What explains California? To a large extent, as Philip Fradkin's rich, exuberant portrait makes clear, it's the multiple landscapes and the different states of mind that best define America's most populous, diverse, and fabled state. Fradkin divides California into seven distinct ecological and cultural provinces—from the hot deserts and high peaks to the rich agricultural Central Valley, the redwood forests of the north and sandy beaches of the south. Describing geographical regions based on their emblematic landscape features, Fradkin intertwines natural and social history.
The Seven States of California A Natural and Human History
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Reviews
"Philip Fradkin's work is full of foresight, good sense, and an understanding of the ties between social and environmental dilemmas. Taking Fradkin's writing seriously is an important step in figuring out the American West today."—Patricia Nelson LimerickTable of Contents
Preface
The Approach
I: Deserts
II: The Sierra
III: Land of Fire
IV: Land of Water
V: The Great Valley
VI: The Fractured Province
VII: The Profligate Province
Acknowledgments
Source Notes
Index