It's hard to believe that San Francisco could be the origin of a majority of the important literary developments of the modern age-yet Mr. Herron has rolled out that ball of yarn for for the interest of tourist AND native to the City."Maltese Falcon" for instance; if you really trek down to the alley you'll be across the street from where Stevenson had his coffee. I freely engineered my ephemeral 1987 "CALIFORNIA STAR" against the template of the book-shoring up perfectly my thesis...Twain and the others were treasure hunters, and recorded the flotsam of their adventuring into Bohemia for the "big" story, as "detective novels." How many know the connections between the women writers and our modern civil liberties? Science fiction or facts? It's all there, and as good a way of seeing this magnificent state as pilgrimaging to the Missions once was popular-take the time to see where our most gifted writers had taken up residence-or went to carouse- and you can "Bogart" some atmosphere!

This book was THE great book for self-guided walking tours of San Francisco. Lost a copy of it myself and would love to find or buy another. This was a wonderful book that always led one to adventures. Why is this out of print?

A wild ride through a unique city. Showmanship and poetry combined. Visitors will want to take a copy home. Residents will love it!

Mark's latest work on the City of Los Angeles paints an accurate picture of the rich history of the city over the past twenty or thirty years. This is a must read for native Angelinos as well as newcomers.

This fascinating book is packed with information about the history of Los Angeles. Not many present-day Angelenos would know that the location for the city was chosen because of the once-abundant flow of the Rio de Porciuncula, or Los Angeles River. Blake Gumprecht pulls an amazing feat in researching the River's many incarnations alongside the history of the growth of Los Angeles. In addition to providing detailed reports of the River's former courses, and devastating accounts of some of the River's infamous catastrophic floods, Mr. Gumprecht explains the River's role in shaping the course of Los Angeles city politics in greater detail than any previous study.

Once an ample stream that sustained all of the city's water needs for over 100 years, the Los Angeles River was then pumped dry, smothered in concrete, and almost pushed out of the city's consciousness. Incredible photographs appear throughout the book; many of these photos will make nature-loving Angelenos yearn for the Los Angeles River of yesteryear, with its bubbling, meandering stream, and its banks lined with willows and sycamores.

Long before you approach the end of this book, you realize that, in an over-zealous attempt to control flooding, the Los Angeles River was essentially raped, depleted, and buried. The fact that, at present, most of its 51 miles are cement is a shame -- especially in a city with so little park space. Amazingly, the River still provides up to 15% of L.A.'s drinking water, albeit from subterannean pumps that tap the River's flow before it ever reaches the surface. And millions of gallons of River water were diverted to the Silver Lake reservoir.

People who never knew that there was a Los Angeles River should go see the few surviving River greenbelts in the Glendale Narrows and the Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area to appreciate our city's River as it used to be.

P.S. - I encourage other Los Angeles River buffs to look at Kevin Roderick's book "San Fernando Valley: America's Suburb" to see other beautiful pictures of the River in its natural state, before the concrete obscured it.

As a boy growing up in North Long Beach in the 1930s, I often camped out with my friends on the banks of the Los Angeles River. We would go skinny dipping, catch pollywogs and lizards, make willow whistles, and trudge through the oily sludge that lined the river bottom. We did not know that once the river flowed year-around crystal clear, teeming with fish and supporting a heavily wooded flood plain rich with swamps, lakes, and wildlife. My first surprise on reading the biography of this once-ample river was the fact that it supported one of the largest concentrations of natives in the country. The first Europeans who settled on its banks named their village after it. This book really tells three stories. The first is how the river contributed to the growth of agriculture during the first 100 years of European settlement, creating a lasting image of fertile vinyards and orchards in the sunshine. After the railroad came, the needs for water grew so rapidly they pumped the river dry and built an aqueduct to the Owens River in the north to supply their needs. The second story is about the river's revenge and the periodic devastation it caused by flooding. Time after time, the river, swollen by storms in the San Gabriel Mountains, would smash through its levies, carry off whole houses, factories, herds of cattle, orchards and vinyards, destroy roads, bridges, cemeteries, and towns, putting the whole county under water. It was not until the late 1930s that an earnest attempt was made to tame the river with a system of dams, catchment basins, and pavement. The third story is about the recent attempts to restore the river to its natural state, an exercise about which the author is skeptical. Blake Gumprecht has given us a splendid book that again shows us how much geology, climate, and topography affect how we live and think of ourselves as a people.

I bought this book when first published at least a decade ago. Every recipe I have tried received rave reviews from family and friends. The book has fallen apart from use and I need another. Please let me know when more are published.

I am heartsick that this volume is out of print. We have a lab puppy who insists on sampling my cookbooks--not the products, but the books themselves! Recent ones I have replaced, but this is one of my favorites and unavailable. I live in L.A. and have been to many restaurants mentioned. These recipes are accurate, easy to follow, and just delicious.

People keep borrowing this book from me and then not returning it, so that gives you an idea how valuable it is. Gorgeous photos and a wonderful mix of design styles.

John Vaughan's book of photos of Los Angeles are always elegant, yet simplistic with perfect lighting and balance. Looking at the book, one can almost experience Los Angeles with its magnificent homes and scenery. Definitely recommended for anyone who loves interior design or just enjoying interesting architectural photographs.

What is a book about lost mines without maps? The maps in the book were neat. Maybe the gold is still there?

I wrote the original book in 1963 (as Lost Desert Bonanzas) to mark 25 years of Desert Magazine lost mine stories. The main appeal was Norton Allen's great cartography (this is the only kind of map book that gets better as the maps are outdated by freeways and etc.). I would like input from treasure-seekers, but all I know about the particular lost mines is recounted in the book.

In the fall of 1849, 27 wagons and 100 people followed a nonexistent shortcut to the California gold fields. The unfortunate travelers trekked through Utah Territory and blundered into Death Valley, becoming the first non-Native Americans to experience its grim landscape. While 13 men died of hunger and thirst, four families and their 11 children walked through Death Valley and the Mohave Desert to Los Angeles.

Other books have been written about these "Death Valley '49ers," but this is the first that concentrates on the four families, the Briers, Arcans, Bennetts, and Wades. It's also the first book written for children about this exciting and little-known historical event. Suitable for ages ten and up, adults enjoy the story of these four brave families as much as children do. The book is rich in archival photographs and quotes from source documents. This thrilling adventure will appeal to nonfiction and fiction readers alike.

This nonfiction book tells the story of a group of '49ers who looked for a nonexistent shortcut and got lost in Death Valley on their way to the California Gold Rush. While 13 men perished of hunger and thirst, the four families and their 11 children walked through Death Valley and the Mojave Desert to Los Angeles. Filled with archival photographs and quotes from source documents, this book is suitable for ages 10 through adult. A new story of the Old West - one that is sure to thrill history buffs.

In 1997 Borrego Springs, California, lawyer Arthur Litton offers a million dollars to buy baby Christopher for his clients, the child's grandparents. The father of the child, their son Rick recently died. Caroline Graham knows she cannot win a court battle against the wealthy Saunders so she disappears with her child.

Six years later, private investigator Jake Montgomery thinks he has found the vanished son of his deceased buddy Rick. Jake travels to Starlight Cove to meet painter Carly Nolan, single mother of six year old Christopher. Upon seeing her resemblance to a photo that Rick gave him of his fiancée, Jake concludes he has found Caroline. Jake knows reporting this would make his firm, but waits because he wants to do the right thing by Rick.

Jake introduces himself to Carly at the gallery. She finds him attractive, but fears any relationship might expose her and Chris. Jake is surprised by her vulnerability, but believes the guilty run and hide. He wonders if Chris might be better off with his widowed wealthy grandmother. As he begins to fall in love, his actions expose Carly and Chris.

This is a strong engaging relationship drama that hooks the reader from the start through a fully developed secondary cast supplementing the prime plot. Carly is a delightful protagonist living in fear, yet braving everything thrown at her. Jake seems too perfect as he seeks a middle ground between the woman he loves and the mother of his deceased best friend. Readers will appreciate this robust family drama.

Harriet Klausner

In 1997 Borrego Springs, California, lawyer Arthur Litton offers a million dollars to buy baby Christopher for his clients, the child's grandparents. The father of the child, their son Rick recently died. Caroline Graham knows she cannot win a court battle against the wealthy Saunders so she disappears with her child.

Six years later, private investigator Jake Montgomery thinks he has found the vanished son of his deceased buddy Rick. Jake travels to Starlight Cove to meet painter Carly Nolan, single mother of six year old Christopher. Upon seeing her resemblance to a photo that Rick gave him of his fiancée, Jake concludes he has found Caroline. Jake knows reporting this would make his firm, but waits because he wants to do the right thing by Rick.

Jake introduces himself to Carly at the gallery. She finds him attractive, but fears any relationship might expose her and Chris. Jake is surprised by her vulnerability, but believes the guilty run and hide. He wonders if Chris might be better off with his widowed wealthy grandmother. As he begins to fall in love, his actions expose Carly and Chris.

This is a strong engaging relationship drama that hooks the reader from the start through a fully developed secondary cast supplementing the prime plot. Carly is a delightful protagonist living in fear, yet braving everything thrown at her. Jake seems too perfect as he seeks a middle ground between the woman he loves and the mother of his deceased best friend. Readers will appreciate this robust family drama.

Harriet Klausner

This is an excerpt of a review by Rigoberto Gonzalez which appeared in the El Paso Times, January 19, 2003...
"Written in diary form and framed by the voices of Luna Luz Villalobos as a child and as an adult, Alma Luz Villanueva's "LUNA'S CALIFORNIA POPPIES" spans a period of nearly two decades to tell the compelling story of a woman seeking safety and strength through the power of her own writing...
The recent death of her grandmother compels Luna to find consolation in a diary through which she talks to la Virgen de Guadalupe. La Virgen becomes Luna's new confidant, thus the entries convey a private conversation between school friends at a sleepover and not necessarily prayer as Luna confides: 'And don't forget every thing I say here is true so I'm hiding this and don't forget- DON'T TELL GOD ANY THING!!!'...
With "LUNA'S CALIFORNIA POPPIES," Villanueva continues her exploration of women surviving the tense-filled nexus where race, class and gender connect. The book is in excellent company beside her award-winning novels "THE ULTRAVIOLET SKY" and "NAKED LADIES."
For its epistolary form and bravery of subject matter, this novel invokes Alice Walker's "THE COLOR PURPLE." But "LUNA'S CALIFORNIA POPPIES" earns its own place as a testament to the healing and spiritual powers of nature, friendship and language.

The first half of Luna's California Poppies by Alma Luz Villanueva is the story of twelve-year old Luna, a girl who is deserted by her mother and taken into the home of a kind stranger who provides her with food, shelter, and security -- and who also encourages her to read, write, and study. The second half of this outstanding novel (which is written in the form of a diary), showcase's Luna's move to the country with her family. Now being a mother herself, Luna muses on her past as she and her own children find themselves confronted with bigotry. Luna's California Poppies is a cleverly crafted, reader engaging, and highly recommended novel from beginning to end.

The exhibit was astounding - this museum is HUGE! The works of art featured are very diverse, both in theme, style and culture. The book really is a nice tribute to this grand exhibition. Any Californian who likes both popular art and "marginal" or underground art would be satisfied with this book.

Finally, an expansive and critical, although bewildering, survey of California's visual culture and its impact on American culture at large! Beautiful in its design and generous in illustrations, the catalog offers insight into the complexities of America's "wild frontier." What makes this catalog/exhibtion most intriguing is its inclusion of ephemera, framed by the organizers as important historical and cultural documents of life in California. Often overlooked, these items are often more telling than the cultural productions of visual artists and offer interesting juxtapositions to the art also presented. In addition to the discourse between hi and low culture, is the discussion of the cultural and racial diversity of California's population and its effect on culture and identity. The writers and curators bring together important documents, visuals, and art that construct diverse racial, gender, and sexual identities and also offer critical insight to these.