New Book Releases

Located at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in a high-desert valley of northeastern Nevada, a lone trading post known as Eagle Station formed the early settlement of Carson City.

In 1858, Abraham Curry purchased the property named for famous frontiersman and scout Christopher Kit Carson and set aside 10 acres for the predicted future territorial capital, which flourished after the discovery of gold and silver at the nearby Comstock Lode in Virginia City. In 1864, at the dawn of the Civil War, a 16,000-word telegram was sent to President Lincoln in Washington, D.C., declaring Nevada a state and Carson City as the permanent capital. Once known as America's smallest capital, Carson City has persisted through a long, complicated, and mysterious history, which was celebrated during the city's 150th birthday in 2008. Enjoy the rich history of Carson City in this collection of 15 historic black-and-white postcards.

Once a small coastal community known for avocados and flower fields, Carlsbad has grown into a sprawling suburban city.

The discovery of its mineral wells in 1885, and the subsequent naming of the city after the famed European spa in Karlsbad, Bohemia, put Carlsbad on the map as a world-class resort destination. Miles of beautiful beaches, and three lagoons located within its boundaries, have shaped Carlsbad into a recreational destination as well. The Flower Fields, with vibrant rows of colorful ranunculus, now serves as a reminder of the past and a link to the future, as shopping and businesses have grown up around them, helping Carlsbad evolve into the diverse, progressive city it is today while still maintaining a small beach-town feel that ties the city to its roots. Enjoy the rich history of Carlsbad in this collection of 15 historic black-and-white postcards.

What do Vincent Price, Harrison Ford, Jackie Chan, and Uma Thurman all have in common with Frank Lloyd Wright? Answer: The Movies.

The influence of Frank Lloyd Wright on architecture can’t be overstated, and his unique creations have also left a lasting impression on movie audiences.

From the Marin County Civic Center’s starring role in George Lucas’s first feature film to the famous Ennis House appearing in multiple movies, eight of Wright’s California buildings have served as dramatic settings for stories about power, wealth and dystopian futures. Inspiring generations of filmmakers, these sites—both public and private—remain some of the most iconic places captured on film. With behind-the-scenes production facts and a peek into Wright’s design process, author Mark Anthony Wilson recounts the legacy of Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture in the movies.

This book features:

• 120 color and black and white images, including scenes from popular Hollywood films such as Blade Runner, Black Rain and A Summer Place, as well as cult favorites like House on Haunted Hill, Permanent Midnight, and Cannibal Women in The Avocado Jungle of Death.
• Little known facts about how Frank Lloyd Wright's work influenced Alfred Hitchcock and about Wright's friendship with Walt Disney and his comments about some of Disney's most famous films.
• Detailed information about how to visit those Frank Lloyd Wright buildings in this book that are open to the public.
• The controversies created by several of these films that caused members of some audiences to leave the theater in moral outrage and caused other audiences to scream in horror.
• Behind-the-scenes comments by Hollywood directors and producers about why they chose to use Frank Lloyd Wright buildings or design features in their films.
• A look at how Frank Lloyd Wright's design philosophy influenced the style of Hollywood films and how some of his strong-willed female clients got him to change the design of their homes.
• Why Frank Lloyd Wright was accused of being a "communist sympathizer" and "un-American" near the end of his career, and why this nearly derailed the construction of one of his most famous buildings.

Author Lynn Arave gathered rare historic photographs to capture the majestic Wasatch Mountains - the rugged backbone of northern Utah.

Stretching some 160 miles, from Nephi on the south to Grace, Idaho, on the north, their elevations rise to nearly 12,000 feet above sea level. Mount Nebo, at the range’s south end, is a mammoth, triple-peaked monolith at a top elevation of 11,928 feet, the Wasatch’s highest. Dozens of densely vegetated and narrow canyons cut through the Wasatch. Thirteen public ski resorts, plus hundreds of miles of hiking and biking trails, bisect the Wasatch and offer world-famous recreation. These mountains were the centerpiece of the Salt Lake 2002 Winter Olympic Games and will also be for the Salt Lake 2034 Olympic Games. This book contains more than 125 historic photographs, including dozens of vintage pictures from the Wasatch Mountain Club’s collection.

Author Patty Molinaro has paired rare historic images with contemporary views to display the intriguing history of Red Lodge, Montana. As intriguing and inviting as its name, Red Lodge, has retained its charm and historic character much the same as when first revered by early Native tribes and frontiersmen.

Once Crow domain, the settlement of Red Lodge was established along a mail route in 1884, slowly evolving as home to coal miners, immigrants, cattlemen, homesteaders, recreationists, and a tourist industry.

Creede’s wild history and emblematic beauty are a few reasons why the small but mighty town has enamored hundreds of thousands of people. Colorado’s last great silver-mining camp is nestled at 9,000 feet in the rugged San Juan Mountains. Nicholas Creede’s landmark discoveries of the Holy Moses Mine and the famous Amethyst Mine created the boom town immortalized in a Cy Warman poem ending, “It’s day all day in the daytime, and there is no night in Creede.” The boom was brief, ending in 1893 when silver prices plummeted. Mining continued in cycles until 1985. Rather than becoming a ghost town, Creede reinvented itself as one of Colorado’s favorite tourist destinations. Outstanding trout fishing and hunting attract outdoors people from across the nation. The world-renowned Creede Repertory Theatre and internationally acclaimed artists have made Creede a cultural haven. Echoes of the past remain in long-standing businesses Tomkins Hardware and the Creede Hotel, as well as the Creede Historical Society Museum, housed in the 1892 Denver & Rio Grande Railroad Depot. 

Charles “Chuck” Harbert grew up in Colorado and settled in Creede in 1999 after a 30-year career as a chemist and senior executive at Pfizer Central Research. He has written four Colorado history books, including one on Creede and another on Bachelor, a nearby ghost town. Allison Quiller is a Creede native. She is an accomplished artist and serves as the Creede Historical Society photograph director.

From Scantily Clad Women to Impassioned Suffragist Speeches

Virginia City boomed in the nineteenth century, with thousands coming to try their luck in the mines. The entertainment industry boomed with it. Piper’s Opera House became one of the most well-known theaters in America, attracting actors from the East and West Coasts for lauded performances. The Alhambra Theater took a different approach, advertising acts with women in scanty clothing to bored, restless miners. The vibrant scene drew in big names like renowned actors John McCullough and Lawrence Barrett, William Cody (better known as Buffalo Bill) and even Mark Twain.

Author Carolyn Grattan Eichin takes a deep dive into Virginia City’s theatrical history and its importance for the stars of the day.

Los Angeles’s dizzying array of attractions can easily overwhelm visitors and locals alike, but now there’s a better way to explore the city.

Enjoy a glimpse of the history behind the most prestigious museums and discover sites better known for their part in international scandals. Peek into California’s colonial past, visit sites from the golden age of film or explore the urban legends surrounding the Black Dahlia. With tips from the best times to visit to where to park, experience the best of Los Angeles like a local.

Join author Adam Papagan, experienced tour guide and true California character, for a tour of Los Angeles you’ll never forget.

“I picked a microcosm on the edge of the circle—a place where many manifestations were occurring simultaneously—and I hit the jackpot immediately.” –John Keel

The Hatchet Lady of Red Rocks, the ghostly Stanley Hotel and the terrifying Slide-Rock Bolter are just some of astonishing legends, eerie locations and strange monsters that compose Colorado’s supernatural folklore. Stories of Bigfoot, UFOs and lake monsters vex the state’s history. Haunted houses lurk throughout the state, as do cursed roads and bridges. Folklorist and award-winning author Jack Daly guides us on an odyssey through the uncanny, with a quest of unraveling the mysteries of the preternatural in Colorado.

Gone but not Forgotten in the Electric City

The unrelenting passage of time inevitably brings dramatic physical change. Thus, many of Great Falls’ iconic figures and landmarks persist only in memory. Internationally famous “cowboy artist” Charles M. Russell favored socializing at the Mint and Silver Dollar Saloons. The Ozark Club broke down racial barriers, where African American businessman Leo LaMar presented the hottest jazz acts touring the West. Mark Twain and other luminaries graced the Grand Opera. City-sanctioned brothels littered the infamous 10th Alley South. The Big Stack, once the world’s tallest structure, stood as a testament of industry and progress. Award-winning historian Ken Robison turns back the clock for a nostalgic tour of the city’s lost architectural, social and cultural heritage.

For several decades, hardworking families took their respective places as stewards of the ranch in Las Vegas, including its most historical asset, the last surviving remnant of the 1855 Mormon fort. The building is now the oldest non-native building in Nevada. 

In the middle of June 1855, a small group of Mormon missionaries arrived to a blistering hot, desolate valley. The call to Las Vegas was twofold; the men were to assist their fellow brethren traversing the Mormon Corridor and to establish peaceful relations with the region’s Southern Paiutes. The men organized a waystation inside an impressive adobe fort erected with thousands of bricks made by their own hands. When their two-year assignment ended, possession of the fort was assumed by others who transformed it into a supply station and ranch. Historical societies have long united to properly recognize the fort remnant and bring about meaningful preservation. They saw their work realized with the opening of the Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort State Historic Park.  

Lisa Leavitt Messenger was introduced to the history of the Old Mormon Fort and Ranch while researching her personal genealogy, both her grandfather and great grandfather spent time on the Old Ranch. Her personal connection nurtured a deep interest in the historical property that has only intensified. She volunteers with affiliated historical societies, namely the Friends of the Fort and the Daughters of Utah Pioneers, which aim to promote the history with the community of Las Vegas.

In the heart of the Pacific Northwest sits the Palouse, and at its core is Moscow, Idaho.

Throughout its history, Moscow has been known as the home of the University of Idaho and various agricultural businesses. As the town has grown and evolved, Moscow has become the commercial hub of the area, and it took on a new slogan, the “Heart of the Arts.”

The Latah County Historical Society explores over 130 years of Moscow’s history through photography and traces its roots back to the Latah County Pioneer Association, founded in 1891.

Anchorage depicts the 20th-century development of Alaska’s largest city from its origins as a place for the Dena’ina people to hunt and fish to its status as a railroad camp and then a modern community.

Much of Anchorage’s 20th-century history was shaped by the construction of the Alaska Railroad and then the presence of the nation’s military. The rapidly growing town experienced North America’s largest recorded earthquake in 1964, but residents rebuilt, and the city experienced an oil and construction boom over the following two decades. By the end of the 20th century, Anchorage had trembled and shook, boomed and busted, and had come out on the other side as one of the most diverse and dynamic American cities. 

Ian C. Hartman is a board member of the Cook Inlet Historical Society and professor in the Department of History at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Most of the images of this book have been collected from the Anchorage Museum.

Capturing Montana’s Most Elusive Fugitive

During an intense spring blizzard in 1951, affable Clarence Pellett picked up a teenaged hitchhiker along Montana’s Hi-Line. Soon, blood from seven bullet holes in Pellett’s back stained the snow-covered prairie. Following a brief manhunt and confession, a heated debate ensued over capital punishment as Communist attorneys swooped in “to save this poor friendless boy.” Frank Dryman, twice sentenced to hang, escaped the noose when a sympathetic Montana Supreme Court stayed each execution. The “permanently insane and mentally deficient” killer was paroled into the custody of his brother in California after serving thirteen years of a life sentence. Eighteen months later, he vanished. Using a series of aliases, Dryman hid in plain sight for forty years despite state and federal warrants. Clem Pellett recounts the enthralling twists and turns of his hunt for his grandfather’s absconded murderer—the longest in state history.

It started flowing during the gold rush, when saloons were much more than just a place to grab a drink. They were post offices, restaurants, hotels, social clubs, union halls, and more. But then, Colorado banned alcohol—four years before Prohibition hit the rest of the country—and a state born in a saloon ran dry for almost twenty years. Beer led the way back, and by the 1970s, brewing was big business again—really big business. Now, homebrewers have gone pro, and Colorado is one of the best places in the world to grab a brew. Join historians Sam Bock and Jason Hanson on a tour of Colorado history as seen through a pint glass. More than just a tale of ale, this is Colorado’s story—told over a few beers.

“This isn’t just a book about beer. It's a book about us. The beauty of beer is that it intertwines with so many other aspects of life—history, cultural significance, and economic impact. Bock and Hanson explore those threads offering a unique understanding as to why Colorado has become a thriving hub for beer culture! The stories, insights, as well as the connection to present day and the future of brewing is the perfect read for anyone. Bonus—you have permission to enjoy a cold brew while reading!” —Karen Hertz, Chief Brewista and Founder, Holidaily Brewing Company

Since the 1930s, two valleys nestled amid California’s High Sierra peaks have enraptured explorers, skiers and winter sport enthusiasts worldwide.

Olympic Valley made a name for itself as the host of the 1960 Winter Olympics. Meanwhile, just over a high ridge, Alpine Meadows was developed by devoted local skiers and Bay Area families. In spite of avalanches, fires, floods, public opinion and the whims of mountain weather, determined entrepreneurs Wayne Poulsen, John Reily and Alex Cushing persevered to lay the foundation for two ski resorts, now known collectively as Palisades Tahoe.

In this updated edition, local award-winning author and ski historian Eddy Ancinas shares tales of the colorful characters whose exploits and imagination contributed to the unique history of these two valleys. 

Bomber Mountain's Namesake Tragedy

June 1943 saw forty-one heavy bombers lost within the continental United States, including a B-17 that went missing over Wyoming late during the night of June 28. That aircraft had ten young men on board destined for World War II. They had been ordered overseas to participate in the intense and constant bombing raids being conducted in Europe, but they never made it out of America. Two years later, area cowboys discovered the wreckage strewn across an otherwise picturesque landscape. U.S. Air Corps Captain Kenneth G. Hamm noted in his personal diary, “The plane was so completely demolished that we were almost on top of it before we saw it.” Author Sylvia A. Bruner shares the stories of the men who lost their lives deep in the Bighorn Mountains and recounts the events of the crash, search and U.S. Air Corps accident investigation.

Taming a Tumultuous Territory

Hollywood westerns of the twentieth century brought a history of raucous frontier justice to life, but 1800s Colorado was anything but fiction. Bandits held up the Denver and Rio Grande train at Unaweep Switch, while another gang stole $50,000 from the express car at Cotopaxi. “The Bloody Espinosas,” who left mutilated bodies along lonely mountain trails, terrorized southern Colorado. The Reynolds Gang held up South Park stagecoaches, while Tom McCarty and Matt Warner robbed banks. These unruly times demanded a society where the law prevailed. Dave Cook started the Rocky Mountain Detective Association and improved crime fighting methods. Tom Tobin tracked down two serial killers using his wilderness skills. Doc Shores, who always got his man, earned his nickname, “the Bloodhound.” Author Nancy K. Williams hunts down the good, the bad and the ugly characters who color Colorado’s past.

Through historic photographs discover how the citizens of Boulder City contributed to the war effort in World War II.

During the early years of World War II, the United States Army established a camp on the federal reservation in Boulder City, Nevada. This camp consisted of barracks, a mess hall, officer quarters, a hospital, a guardhouse, a commissary, and a theater for several hundred men. Most of the men were being trained for military police duty. The citizens of Boulder City were not aware of much of the activity that took place at Camp Williston as they were finally settling down into everyday life after the construction of the Hoover Dam. On December 7, 1941, though, the town of Boulder City had the busiest Army camp in the West. Established only a decade earlier in 1931, the camp’s “Be Generous, Equal Victory” slogan was one the community lived by, even more so throughout the war effort.

Tiane Marie is a writer, historian, and photographer. She is dedicated to preserving history by sharing the information for anyone who is wanting to learn. She is the author of Past and Present: Boulder City.

The Orange County International Raceway (OCIR) was a dream come true for Southern California race fans. From 1967 to 1983, the raceway featured the best of the best from the world of drag racing.

All the stars of the sport flocked to OCIR just to say they raced there. Race fans from all over the United States and beyond came to experience the comforts and innovations built into Southern California’s super raceway. For spectators, the raceway offered reserved seating, electronic scoreboards, and restaurant-style food. It was also a dream come true for racers with running water in the paved pit area; shade trees; and parking for trailers, recreational vehicles, and big rigs. But eventually the land the track was built on became too valuable as the population in the area grew, and the Orange County International Raceway closed its doors for good on October 29, 1983. 

Author and photographer Steve Reyes made the 10-hour round-trip drive from his Northern California home to Southern California to attend and be a part of OCIR race coverage from 1967 to 1983. His publications with Arcadia Publishing include Southern California Top Fuel Dragsters, Northern California Drag Racing, and Southern California Funny Cars.

The Cannibal City

In the early days of the California Gold Rush, Sacramento City had several competing towns vying for the influx of newcomers. Many of its rivals not only had vibrant multicultural communities but also enjoyed superior geography for transportation and flood control. Even the initial land grant from Johann Sutter is considered controversial if not downright fiction, yet Sacramento thrived where others failed. Once-bustling Mormon Island was initially the proposed site of the railway that would end up bypassing it, and Brighton became a hotbed of agitation after the deadly “Squatters’ Riot,” leading to its decline. Hoboken, Prairie City and more were also wiped off the map.

The Special Collections of the Sacramento Public Library explores the history of these lost Sacramentos.

One candy heiress, two bullets and three suspects.

The small Southern California island of Coronado rarely makes news for violent crime. But in the spring of 1975, World War II widow and retired librarian Ruth Quinn was murdered, execution-style, in her cottage. Her death sent a shock wave through the community. The granddaughter of Jujubes and Jujyfruits creator Henry Heide, Ruth was found fully clothed with her shoes on, in her bed, dead from two gunshot wounds. To this day, her murder has never been solved, but whispers about her brother, her son and even a local petty thief still swirl.

Author Taylor Baldwin Kiland sifts through the dirt for the facts about Ruth’s life and her untimely end in Coronado.

More than 14,000 people of Japanese descent—two-thirds of them US citizens—were exiled from August 1942 to November 1945 to the Heart Mountain Incarceration Site on the high desert prairie of Wyoming’s Big Horn Basin.

The site was the temporary home for Japanese Americans forced from their homes in California, Oregon, and Washington. Believed to be saboteurs or spies or both, the prisoners were viewed with fear, hatred, and sometimes acceptance by their neighbors in nearby Cody and Powell. During their time at Heart Mountain, the incarcerated people lived like the residents of any American city. Under the eye of the federal War Relocation Authority, they taught school, worked at the fire and police departments, ran stores and barbershops, and spent much of their time wondering what had happened to their former lives. Today, the site is part of the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center and Mineta-Simpson Institute.

Ray Locker is the director of communications and strategy for the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation. The foundation’s staff consists of experts on Japanese American history, the intersections between Wyoming’s Indigenous community and World War II’s incarcerated people, and museum professionals dedicated to telling the story of this sad chapter of American history. They used donations from those incarcerated and their families, collections in the foundation archives, the National Archives, the Library of Congress, and museums from around the country.

Discover the history San Mateo County's gas stations through this collection of historic photographs.

The years following the 1906 earthquake saw a migration from the city to the suburbs, farms, and orchards of the San Francisco Peninsula’s San Mateo County. Mobility on the peninsula came in the form of streetcars, trains, and buses but was soon dominated by the automobile. Beginning in the late 1920s through the 1990s, the peninsula was inundated with automobile service stations, or gas stations, where smartly dressed station attendants practically ran to one’s car to fill the tank, check oil and tire pressure levels, and clean the windshield. At the peak, the small city of San Carlos had 23 stations. Today, it has only five. 

Bruce C. Cumming enjoyed a 42-year-long career in California law enforcement, serving as police chief of Menlo Park and Morgan Hill. Cumming has had an interest in all things automotive and currently owns several vintage autos and collects petroleum memorabilia. Nicholas A. Veronico is the author or coauthor of more than 45 books on art history, aviation, military, and transportation subjects. Together, they have sourced many rare, never-before-seen photographs from various county archives and private collections to document how car culture on the peninsula has changed over the years.

The name Beartooth suggests strength, rawness, and force. Indeed, the Beartooth Mountains are a power and are unsurpassed in splendor and beauty.

The voluminous masses are said to compromise one of the largest contiguous areas in North America. Early natives came in search of game in both the high country and rich valleys, especially the Crows, who used the area frequently. Later, miners appeared in search of precious metals and developed gold, chrome, and platinum mines. Geographers came and scaled mountain peaks, defining, naming, and mapping. Cattle and sheepmen were also lured to the lush mountain pastures. Eventually, trails became roads, and the Beartooth Plateau was easily accessible upon the completion of the Beartooth Highway. With the creation of the US Forest Service, forestlands were surveyed and protected by wilderness status. Soon, dudes were upon the landscape, and an industry was created amongst the peaks and prairies of the Beartooths. Enjoy the natural beauty and rich history of the Beartooth Mountains in 15 historic black-and-white postcards.

Utilizing photographs from the Historical Society of Temple City, Donna Georgino explores the history of Temple City.  

When Walter P. Temple’s oldest son, nine-year-old Thomas, discovered oil on the family’s property in the Montebello Hills, Temple used his newfound wealth to purchase 285 acres of the Rancho San Francisquito. Temple, along with his associates Milton Kauffman, George Woodruff, and Sylvester Dupuy, established the Temple Townsite Company in 1923 and began selling plots of land designed to form a new community for the middle class. With a park, a church, a central business district, and an extension of the Pacific Electric Red Car line, the town of Temple soon became a thriving community. In 1928, the town of Temple changed its name to Temple City to avoid confusion at the post office. In 1944, the Woman’s Club initiated the Camellia Festival, an event that is still celebrated today.

Author Donna Georgino grew up in Temple City, attended Temple City schools, and currently serves as the president of the Historical Society of Temple City. The historical society was formed in 1987 by longtime residents interested in preserving Temple City’s history. In 2006, the Woman’s Club gifted/deeded its building on the corner of Kauffman and Woodruff Avenues to the society as a permanent home for the museum. 

The Hawaiian island chain has long been a crossroads of cultures. Oahu’s name is sometimes translated as “the gathering place,” and its appeal is undeniable. Even before the arrival of Western powers, Hawaiian chiefs struggled for control of the island. As far back as the 1700s, many would-be colonizers had their eyes on Pearl Harbor—the United States, the British, the Russians, and the Japanese. For decades, only one thing was certain. The Hawaiian monarchy would not be left alone to rule their own people. More than a hundred years before “the day of infamy,” December 7, 1941, the story of the United States’ military occupation of Hawaii begins with the Western world’s discovery of what was at the time called Wai Momi, the beautiful and, unfortunately, strategically located “waters of pearl.”

Sarah Bellian is a historian and curator of the Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum at Pearl Harbor. She previously worked in museums and public history in Texas and Idaho. During the pandemic, she began a deep dive into Hawaii’s often difficult relationship with the US military. In addition to telling stories, she enjoys craft beers, historical swordsmanship, and playing roller derby.

How Long Beach caused the death of John A. Lamb.

Immediately after his 1914 election as mayor of Long Beach, Louis Napoleon Whealton fired the chief of police and raided the city treasury. To replenish the funds, Mayor Whealton concocted a scheme to collect fines from any male “who made advances toward other men.” Two special police officers entrapped and arrested thirty-one men, dragging them before a judge to pay up or risk a public trial. When one victim refused to play along, newspapers were quick to publish the names of everyone accused, including local pharmacist and popular churchman John A. Lamb. His suicide made headlines, but the city continued to target gay men well into this century.

Author and historian Gerrie Schipske uncovers the story of a tragic death with far-reaching consequences in Long Beach.

Founded in 1905, Richmond, California, boasts 32 miles of shoreline and is centrally located within the San Francisco Bay Area. From a nationally registered historic district to its critical role in World War II, Richmond fits the quintessential historic bill—both on land and at sea.

Enjoy this glimpse into a past that is still very present courtesy of two native Richmond daughters, Desiree Heveroh and Victoria Stuhr, with images from Richmond Museum of History & Culture, Point Richmond History Association, and the Richmond Public Library.

How the Golden State’s favorite fruit conquered the world.

When avocados first arrived from Mexico in the early 1800s, few Americans knew what to make of them. Intrepid settlers in California were among the first to embrace the savory green fruit, sparking a century-long love affair that transformed the state into “Avocado Land.” From battling over the best avocado varieties to coaxing the public into trying the fruit by devising delicious recipes, Golden State growers created a global phenomenon.

Author Rob Crisell explores how California’s favorite fruit became one of the most famous and iconic foods of the twenty-first century.

Dr. Leo Mallette is an adjunct faculty at Pepperdine University’s doctoral program. He has collected postcards depicting Rancho Mirage starting with the dude ranches in the 1940s and accelerating with the country clubs in the 1950s.

The city of Rancho Mirage is a low-density resort town with a population that was about 17,000 during the 2020 census. It is in the Coachella Valley, near Palm Springs, and about 110 miles east of Los Angeles. Rancho Mirage encompasses an approximately three-mile-wide swath that includes most of the area south of Interstate 10, extending south past the Whitewater River, Highway 111, and into the Santa Rosa Mountains. It was incorporated in 1973 and is home to many world-class golf courses.

Travel to the past and enjoy a string quartet and an eight-course dinner in an elegant wilderness.

Beginning in the 1880s, the beauty of Lake Tahoe enticed entrepreneurs to build the most opulent resort hotels in America catering to the wealthiest from California and Nevada. Baldwin’s Tallac House, the Tahoe Tavern and Brockway Hot Springs Hotel fought to outdo one another as they took luxury to new heights with musical entertainment, movies, horseback excursions and five-star dining. Tahoe Tavern even featured its own private railway, while Brockway spawned America’s first gambling casino resort, the Cal-Neva Lodge, where celebrities mingled with mobsters. By the 1960s, the golden era had begun to fade as the tourist demographic shifted, but a splendid legacy endures.

Author Paul Nelson brings to life the intrigue and opulence of Lake Tahoe’s earliest resorts.