The Left Coast: California on the Edge

"Coastal California is easy to imagine, hard to hold, and impossible to fully describe." The Left Coast unites California historian Philip Fradkin (Wallace Stegner and the American West) and his son, photographer Alex Fradkin, in an homage to the beautiful scenes and varied uses for the land of coastal California. The text and photographs create two different, complementary views of the coast. Chapters address the coast's different personalities: wild (Sinkyone Wilderness), agricultural (Point Reyes Peninsula), residential (San Mateo County), tourist (Monterey), recreational (Los Angeles County beaches), industrial (Port of Los Angeles), military (San Diego harbor), and political (Bolsa Chica wetlands). Historian Fradkin intertwines history, geology, memories, and anecdotes in flowing, poetic text that meanders through time. Photographer Fradkin presents photographs in both color and black-and-white, with subjects that clearly demonstrate the many qualities of the coast as well as its people, from the enormous Santa Monica Pier to an old-growth redwood forest. Readers will learn about the varied topics including the exploration efforts of Juan Rodr%C3%ADguez Cabrillo, California's ports, and the historical politics that led to the current politics. (June)