What explains California? The author states that it is the multiple landscapes and the different states of mind that best define America's most populous, diverse, and fabled state. Describing geographical regions based on their emblematic landscape features, he intertwines natural and social history.
"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 Limerick
