Throughout the years, the 76-square-mile island of Santa Catalina has hosted Native-American tribes, European sailors, American tourists, and even the Chicago Cubs. The island has survived both ecologically and culturally, resisting the temptation of becoming a Coney Island of Los Angeles. Through the work of its residents along with chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr., Santa Catalina Island is as beautiful today as it was when it was discovered in 1542.

Throughout its history, the 76-square-mile island of Catalina has played host to Native Americans, smugglers, otter hunters, ranchers, miners, entrepreneurs, vacationers, movie stars, and nature enthusiasts. William Wrigley Jr. (of chewing-gum fame) bought the island in 1919 and later constructed the recognizable casino building, which was never used for gambling but did become one of the best-known ballrooms in America. In the 1970s, the Wrigley family deeded 88 percent of the island to the Catalina Island Conservancy, which protects the natural state of the island and her inhabitants. Today nearly one million tourists visit annually to take in the fishing, parasailing, glass-bottomed tour boating, scuba diving, cycling, camping, galleries, shopping, and dining.

Far off the coast of California looms a harsh rock known as the island of San Nicholas. Dolphins flash in the blue waters around it, sea otter play in the vast kep beds, and sea elephants loll on the stony beaches. Here, in the early 1800s, according to history, an Indian girl spent eighteen years alone, and this beautifully written novel is her story. It is a romantic adventure filled with drama and heartache, for not only was mere subsistence on so desolate a spot a near miracle, but Karana had to contend with the ferocious pack of wild dogs that had killed her younger brother, constantly guard against the Aleutian sea otter hunters, and maintain a precarious food supply. More than this, it is an adventure of the spirit that will haunt the reader long after the book has been put down. Karana's quiet courage, her Indian self-reliance and acceptance of fate, transform what to many would have been a devastating ordeal into an uplifting experience. From loneliness and terror come strength and serenity in this Newbery Medal-winning classic.

Go on the ultimate West Coast road trip this summer with The Best Coast—a full-color illustrated travel guide to all the must-visit roadside attractions, beloved landmarks, hidden histories, and offbeat delights on Washington, Oregon, and California’s historic highways, include the Pacific Coast Highway! From San Diego, California, all the way up to the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, you'll find unusual facts, hidden history, epic Americana, and off-the-beaten-path adventures up and down the coast. This Road Trip Atlas Includes: Route Maps - the coastal route via historic Highways 101 and 1 (the PCH) and an inland route up Highway 99 City Guides - San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Portland, and Seattle 30+ Itineraries and Side Trips - Catalina Island, Joshua Tree National Park, Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks, wine country, Crater Lake National Park, the Columbia River Gorge, Mount Rainier National Park, the San Juan Islands, and Vancouver, BC. Travel Tips - safety, rules of the road, wise planning, and packing lists (for the traveler and for the car) Wildlife Checklists Index of places, parks and attractions Resources - navigational aids, travel information, passes and permits, books, websites and films Hit the road with this one-of-a-kind road trip travel guide through California, Oregon, and Washington that tells the story of the diversity and depth that created the West Coast we know and love today!

A feast of extraordinary theories and personalities centred around the mysterious standing stones of antiquity. John Michell tells the incredible story of the amazing reactions, ancient and modern, to these prehistoric relics, whether astronomical, legendary, mystical or visionary.