This second volume in Kevin Starr's passionate and ambitious cultural history of the Golden State focuses on the turn-of-the-century years and the emergence of Southern California as a regional culture in its own right. "How hauntingly beautiful, how replete with lost possibilities, seems that Southern California of two and three generations ago, now that a dramatically diferent society has emerged in its place," writes Starr.

As he recreates the "lost California," Starr examines the rich variety of elements that figured in the growth of the Southern California way of life: the Spanish/Mexican roots, the fertile land, the Mediterranean-like climate, the special styles in architecture, the rise of Hollywood. He gives us a broad array of engaging (and often eccentric) characters: from Harrision Gray Otis to Helen Hunt Jackson to Cecil B. DeMille. Whether discussing the growth of winemaking or the burgeoning of reform movements, Starr keeps his central theme in sharp focus: how Californians defined their identity to themselves and to the nation.

• We started tracking this book on May 15, 2013.
• This book was $14.57 when we started tracking it.
• The price of this book has changed 22 times in the past 4,465 days.
• The current price of this book is $9.99 last checked 7 hours ago.
• The lowest price to date was $9.99 last reached on August 4, 2025.
• This book has been $9.99 4 times since we started tracking it.
• The highest price to date was $19.49 last reached on January 19, 2020.
• This book has been $19.49 5 times since we started tracking it.
• This book is currently at its lowest price since we started tracking it.

• HistoryAmericasUnited StatesState & Local
• Politics & Social SciencesSocial SciencesPopular Culture
• HistoryAmericas
• HistoryUnited StatesState & Local

• Publication Date: December 4, 1986
• Text-to-Speech: Disabled
• Lending: Disabled
• Print Length: 668 Pages
• File Size: 29 KB