Here is an entertaining collection of famed conservationist John Muir’s most exciting adventures in nature, representing some of his finest writing. From the famous avalanche ride off the rim of Yosemite Valley to his night spent weathering a windstorm at the top of a tree to death-defying falls on Alaskan glaciers, the renowned outdoorsman’s exploits are related in passages that are by turns exhilarating, unnerving, dizzying, and outrageous.

A finalist for the PEN Center USA Award for NonfictionWelcome to Paradise, Now Go to Hell, is surfer and former war reporter Chas Smith’s wild and unflinching look at the high-stakes world of surfing on Oahu’s North Shore—a riveting, often humorous, account of beauty, greed, danger, and crime.For two months every winter, when Pacific storms make landfall, swarms of mainlanders, Brazilians, Australians, and Europeans flock to Oahu’s paradisiacal North Shore in pursuit of som...

Welcome to the colorful, flamboyant, and wonderful world of Mexican American boxing in Los Angeles. From the minute they stepped into the ring, Mexican American fighters have electrified fans with their explosiveness and courage. These historical images bring to life a sociological culture consisting of knockouts, the Main Street Gym, the Olympic Auditorium, neighborhood rivalries, Mexican idols, posters, and promoters. Like a winding thread, �the Golden Boy� Art Aragon bobs and weaves thr...

The astonishing scenery of Yosemite National Park is known throughout the world, primarily for the soaring granite outcroppings and graceful waterfalls around Yosemite Valley. But this park is much larger than just the valley. Relatively few visitors get to experience Yosemite�s vast expanses, whether south to Wawona and Fish Camp or east to White Wolf and Tuolumne Meadows. Indeed, it was John Muir�s efforts to protect the meadows and hills around the valley that ultimately led to the esta...

One of the fabled Channel Islands of Southern California, Santa Cruz was once the largest privately owned island off the coast of the continental United States. This multifaceted account traces the island’s history from its aboriginal Chumash population to its acquisition by The Nature Conservancy at the end of the twentieth century. The heart of the book, however, is a family saga: the story of French émigré Justinian Caire and his descendants, who owned and occupied the island for more t...

There is no better way to see America than on foot. And there is no better way to appreciate what you are looking at than with a walking tour. Whether you are preparing for a road trip or just out to look at your own town in a new way, a downloadable walking tour from walkthetown.com is ready to explore when you are.Each walking tour describes historical and architectural landmarks and provides pictures to help out when those pesky street addresses are missing. Every tour also incl...

Life in Burbank during the '60s and '70s was an unparalleled experience. From biking Lucky Busters trail to enjoying movies at the Cornell Theater and shopping at The Akron, Burbankers' choices of entertainment seemed endless. Relive fond memories of dining out at Genio's, the Dip or Santoro's. Recall visits to the Golden Mall before heading home to watch Dark Shadows on television. While some of the local icons may have changed, the spirit has remained the same--and it's waiting to be red...

Inside Denali National Park and Preserve is a story about wayfarers in the heart of Alaska— campground hosts who quickly become enchanted with the savage River Campground in Denali Park and Preserve, its history, its wildlife, and its guests to the campground from all over the world. The campground is near the location of the first tent camp in the park where visitors came by horse and later touring car from the railway station twelve miles away. it's the first place along the park road wh...

From the first human settlements to the latest marine explorations, The Golden Shore tells the tale of the history, culture, and changing nature of California’s coasts and ocean. David Helvarg takes the reader on both a geographic and literary journey along the state’s 1,100-mile Pacific coastline, from the Oregon border to the San Diego–Tijuana international border fence and out into its whale-, seal-, and shark-rich offshore seamounts, rock isles, and kelp forests. Part history,...

If it weren’t for Cy Avery’s dreams of better roads through his beloved Tulsa, the United States would never have gotten Route 66. This book is the story of Avery, his times, and the legendary highway he helped build.In this engaging biography of a remarkable man, Susan Croce Kelly begins by describing the urgency for “good roads” that gripped the nation in the early twentieth century as cars multiplied and mud deepened. Avery was one of a small cadre of men and women whose passion...

When writing this book the author had two objects prominently in mind. First of all, to make a faithful collection of all essential facts pertaining to the history of San Diego, from the day of its discovery by Europeans down to the time in which the author was living. In the second place, to save from oblivion the rich traditions which cluster about the life of Old San Diego, a place which has all but perished from the earth, yet which should ever possess an absorbing interest not only fo...

The author discloses an intimate picture of Indian life and character, the Indians being the desert Cahuillas and their noted chief-Cabazon. She also tells of the early Mormon pioneers, with some reference to Capt. Jefferson Hunt and the Death Valley Party, and more particularly to the Brier family. Mrs. Crafts' book makes for interesting reading; and it may well be considered one of the most important among the relatively few source records available concerning the early history of the Sa...