Beautiful beaches, perfect weather, movie-star glamour...there are so many reasons to visit Southern California that deciding where to go and what to do can be a bit overwhelming. Fodor's Southern California 2014 ebook edition takes the guesswork out of choosing the perfect SoCal experience---from picking the finest Santa Barbara bistro to finding the best studio tour in Hollywood. This guide is filled with awe-inspiring photography, in-depth cultural features, and advice and tips from our team of local writers, making it as indispensable as a tube of SPF 30. Competitive Advantage: The only annually updated guidebook to Southern California. Discerning Recommendations: Fodor's Southern California ebook edition offers savvy advice and recommendations from local writers to help travelers make the most of their time. Fodor's Choice designates our best picks, from hotels to nightlife. "Word of Mouth" quotes from fellow travelers provide valuable insights. ABOUT FODOR'S AUTHORS: Each Fodor's Travel Guide is researched and written by local experts.

Written by locals, Fodor's travel guides have been offering expert advice for all tastes and budgets for 80 years. Planning to visit more of California or focus your trip? Check out Fodor's travel guides to California, Los Angeles, and San Diego. Beautiful beaches, perfect weather, movie-star glamour...there are so many reasons to visit Southern California that deciding where to go and what to do can be a bit overwhelming. Fodor's Southern California takes the guesswork out of choosing the perfect SoCal experience---from picking the finest Santa Barbara bistro to finding the best studio tour in Hollywood. This travel guide includes: · Dozens of full-color maps · An 8-page color insert with a brief introduction and spectacular photos that capture the top experiences and attractions throughout Southern California. · Hundreds of hotel and restaurant recommendations, with Fodor's Choice designating our top picks · Multiple itineraries to explore the top attractions and what’s off the beaten path · Major sights such as Disneyworld, San Diego Zoo, and Santa Barbara · Side Trips from San Diego to North County · Coverage of San Diego, Orange County and Catalina Island, Los Angeles, The Central Coast, The Monterey Bay Area, The Inland Empire, Palm Springs, Joshua Tree National Park, The Mojave Desert, Death Valley National Park, The Central Valley, The Southern Sierra, Yosemite National Park, and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

Written by locals, Fodor's travel guides have been offering expert advice for all tastes and budgets for 80 years. Beautiful beaches, perfect weather, movie-star glamour...there are so many reasons to visit Southern California that deciding where to go and what to do can be a bit overwhelming. Fodor's Southern California takes the guesswork out of choosing the perfect SoCal experience---from picking the finest Santa Barbara bistro to finding the best studio tour in Hollywood. This travel guide includes: · Dozens of full-color maps · Hundreds of hotel and restaurant recommendations, with Fodor's Choice designating our top picks · Multiple itineraries to explore the top attractions and what’s off the beaten path · Coverage of San Diego; Orange County and Catalina Island; Los Angeles; The Central Coast; Channel Islands National Park; The Monterey Bay Area; The Inland Empire; Palm Springs; Joshua Tree National Park; The Mojave Desert; Death Valley National Park; The Central Valley; The Southern Sierra; Yosemite National Park; Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Planning to focus on Los Angeles? Check out Fodor's travel guides to Los Angeles.

The Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ), located on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, is a leading center of herpetological research in the United States. This monograph offers a brief account of the principal figures associated with the collection and of the most important events in the history of herpetology in the MVZ during its first 93 years, and lists all type specimens of recent amphibians and nonavian reptiles in the collection. Although the MVZ has existed since 1908, until 1945 there was no formal curator for the collection of amphibians and nonavian reptiles. Since that time Robert C. Stebbins, David B. Wake, Harry W. Greene, Javier A. Rodríguez-Robles (in an interim capacity), and Craig Moritz have served in that position. The herpetological collection of the MVZ was begun on March 13, 1909, with a collection of approximately 430 specimens from southern California and as of December 31, 2001, contained 232,254 specimens. Taxonomically, the collection is strongest in salamanders, accounting for 99,176 specimens, followed by "lizards" (squamate reptiles other than snakes and amphisbaenians, 63,439), frogs (40,563), snakes (24,937), turtles (2,643), caecilians (979), amphisbaenians (451), crocodilians (63), and tuataras (3). Whereas the collection's emphasis historically has been on the western United States and on California in particular, representatives of taxa from many other parts of the world are present. The 1,765 type specimens in the MVZ comprise 120 holotypes, three neotypes, three syntypes, and 1,639 paratopotypes and paratypes; 83 of the holotypes were originally described as full species. Of the 196 amphibian and nonavian reptilian taxa represented by type material, most were collected in México (63) and California (USA, 54). The Appendix of the monograph presents a list of curators, graduate and undergraduate students, postdoctoral fellows, research associates, research assistants, curatorial associates, curatorial assistants, and visiting faculty who have conducted research on the biology of amphibians and reptiles while in residence in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology as of December 31, 2001.

This book is an enthusiastic account of Pierre Laszlo’s life and pioneering work on catalysis of organic reactions by modified clays, and his reflections on doing science from the 1960s to 1990s. In this autobiography, readers will discover a first-hand testimony of the chemical revolution in the second half of the 20th century, and the author’s perspective on finding a calling in science and chemistry, as well as his own experience on doing science, teaching science and managing a scientific career. During this period, Pierre Laszlo led an academic laboratory and worked also in three different countries: the US, Belgium and France, where he had the opportunity to meet remarkable colleagues. In this book, he recalls his encounters and collaborations with important scientists, who shaped the nature of chemistry at times of increased pace of change, and collates a portrait of the worldwide scientific community at that time. In addition, the author tells us about the turns and twists of his own life, and how he ended up focusing his research on clay based chemistry, where clay minerals were turned in his lab to catalysis of key chemical transformations. Given its breath, the book offers a genuine information on the life and career of a chemist, and it will appeal not only to scientists and students, but also to historians of science and to the general reader.

An insightful exploration of the iconic Galápagos tortoises, and how their fate is inextricably linked to our own in a rapidly changing world. Finalist for the 2020 E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award, sponsored by PEN America Literary Awards The Galápagos archipelago is often viewed as a last foothold of pristine nature. For sixty years, conservationists have worked to restore this evolutionary Eden after centuries of exploitation at the hands of pirates, whalers, and island settlers. This book tells the story of the islands’ namesakes—the giant tortoises—as coveted food sources, objects of natural history, and famous icons of conservation and tourism. By doing so, it brings into stark relief the paradoxical, and impossible, goal of conserving species by trying to restore a past state of prehistoric evolution. The tortoises, Elizabeth Hennessy demonstrates, are not prehistoric, but rather microcosms whose stories show how deeply human and nonhuman life are entangled. In a world where evolution is thoroughly shaped by global history, Hennessy puts forward a vision for conservation based on reckoning with the past, rather than trying to erase it. “Fresh, insightful . . . Hennessy’s melding of human and natural history makes for thought-provoking reading.” —Booklist (starred review) “Gripping . . . well-researched and thought-provoking . . . whether you’re well-versed in the intricacies of conservation or have only just begun to long for a look at the tortoises yourself. On the Backs of Tortoises is a natural history that asks important questions, and challenges us to think about how best to answer them.” —Genevieve Valentine, NPR “Wonderfully interesting, informative, and engaging, as well as scholarly.” —Janet Browne, author of Charles Darwin: Voyaging and Charles Darwin: The Power of Place