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University of California Press

Historical Atlas of California

With Original Maps
by Derek Hayes (Author), Chris Labonté (Other)
Hardcover
Price: $45.00 / £38.00
Publication Date: Oct 2007
Edition: 1st Edition
Title Details:
Rights: World
Pages: 256
ISBN: 9780520252585
Trim Size: 9.5 x 12.5
Illustrations: 550 color illustrations
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About the Book

Using nearly five hundred historical maps and many other illustrations—from rough sketches drawn in the field to commercial maps to beautifully rendered works of art—this lavishly illustrated volume is the first to tell the story of California's past from a unique visual perspective. Covering five hundred years of history, it offers a compelling and informative look at the transformation of the state from before European contact through the Gold Rush and up to the present. The maps are accompanied by a concise, engaging narrative and by extended captions that elucidate the stories and personalities behind their creation. At once a valuable reference and an exhilarating adventure through history, the Historical Atlas of California, featuring many rare and unusual maps, will be a treasured addition to any library. Distilling an enormous amount of information into one volume, it presents a fascinating chronicle of how California came to be what it is today.

Copub: Douglas & McIntyre

About the Author

Derek Hayes is the author of Historical Atlas of the United States (UC Press), Historical Atlas of the Pacific Northwest, and The Historical Atlas of the Arctic among other books.

Table of Contents

A Visual California

The First Californians
Notions of a Western Shore
Of Gold and Galleons
The First New England
On the Right Hand of the Indies
Spain Moves North
Exploring an Unknown Interior
Russian California
Mexican California
West to California
American California
The Gold Rush
The State of California
The United States Coast Survey
Searching for a Railroad Path
Building the Transcontinental Railroad
The Southern Pacific
A Geological Survey
Water, Wine, and Oranges
The Rise of Urban California
Los Angeles
The San Francisco Bay Area
San Diego
Sacramento
Other Cities
Rails for Growth
The Burning of San Francisco
Wildness for the People
Bringing Water to the Cities
From Bike Paths to Freeways
Power for a New Economy
Of Airports and Airlines
Boom and Bust
A West Coast Defended
Moving and Shaking

Catalog of Maps
Bibliography
Index

Reviews

“Fascinating . . . The maps are so rich in stories.”
— San Francisco Chronicle
“It’s the kind of book that reveals something new each time you look at it.”
— Marin Magazine
“The Atlas is a record of ideas, of real places and enterprises, and of dreams, some of which never got beyond the drawing board. But they're almost as essential as what came to be, illustrations of what earlier Californians made of the promise of this place.”
— Sacramento Bee
“Worth picking up and reading cover to cover.”
— Sacramento Bee
Another installment in Vancouver map collector Hayes' incomparable series of atlases. . . . A beautiful book.
— Seattle Times
This opulent reference traces the history of California with nearly 500 period maps. . . . .Hayes (America Discovered) offers more than just the state's emergent political boundaries and geological elevations. He presents a fascinating, map-based chronicle of the region's legendary gold rush, the gradual domination of its railroads, the development of its diverse ethnic composition, its blazing urban cataclysms, and its role in World War II. While laudably information-dense, the text is also an appealing, highly enjoyable read.
— Library Journal
PRAISE FOR DEREK HAYES'S PREVIOUS ATLASES:

"A beautifully executed achievement."—Bloomsbury Review

"The kind of volume that invites repeated viewings."—Seattle Times

"A sure winner. . . . It's hard to imagine anyone who could resist getting happily lost on these glorious roads into our past."—Toronto Star

"Derek Hayes works his way from the discovery and settlement of North America to the ever-evolving maps recording America's westward push and onward to the early maps of the automobile age."—William Grimes, New York Times

"The maps show everything from how explorers conceived of the continent circa 1500 to the spread of the interstate highway system in the 1950s."—Business Week

Awards

  • NCIBA Book of the Year Award- Best Regional Title 2008, Northern California Independent Booksellers Association