California the Beautiful [Hardcover]

Galen Rowell (Author), Peter Beren (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2002

As America stands to the rest of the world, so stands California to America - a bright shining promise of endless possibility. This exquisite celebration of "California The Beautiful" is both a portrait of the diverse natural beauty of the Golden State and through the incredible voices of its writers, a testament to the ever-renewing spirit that it has come to embody. Aldous Huxley, British author turned Hollywood resident, described the California dream as "This great crystal of light, whose base is as large as Europe and whose height for all practical purposes, is infinite." Among the other authors offering praise are Maya Angelou, Mary Austin, Ray Bradbury, Joan Didion, Gretel Ehrlich, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, M.F.K. Fisher, Robertson Jeffers, Jack Kerouac, Clarence King, Jack London, Henry Miller, John Muir, William Saroyan, April Smith, John Steinbeck, Robert Louis Stevenson, Mark Twain, Nathanael West, and Walt Whitman. Land of innovation and opportunity, California is both dream and reality. California The Beautiful is a gift for all who have felt the lure of this dual promise and who have marveled at the unrivaled beauty of this quintessentially American land.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Words shimmer and resonate in this book, which combines the photographs of the late Galen Rowell - a California native - With a panoply of quotes about the Golden State from an impressive array of writers. Rowell's landscapes are so vividly rich...that they work at this scale like dazzling jewels...[a] skillful blending of text and image."
Color Magazine

"This collection of images shows off the Golden State’s most scenic vistas...the state’s diverse natural beauty is augmented with inspirational words from Maya Angelou, Joan Didion, John Muir and many more."
Outdoor Photographer

"Peter Beren edits this gorgeous collection...pairing some eighty-five images from the photographer Galen Rowell with the voices of some fifty California writers, from Maya Angelou to Ray Bradbury and Henry Miller. A lovely, keepsake editiion for any California collection."
California Bookwatch

"As a California native and former photographer and travel expert, I can truly say that the photographs in California the Beautiful are the next best things to being there."
--Rebecca Foree, author of Northern California Best Places

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Galen Rowell (1940-2002), an internationally acclaimed outdoor photographer, mountaineer, and author, had images in Life, Outside, Sports Illustrated, and numerous other publications. He also has more than a dozen best-selling books to his credit.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Welcome Books (April 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0941807673
• ISBN-13: 978-0941807678
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 0.7 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #886,766 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspired Photography, October 22, 2004

By 

T. Harward (Boston, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: California the Beautiful (Hardcover)

The other review for this little book is flat out wrong, so I'll give mine. The photographs are why you want this. Galen Rowell is in my opinion one of the best nature photographers of the last century, and he knew California. He also knew how to show very clearly the feel of the state; you don't just get the visual image in his photos, you get a different emotion from each one. Every picture is amazing in its own way. The text isn't as stunning, but fits well, and the layout and typography are fitting to the photographs. I highly reccomend this for any coffee table or for any lover of California or photography or things of beauty.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Awesome photography, August 2, 2005

By 

Trudi E. Varton "nature lover" (Redding, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: California the Beautiful (Hardcover)

This compact size coffee table book with outstanding photography by Galen Rowell makes a great souvenir for visitors to beautiful California. The diversity of this great state is depicted in all its spectacular beauty from the desert to the majestic mountain peaks; from minute wildflowers to the towering redwoods. Prose and verse from famous & not-so-famous Californians & visitors add pleasant reading which accompany the lovely images.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful little book, September 12, 2007

By 

JK "Jan" (Santa Cruz, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: California the Beautiful (Hardcover)

I purchased a number of these books as "thank you" gifts for various friends we are going to visit in Europe. I was so excited about finding a picture book on California, I didn't read the description thoroughly -- note that the books are only about 7"x7". Even so, their small size makes them perfect to carry in a suitcase. The pictures are quite nice and, even though the coloring is enhanced a bit, they truly show how beautiful California can be. My ONLY complaint with these books is that the price is printed on the back of the dust jacket! This means that if you're giving them as a gift, there's no way to cover up how much you paid (or could have paid) for the book. (I guess I can come up with a cute stick-on label ... )