This book will definitely have regional appeal. Nice written history of the area and beautiful photographs. Nice book just in time for the BioBlitz in May.
April 24, 2008

Seeing What We Often Miss

If they were located nearly anywhere else the Santa Monica Mountains would be considered such a small range of mountains that they might not even be given a name. But since these forty six miles of mountains go right through the city of Los Angeles, they certainly have a name.

Now they even have a book about them. And it's very, very informative. Normally we drive right by them, rarely giving them a thought. But here in a story told in a mixture of photography and text is a view of the mountains that show that beauty, wildlife, even the rugged outdoors is there, even when you need only lift your eyes to see the signs of civilization.

You might consider this to be a 'coffee table' book because of its brilliant pictures and quality printing, but it's really more than that. It's a lesson on how an artist can see exactly what we see and make it into something really special. Here are views and places that are not far away, that could well be made a part of a day off.
January 31, 2007

Three Journeys of One Mountain Range Bisecting the Noise of Los Angeles

Author Matthew Jaffe and Photographer Tom Gamache have created a Valentine for Angelenos in this beautifully created and produced homage to the Santa Monica mountain range. And while the audience for this book is obviously for those who live in and around the title range in the basin of Los Angeles, the book is so well written and presented that it deserves wide circulation.

Jaffe and Gamache approach the Santa Monica Mountains from three vantages: Mulholland Drive where perilous houses and more than a few mysteries cling to the canyons created by the mountains; Backbone Trail uncovers the natural flow of nature as it is graced by waterfalls and wildlife; and Pacific Coast Highway where the mountains kiss the Pacific Ocean in a love affair that is dotted with mansions and clashes with nature's raw arguments of storms.

Throughout the book Jaffe's dialogue is informative and full of history as well as nearing poetry in his descriptions so well illustrated by the abundant fine photographs by Gamache. The range is captured is every form of foliage and light and some of the images here will remain embedded in the brain as rare glimpses of natural beauty that are too often overlooked by both Los Angeles outsiders and insiders. THE SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS: RANGE Of MAJESTY FROM THE SEA TO THE CITY is a romantic delight - an aspect of Los Angeles too seldom applauded. Grady Harp, January 07
January 17, 2007

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

Hiking Trails of the Santa Monica Mountains
by Milt McAuley

Guide to the Backbone Trail: Santa Monica Mountains
by Milt McAuley

Introduction to California Chaparral (California Natural History Guides)
by Ronald D. Quinn, Sterling C. Keeley
by Marianne D. Wallace

Hometown Santa Monica: The Bay Cities Book
by Jenn Garbee, Nancy Gottesman, Stephanie Helper, Margery L. Schwartz, with Laurel Delp and John Stephens
by Colleen Dunn Bates, Ethel Fisher

Wilshire Boulevard: Grand Concourse of Los Angeles
by Kevin Roderick
by J. Eric Lynxwiler