The Rough Guide to California 6 (Rough Guide Travel Guides) by Deborah Bosley and Jeff Dickey

Buy The Rough Guide to California 6 (Rough Guide Travel Guides) here. To find out more information or to view another item in this category, click next Chicago Travel Books. To go back to where you were looking, use the "you are here" links below. Thank you for shopping at lastminutetravelbooks.com!

The Rough Guide to California 6 (Rough Guide Travel Guides) by Chicago Travel Books

The Rough Guide to California 6 (Rough Guide Travel Guides) by Deborah Bosley and Jeff Dickey
Price: $3.97

Features

Paperback: 672 pages

Publisher: Rough Guides; 6 edition October 1, 2000

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1858285399

ISBN-13: 978-1858285399

Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 1.1 inches

Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds

Text Excerpt
Read an excerpt from this title. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Book Description
INTRODUCTION

California is America squared. Its the place you go to find more America than you ever thought possible.

Whats Wrong with America by Scott Bradfield

No region of the world, perhaps, has been as publicized, and idealized, as California, and none lives up to the hype to quite the same degree. A terrestrial paradise of sun, sand, surf and sea, it has a whole lot more besides: high mountain ranges, fast-paced glitzy cities, deep primeval forests, and hot dry deserts.

Having zoomed from the Stone Age to Silicon Valley in little more than a couple of centuries, California doesnt dwell on the past. In some ways this part of America represents the ultimate "now" society, with all that entails – life is lived very much in the fast lane, and conspicuous consumption is emphasized to the exclusion of almost everything else. But this is only one side of the coin; the deeper sense of age here often gets skimmed over. Provided you get out of the cities, it is readily apparent in the landscape: dense groves of ancient trees, primitive rock carvings left by the aboriginal Native American culture, and the eerie ghost towns of the Gold Rush pioneers. A land of superlatives, California really is full of the oldest, the tallest, the largest, the most spectacular, all of which goes far beyond local bravura.

Its important to bear in mind, too, that the supposed "superficiality" of California is largely a myth, an image promoted as much by Americans on the East Coast as by foreigners – even if the areas endeavours to gain cultural credibility can sometimes seem brash. Politically, its probably the USAs most schizophrenic region, home state of some of its most reactionary figures – Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon to name just two – yet also the source of some of the countrys most progressive political movements. Some of the fiercest protests of the Sixties emanated from here, and in many ways this is still the heart of liberal America. Consider the level of environmental awareness, which puts the smoky East to shame, and the fact that California has set the standard for the rest of the US (and the world) regarding gay pride and social permissiveness. Economically, too, the region is crucial, whether its in the traditionally dominant film industry, the recently ascendant music ! business, even in the increasingly important financial markets – in which Los Angeles has come to set the pace.

Reader Reviews
This review is from: The Rough Guide to California 8 (Rough Guide Travel Guides) (Paperback) It may seem a bit strange, but I am a californian and I have flipped through a great number of travel guides on california. It's a long story, but basically, I was trying to see what series were the best and most trustworthy, and what better way to test this than to see how accurate it is about places I know very well? Without a doubt, this one was the best of all of them. Occasionally it's recommendations for restaurants, etc, were not the ones I would have recommended, but when it came to places to see, things to do, and etc, it never went wrong. It was especially good when it came to the things that are often overlooked or not mentioned but are a thousand times better than the usual tourist traps. Comment | Permalink | (Report this)

The Rough Guide to California 6 (Rough Guide Travel Guides)
Available from Amazon
Price: $3.97
Updated on 8-25-2008.