A collection of stories about growing up in Mill Valley, California during the 1950s and 60s. The author was born in New York into a politically blacklisted family who travelled west to California during the McCarthy era. Subjects covered include sci-fi/horror movies, MAD magazine, Uncle Scrooge comic books, rock 'n roll records, Davy Crockett TV shows, Elvis Presley, the Kennedy assassination, Dragnet, the Beatles arriving in the USA and many more.

Since the 1800s, Mill Valley has attracted spirited freethinkers, entrepreneurs, nature lovers, rabble-rousers, and more than a few rock stars. Early Mill Valley booster Sidney Cushing encouraged tourism with a train up Mount Tamalpais called the Crookedest Railroad in the World. Laura White, more concerned with protecting Mill Valleys natural beauty than attracting more people, brought the town its Outdoor Art Club and a tradition of conservationism. Vera Schultz broke the glass ceiling of local politics in 1946, and in 1973, 10-year-old Jenny Fulles letter to President Nixon changed the future of Americas female athletes. When an elementary school teacher named Rita Abrams wrote a song about why she loved Mill Valley, it became a national hit; so did a song about the heart of rock and roll, written by local boy Huey Lewis, who had attended that same school. The stories of Mill Valleys legendary localswhether from 1890 or 1980are sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes inspiring, often humorous, and always fascinating.

An unforgettable cast of characters is unleashed into a realm known for its cruelty—the American high school—in this captivating debut novel. The wealthy enclaves north of San Francisco are not the paradise they appear to be, and nobody knows this better than the students of a local high school. Despite being raised with all the opportunities money can buy, these vulnerable kids are navigating a treacherous adolescence in which every action, every rumor, every feeling, is potentially postable, shareable, viral. Lindsey Lee Johnson’s kaleidoscopic narrative exposes at every turn the real human beings beneath the high school stereotypes. Abigail Cress is ticking off the boxes toward the Ivy League when she makes the first impulsive decision of her life: entering into an inappropriate relationship with a teacher. Dave Chu, who knows himself at heart to be a typical B student, takes desperate measures to live up to his parents’ crushing expectations. Emma Fleed, a gifted dancer, balances rigorous rehearsals with wild weekends. Damon Flintov returns from a stint at rehab looking to prove that he’s not an irredeemable screwup. And Calista Broderick, once part of the popular crowd, chooses, for reasons of her own, to become a hippie outcast. Into this complicated web, an idealistic young English teacher arrives from a poorer, scruffier part of California. Molly Nicoll strives to connect with her students—without understanding the middle school tragedy that played out online and has continued to reverberate in different ways for all of them. Written with the rare talent capable of turning teenage drama into urgent, adult fiction, The Most Dangerous Place on Earth makes vivid a modern adolescence lived in the gleam of the virtual, but rich with sorrow, passion, and humanity. Praise for The Most Dangerous Place on Earth “Alarming, compelling . . . Here’s high school life in all its madness.”—The New York Times “Unputdownable.”—Elle “Impossibly funny and achingly sad . . . [Lindsey Lee] Johnson cracks open adolescent angst with adult sensibility and sensitivity.”—San Francisco Chronicle “[A] piercing debut . . . Johnson proves herself a master of the coming-of-age story.”—The Boston Globe “Entrancing . . . Johnson’s novel possesses a propulsive quality. . . . Hard to put down.”—Chicago Tribune “Readers may find themselves so swept up in this enthralling novel that they finish it in a single sitting.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

From modest beginnings as an early Mexican land grant, Mill Valley has blossomed into an idyllic community nestled beneath Mount Tamalpais. This charming city set in a forest, with meandering streets and creeks surrounding houses, businesses, churches, and schools, is one of the region's most desirable places to live.

Dreaming Mill Valley charts the course of love-tangled, crazy, passionate, destructive, and tender-when all the rules have been broken and the heart longs for home. In the spring of 1974, America is in political and social turmoil, and in Mill Valley, California, marriages have been tossed overboard, children roam freely, and sex is exploratory. Just across the Golden Gate Bridge in the glittering streets of San Francisco, the gay revolution is in full swing and political protest is mandatory. Jess McCarty, from the novel Woodacre, has returned and is determined to give her daughter a stable home as she maneuvers- the risky borders of love and an ambition to dance. Daniel Gessler, a Bolinas surfer and law school dropout, uncovers a family secret that focuses him on reclaiming his grandfather's legacy. Annie Morrison struggles to balance motherhood with a passion to paint. Stewart Merch, a transplant from Michigan and teacher at Old Mill Grammar School, is escaping his past and searching for his future. Through tales of love, loss, and redemption, Dreaming Mill Valley, portrays the emotional landscape of four ordinary people who rediscover the strength of friendship, resilience of the human spirit, and enduring bonds of family.

Mill Valley rests in the shadow of Mount Tamalpais, the tallest peak of the Coast Range. Ancient redwood groves cloaking the mountain's flanks and nearby canyons attracted a pioneer sawmill that gave the town its name. As the timber industry was replaced by dairies, Mill Valley became a destination for those drawn to beauty: hikers, campers, naturalists, artists, writers, and dreamers who gave the town its early bohemian atmosphere. Tamalpais Scenic Railway once ran the "crookedest railroad in the world" to the summit, where passengers exulted in the taste of salty ocean winds, rolling fog, and stunning vistas of the inner bay and ocean shores. Pres. Theodore Roosevelt reserved some of the area's majestic trees, now national parkland webbed with 200 miles of scenic trails, and named them Muir Woods for naturalist John Muir.

In 1985, winemaker Joe Benziger and Sonoma artist Bob Nugent struck on the idea of putting original art on special releases of Imagery Estate wines. The goal was straight-forward: commission the world's modern art luminaries to create works for reproduction onto wine labels. Two decades and 160 labels later, they have assembled a staggering collection of contemporary art, from the likes of Sol Lewitt, Terry Winters, Nancy Graves, John Baldessari, Judy Pfaff, and Bob Arneson. This book highlights 133 works of art, the best of the Imagery collection. The images are big and lush, and accompanied by biographical sketches of the artists' careers, as well as a short description of their individual ideas and methods. The pictorial index shows the works in their label-form, from 1985 to the most recent vintages. These images are evocations of wine's multi-faceted ability to inspire us.