Big Sur to Big Basin: California's Dramatic Central Coast [Hardcover]

Pamela Verduin (Author), Larry Ulrich (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1998

From the dramatic cliffs of Big Sur to the colorful boardwalk and misty wooded mountains of Santa Cruz, Big Sur to Big Basin captures the stunning vistas and lively spectacles of the Monterey Bay region. Filled with extraordinary images by photographer Larry Ulrich, Big Sur to Big Basin is both a lovely keepsake for residents and visitors and a captivating wish-book for those far away. Writer Pamela Verduin Cain covers everything from gray whales, redwoods, and monarch butterflies to John Steinbeck's days, Henry Miller's legacy, and the land that drew such talents as Edward Weston and Ansel Adams in her thoughtful accompanying text. This gorgeous volume will enchant everyone who appreciates the rugged charm of California's Central Coast.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A coast lover's coffee-table book, Big Sur to Big Basin is both stirringly beautiful and exceptionally informative. In a book about Big Sur you'd expect to find sun-splashed sea stacks and astonishing redwoods, but here photographer Larry Ulrich surprises and inspires with mission bells, cherry blossoms, storybook houses, forest streams, bucolic grazers, and prickly fields from the artichoke center of the world (Castroville, that is).

Long-time California resident Pamela Verduin Cain has done a thorough job of finding and recounting stories that give the photos interest beyond the visual. There are Pebble Beach golf legends, secret nature hikes, famous authors' and artists' haunts, and palate-tempting descriptions of choice restaurants along the way.

The book is divided into six sections: Big Sur, Carmel, Pebble Beach, Pacific Grove, Monterey, and Santa Cruz. A hand-illustrated map highlights 25 points of interest (such as the Steinbeck House, Point Lobos State Reserve, and Monterey Bay Aquarium) to help travelers actually find some of the stunning spots captured here. In the meantime, pour yourself a glass of California Chardonnay, relax in your easiest chair, and take a panoramic journey through these dreamy pages. --Kathryn True

From Publishers Weekly

Combining breathtaking landscape photographs with glowing, tour-guide-like descriptions, this coffee-table book is an excellent peek into one of the most gorgeous locations in the country. Cain takes readers on a leisurely journey through the central coast of California, describing the each community, from the quaint, picturesque Caramel (where Clint Eastwood resides) to the now tourist-infested Cannery Row, made famous by John Steinbeck. Weaving together historical information, must-see sites and anecdotes about local residents and activities, Cain succeeds at capturing each location's unique personality. Although this commentary is indispensable for those planning to travel to these areas, the beautiful, full-page photographs are what make this volume truly inspiring. Whether capturing an orange sun setting behind the Pacific Grove's Ocean View Boulevard or the lush green forests of Santa Cruz's Redwoods State Park, landscape photographer Ulrich reveals the astonishing diversity and beauty of the area. Readers will be awe-struck by the rugged mountains and the sky-blue oceans, and will find it hard to resist planning their next vacation to California in order to view these sites first-hand. 120 color photos.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (April 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811819663
• ISBN-13: 978-0811819664
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 10 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,729,021 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Big Sur--not just for hippies!, August 21, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Big Sur to Big Basin: California's Dramatic Central Coast (Hardcover)

I got an advance copy of Big Sur from the author herself via a friend and I have to say that the photography is simply breathtaking and the anecdotes are insightful. I fell in love with Big Sur last year while on vacation in Carmel, so I was already hooked by the time the book was published. For anyone out there who has never been out West, the best place to begin the odyssey is Big Sur.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Breath-taking scenery & revealing history behind the picture, August 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Big Sur to Big Basin: California's Dramatic Central Coast (Hardcover)

This book offers the reader a bird's eye view of the breath-taking scenery along California's coastal highway...and the history behind the pictures. Pam Cain's stories make Larry Ulrich's pictures come alive...it makes me, a former Carmel resident now living in Connecticut, homesick...a wonderful trip back home

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Breathtaking Pictures with Recounting Memories, February 14, 2002

By 

Matthew M. Yau "Voracious reader" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Big Sur to Big Basin: California's Dramatic Central Coast (Hardcover)

I had a getaway to Big Sur last summer and was stunned by the breathtaking view of where the ocean meets the sky. About a few months later I picked up a copy of Big Sur to Big Basin at a local bookstore and began a virtual re-visit of Big Sur. Like many pictorials with pages of astonishing sunsets, Pamela Cain, a former Carmel resident, recounted anecdotes and memories of hers that make the photos alive. The redwoods, the beaches, cheery blossoms, the meandering streams, Pebble Beach golf courses, Monterey bay...Big Sur to Big Basin is your window to panoramic view in central Californian coast.