the South, Middle and North forks of the Yuba River, and the South, Middle and North forks of the Feather River, plus all the other branches and tributaries that ran into the named forks and rivers. This book contains as many newspaper articles that could be found relating to the gold rush days. In using the newspaper articles from the golden era... Less

Art history as it is largely practiced in Asia as well as in the West is a western invention. In India, works of art-sculptures, monuments, paintings-were first viewed under colonial rule as archaeological antiquities, later as architectural relics, and by the mid-20th century as works of art within an elaborate art-historical classification. Tied to these views were narratives in which the works figured, respectively, as sources from which to recover India's history, markers of a lost, antique civilization, and symbols of a nation's unique aesthetic, reflecting the progression from colonialism to nationalism. The nationalist canon continues to dominate the image of Indian art in India and abroad, and yet its uncritical acceptance of the discipline's western orthodoxies remains... Less

The relationship between bodies and images has long occupied feminism. The Becoming of Bodies explores the way in which this relationship has primarily been approached and offers an alternative framework for analysis. Thinking through her original empirical research with teenage girls, involving focus groups, individual interviews and image-making sessions, Coleman moves from a consideration of media images, the focus of much feminist research, to examine images more widely; as mirrors, photographs, glimpses, comments, imagination. Addressing issues of appearance and selfhood, sex and gender, and temporality, the book takes a Deleuzian position to argue that bodies and images are not separable entities, but rather entangled processes of becoming. It asks the question: how do bodies become... Less

Often called the “location bible,” Here Comes The Guide features multitudes of Northern California event sites, including private estates, historic gardens, yachts, museums, wineries, hotels, and many others. Engaging descriptions give readers a clear picture of each place, while details about pricing, services, and amenities help streamline the selection process. Here Comes The Guide also includes over 125 prescreened vendors, such as photographers, caterers, florists, and cake makers, along with tips on how to hire and work with event professionals.

Published on the occasion of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum's fiftieth anniversary, and in association with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, this fascinating, beautifully designed volume is the first to fully explore the process behind one of the greatest, most iconic Modern buildings in America-and the world. The Guggenheim: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Making of the Modern Museum examines the history, design and construction of Wright's masterwork with preliminary drawings, models and photographs, as well as three major essays that consider the building in three important contexts. Hillary Ballon discusses the obstacles Wright faced in getting the Guggenheim built, and how his complex relationship with New York City was reflected in his design; Neil Levine explores why Wright's... Less

Best-selling authors, sensational lecturers, documentary filmmakers, amateur archaeologists, spies for FDR--Dana and Ginger Lamb led the life of Indiana Jones long before the movie icon was ever scripted. "We blaze the trail," Ginger said, "and the scientists follow." The Enchanted Quest of Dana and Ginger Lamb is the first biography of this captivating, entrepreneurial couple. In Southern California, they started married life in 1933 by building a canoe. With only $4.10 in their pockets, they paddled to Central America and through the Panama Canal. Three years later they returned triumphant, bearing a photographic record of the amazing trek that made them famous. After releasing their best-selling book, Enchanted Vagabonds, the two became exactly that. They relentlessly lectured for... Less

This richly illustrated book is the first to apply the discoveries of the new generation of food historians to the pleasures of dining and the culinary accomplishments of diverse civilizations, past and present. Editor Paul Freedman has gathered essays by French, German, Belgian, American, and British historians to present a comprehensive, chronological history of taste from prehistory to the present day. The authors explore the early repertoire of sweet tastes; the distinctive contributions made by classical antiquity and China; the subtle, sophisticated, and varied group of food customs created by the Islamic civilizations of Iberia, the Arabian desert, Persia, and Byzantium; the magnificent cuisine of the Middle Ages, influenced by Rome and adapted from Islamic Spain, Africa, and the... Less

This book is an extended argument on the "coloniality" of power by one of the most innovative scholars of Latin American studies. In a shrinking world where sharp dichotomies, such as East/West and developing/develo ped, blur and shift, Walter Mignolo points to the inadequacy of current practice in the social sciences and area studies. He introduces the crucial notion of "colonial difference" into study of the modern colonial world. He also traces the emergence of new forms of knowledge, which he calls "border thinking." Further, he expands the horizons of those debates already under way in postcolonial studies of Asia and Africa by employing the terms and concerns of New World scholarship. His concept of "border gnosis," or what is known from the perspective of an empire's borderlands,... Less

This book describes many different sources of local history discovered by the authors in the course of extensive research and travel throughout Britain and Ireland. Carefully chosen examples and specially taken photographs show how disparate elements combine to broaden our understanding of local communities in the past. Local history is discovered through printed books, local records, national archives, museum collections, newspapers, pictures, maps and, of course, the vigorous memories of local folk. The landscape is a vital source whose every feature adds a chapter or a footnote to an unfolding story that extends far beyond the reach of memory and written record, deep into prehistory and to the very beginnings of settled society in every locality.

This comprehensive manual of operations for managing local history material within the administrative framework of a library covers issues of administration, acquisitions, access, and use of all formats of material. Information on continually changing areas such as preservation, copyright and other legal concerns, computer applications, and national databases is also addressed, along with public relations roles and outreach activities for local history collections. Guidelines for administration of nontraditional library material (e.g., manuscripts) will be especially helpful to librarians. Archivists will value the manual as one of continuing practical education and theoretical development as exemplified by the Society of American Archivists' Basic Manual Series and Archival Fundamental... Less

If a teaching hospital loses funding, what is the next option?Mergers of Teaching Hospitals in Boston, New York, and Northern California investigates the recent mergers of six of the nation's most respected teaching hospitals. The author explains the reasons why these institutions decided to change their governance and the factors that have allowed two of them to continue to operate while forcing the third to dissolve after only 23 months of operation.The case studies contained within this book rely on an impressive amount of research. Notably, instead of citing only published articles and books, the author includes information from numerous, extensive personal interviews with key participants in the various mergers. With this research the author not only presents to the reader a picture... Less

Having played host to more than 60 Hollywood productions—from the early years of cinema through the 1970s—Sedona, Arizona’s impact on the film industry is revealed here for the first time. Detailing its role as a silent but stunning backdrop to all types of movies, this volume covers the silent films, B westerns, World War II propaganda, and film noirs filmed on location in Arizona. Lavishly illustrated, this reference tells the story behind an anti-American Nazi propaganda western; the true history of filmmaking in Monument Valley; the first-ever inclusive guide to the location filming of Stagecoach; and descriptions of each Arizona production from conception through reception by critics and audiences, with plot summaries and complete details of cast and crew.

Get back to nature with Northern California's Best Family Campgrounds, the first photographic guide to camping with children in one of the richest natural regions in the country. This useful resource includes 50 sites, hand-picked for their exceptional beauty, accessibility, and safety for children of all ages. Author Roland De Wolk, who has taken his family to each of these gorgeous locales, presents clear directions and helpful descriptions detailing the features of each campsite. Strikingly illustrated with 150 full-color photographs, Best Family Campgrounds will help Northern California natives and visitors alike plan fun-filled, hassle-free camping trips.