CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 5.0 based on 1 review)
A TRULY BEAUTIFUL BOOK by James Leigh (San Francisco) 5 Stars February 29, 2008 This carefully written, highly readable history, with countless beautiful illustrations, is truly a work of art. The clear, concise writing, the magnificent photographs and paintings, and the superb book design make it perhaps the finest local history ever published, in California or elsewhere. Even people who have never heard of Portola Valley will find it interesting and valuable. Beginning with the geology of the valley and progressing through the evidence of the earliest human habitation, the Native Americans, the Mexican rancheros, the gradual influx of American settlers and entrepreneurs, and the rustic and beautiful town of today, the authors have painted a true and accurate portrait of a community that is both typical of California and yet unique in its development, and also in its risky seismic location on the largest earthquake fault in the state. This is local history at its best, lovingly assembled and lavishly produced.