Product Description
As America stands to the rest of the world, so stands California to America - a bright shining promise of endless possibility. This exquisite celebration of "California The Beautiful" is both a portrait of the diverse natural beauty of the Golden State and through the incredible voices of its writers, a testament to the ever-renewing spirit that it has come to embody. Aldous Huxley, British author turned Hollywood resident, described the California dream as "This great crystal of light, whose base is as large as Europe and whose height for all practical purposes, is infinite." Among the other authors offering praise are Maya Angelou, Mary Austin, Ray Bradbury, Joan Didion, Gretel Ehrlich, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, M.F.K. Fisher, Robertson Jeffers, Jack Kerouac, Clarence King, Jack London, Henry Miller, John Muir, William Saroyan, April Smith, John Steinbeck, Robert Louis Stevenson, Mark Twain, Nathanael West, and Walt Whitman. Land of innovation and opportunity, California is both dream and reality. California The Beautiful is a gift for all who have felt the lure of this dual promise and who have marveled at the unrivaled beauty of this quintessentially American land.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 6 reviews)

Beautiful little book

I purchased a number of these books as "thank you" gifts for various friends we are going to visit in Europe. I was so excited about finding a picture book on California, I didn't read the description thoroughly -- note that the books are only about 7"x7". Even so, their small size makes them perfect to carry in a suitcase. The pictures are quite nice and, even though the coloring is enhanced a bit, they truly show how beautiful California can be. My ONLY complaint with these books is that the price is printed on the back of the dust jacket! This means that if you're giving them as a gift, there's no way to cover up how much you paid (or could have paid) for the book. (I guess I can come up with a cute stick-on label ... )
September 13, 2007

Poor reproduction of photographs

Unfortunately, the text in this photographic essay is more inspiring than the images. The problem is not with the photography, but with the quality of the printing. The inks are too dark, and the colors are ludicrous.
July 31, 2007

Galen apparently has outdone himself.....

This book is well worth buying, but not for Galen Rowell's photographs (as they are "printed" here)...the text is actually more indicative of the power of California's beauty and meaning.

Rowell's use of super-saturated colors, whether accomplished with filters or digital editing, only serves to show just how MORE beautiful these scenes, at these times of day, are in reality!

Subtle was not in Galen's vocabulary, apparently, yet the beauty of nature is often extraordinary AND subtle. I guess my thought really is that Galen Rowell and his 35 mm cameras, found amazing sights (and sites), and took their picture(s), but the essence of many of those sights, he lost because he wanted them to be even more "perfect" than they "really are".

Trust us, Galen, they're even more perfect without all the color saturation effects....
March 09, 2007

Buy it for the photography - keep it for a to do list of places to visit!

The photography is beautiful.
The book catalogues the best of California through pictures. We take this book with us on our trips through out the state as part of our guide and potential itinerary. It makes every trip, a trip to a beautiful location.
A great coffee table book.
January 16, 2007

Awesome photography

This compact size coffee table book with outstanding photography by Galen Rowell makes a great souvenir for visitors to beautiful California. The diversity of this great state is depicted in all its spectacular beauty from the desert to the majestic mountain peaks; from minute wildflowers to the towering redwoods. Prose and verse from famous & not-so-famous Californians & visitors add pleasant reading which accompany the lovely images.
August 02, 2005

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