Customer Reviews

Backroads of Southern California: Your Guide to Southern California's Most Scenic Backroad Adventures

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

David M. Wyman is a professional photographer and freelance writer based in Los Angeles, and has published articles and photos about his local area in many places: his Backroads Of Southern California: Your Guide To Southern California's Most Scenic Backroad Adventures blends color photos with maps and insights into Southern California scenes not normally featured in competing, more mainstream travel guides. From the railroad legacy of the Tehachapi Mountains to a little-taken exit to the lovely, less urban See Canyon Road, this is a 'must' for any Southern California visitor who would explore the back roads.

I grew up on Southern California. My family was always more attracted to the twisting two lane roads that wound through the hillsides, mountains and deserts than to the bumper-to-bumper traffic on the freeways.

Most people who visit Southern California will figure out that they can visit Disneyland, Hollywood, the San Diego Zoo and the many great beaches. But few will make it to the Rim of the World in the San Bernardino mountains, Morro Bay, San Simeon, Carrizo Plain, Elk Hills, Sequoia National Monument, Mount Whitney or Death Valley. Visit any of these lesser known sights, and you may have a life-changing experience.

David Wyman has a good sense of the land and its people. I liked the way that he combined images of natural majesty with rusting junk left over from the 1950s. Both are integral parts of Southern California's back roads. The historical photos lend depth to the book that would otherwise be stuck in one time dimension . . . the last 50 years. The book's many maps will also make it easier for you to find the route you need to follow. The essays do a good job of giving you a flavor for what you'll see and experience. I have been everywhere described in this book and would consider it a pleasure to revisit any of them.

If you haven't been to any of these places, plan a long weekend and have a ball!

Dave Wyman knows California's backroads as well as Huell Howser! I've driven many of these roads, and am amazed at the research Dave has done to make their history, and their present, come alive in interesting, readable prose. His photography is colorful, easy to look at, and makes you want to be there. If you're headed to the backroads, or just want to travel by armchair, this book is for you!

While California history is interesting and the historical pictures are fun, David is an amazing photographer and I expected this book to be more about photo opportunities and "secret" hard to find locations featuring more of his work. Still a good read and book to have and worth the money.

A must-have book for California photographers. I've lived here all my life, and wandered the back roads, and there were still places I'd never even heard of.

I can't wait to tour, this is an exciting book. I will be taking a photo workshop with the author, if his instruction is half as good as this book is I will learn a lot.

I originally thought this book would serve as a helpful travel guide for adventures on unknown So Cal roads...but it's really more of a nice coffee-table photo book with a bit of history wrapped around the shots. Great photos, though.

I should have realized when I saw the front cover that this is more a coffee table book showing the author's adventure than a detailed guide for others to follow. It appears that all of the roads are paved and can easily be passed by most automobiles. Not at all for 4WD adventures and no 4x4 trails to be found. Only the pictures historic references got it to be more than one star.

This book is not what I expected. It is more of a history lesson than an adventure guide.