Tracing California's history from the explorations of Sir Francis Drake through the environmental crises of the present, this book pairs thoughtful commentary by the author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist Railroaded with evocative photos by his son, Jesse Amble White. With more than 100 illustrations, Richard White's multifaceted history reveals California as a land of conflicts between natives, settlers, and Mexicans, but also economic battles between locals and the railroads.

"In this ingenious, entertaining book, Richard White, the preeminent chronicler of the American West, alters our understanding of how the Golden State came to be."—Geoffrey C. Ward