California Explorers

El Capitán: José Francisco Ortega and the Birth of California sweeps you onto a saddle beside the little-known scout who changed the map of the American West—then asks why you’ve never heard his name. Ride shotgun on Spain’s last great gamble. Feel fog sting your cheeks as Ortega becomes the first European to glimpse the vast, hidden harbor we now call San Francisco Bay—and watch an empire pivot on his hastily penciled sketch. Build a frontier—in real time. March into wildfire heat, mix adobe alongside Chumash brickmakers, and raise the guns of Santa Barbara’s presidio before ...

A fascinating new history of America, told through the stories of a diverse cast of ten extraordinary—and often overlooked—adventurers, from Sacagawea to Matthew Henson to Sally Ride, who pushed the boundaries of discovery and determined our national destiny. ""Brilliantly imaginative...

Unlock the Secrets of the Sierra Nevada and Embark on the Adventure of a Lifetime! Explore the breathtaking beauty and untold treasures of the Sierra Nevada with Treasures of the Sierra Nevada: A Modern Explorer's Guide. This all-encompassing guide blends rich Gold Rush history, hidden legends, and actionable tips to transform your weekend getaway into an unforgettable treasure-hunting journey. Inside This Book, You Will Discover: The rich history and lore of the Sierra Nevada Step-by-step guidance for gold panning, metal detecting, and exploring historic mining sites. A comprehensive list ...

James Capen Adams roamed the Sierra Nevada when California was wild. He slept on the ground, ate what he could kill, mended his own wounds, and made friends with the Native Americans he encountered. Adams captured animals in elaborate traps he built by hand and delivered his prey to zoos, museums, and certain famous exhibitions. Many of his stories became the inspiration for a popular TV show in the 1980s, featuring a mountain man and his pet bear. This is the true story behind the legend, as told by Adams to respected California historian Theodore Hittell.

Richard Henry Dana, a law student turned sailor for health reasons, sailed in 1834 aboard the brig Pilgrim on a voyage from Boston around Cape Horn to California. Drawing from his journals, Two Years Before the Mast gives a vivid and detailed account, shrewdly observed and beautifully described, of a common sailor's wretched treatment at sea, and of a way of life virtually unknown at that time.

He didn’t conquer California. He named it—river by river, memory by memory. In the early 1800s, Spanish lieutenant Gabriel Moraga rode deep into the wild, unmapped heart of California. What he discovered would shape the future of the West—but what he left behind was something far more enduring than conquest: names that still ripple across maps, city signs, and courtrooms today. River-Maker is a breathtaking historical narrative that brings Moraga’s forgotten journey vividly to life—from the sweeping silence of the Central Valley to the tangled wetlands of the Delta, from ...

American Oz is a rollicking, gritty, adventurous story of life in the secretive subculture of traveling carnivals. You'll never see your state fair or street festival the same way again. Comerford writes a bold, inspiring true story of a year working behind the scenes with the colorful characters and legends of carnivals. He shares stories of freaks, a carnival pimp, a tramp gold miner, and the last king of the sideshows.

A native of northern Russia, Alexander Baranov was a middle-aged merchant trader with no prior experience in the fur trade when, in 1790, he arrived in North America to assume command over Russia’s highly profitable sea otter business.

National Book Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist Nathaniel Philbrick, author of In the Heart of the Sea and Mayflower, reveals how California’s Gold Rush forged the modern United States—and lit the long fuse to civil war In January 1848, a carpenter spotted flecks of gold in a shallow...

Are you excited about planning your next trip? Do you want to try something new? Would you like some guidance from a local? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this Greater Than a Tourist book is for you. Greater Than a Tourist - San Francisco California USA by Tom Peterson offers the inside scoop on San Francisco from the point of view of someone who lived there for many years.

Greater Than a Tourist - Riverside California USA by Marc J. Feldstein offers the inside scoop on Riverside. Most travel books tell you how to travel like a tourist. Although there is nothing wrong with that, as part of the Greater Than a Tourist series, this book will give you travel tips from someone who has lived at your next travel destination.

Tired of California's glitzy lifestyle, greed, and urban sprawl, Captain Skip Rowland sells everything to drift and blend in the drop dead beauty of the South Pacific. But before casting-off, his yacht is stolen and set ablaze on a desolate Mexican shore. Skip, recently in the USMC, captures the thieves, sailing later in a new yacht with his son and nurse girlfriend. They accidentally sail into an active military coup d'état, are chased by a vagabond freighter, make love on picture-perfect uninhabited islands, and cross the Tasman Sea to Australia in the worst weather in 100 years.

In the summer of 1870, Professor Joseph LeConte (1823-1901), and some of his students at the then brand-new University of California, went on a five-week camping trip on horseback to Yosemite and the High Sierra, including Mono Lake and Lake Tahoe. Along the way, LeConte and his students faced hardships of weather and terrain. They had difficulties with their horses and finding trails, and the weather made the men broil and freeze. But in spite all of the harsh conditions, LeConte was enraptured by the awesome beauty of Yosemite Valley, the High Sierra, and Lake Tahoe.

Spanish ships have been sailing the coast of Alta California for more than two hundred years. Majestic Manila galleons laden with riches from the Orient cruise past regularly, bound for the port of Acapulco. But no Spaniard has ever ventured inland to explore the inhospitable country lying beyond the rocky shoreline. The King of Spain, Carlos III, is concerned about the predations of English pirates and Russian encroachment from the north. He wishes to secure his possessions in America and has appointed Gaspar de Portolá to the governorship of both Alta and Baja California. Portolá has ...

Are you excited about planning your next trip? Do you want to try something new? Would you like some guidance from a local? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this Greater Than a Tourist book is for you. Greater Than A Tourist - Los Angeles, California by Moni Boyce offers the inside scoop on Los Angeles.

Greater Than a Tourist - Southern California USA by Demeris Morse offers the inside scoop on Southern California. Most travel books tell you how to travel like a tourist. Although there is nothing wrong with that, as part of the Greater Than a Tourist series, this book will give you travel tips from someone who has lived at your travel destination.

In this audio, you will discover advice that will help you throughout your stay. This book will not tell you exact addresses or store hours but instead will give you excitement and knowledge from a local that you may not find in other shorter travel books. Travel like a local. Slow down, stay in one place, and get to know the people and culture. By the time you finish this book, you will be eager and prepared to travel to your next destination.

Are you excited about planning your next trip? Do you want to try something new? Would you like some guidance from a local? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this Greater Than a Tourist book is for you. Greater Than a Tourist - Sacramento, California, USA gives you the inside scoop on Sacramento. Most travel books tell you how to travel like a tourist. Although there is nothing wrong with that, as part of the Greater Than a Tourist series, this book will give you travel tips from someone who has lived at your next travel destination.

Greater Than a Tourist - Alameda California USA, by Bianca deKock, offers the inside scoop on Alameda.

Greater Than a Tourist - Hermosa Beach California USA, by Lauren Wilson, offers the inside scoop on Hermosa Beach. This audiobook will give you travel tips from someone who has lived at your next travel destination.