Covering the beautiful sprawl of Sonoma County, from Sebastopol and the coast to Healdsburg and Windsor and through Santa Rosa, Sonoma, and Petaluma, author Lee Torliatt offers readers a glimpse of the vivid and lively activities of the region's athletes and teams over 100-plus years. These photographs and images trace the accomplishments of the county's pivotal figures in football, baseball, track, basketball, boxing, ice hockey, tennis, and other sports. Fans will recognize names like Ernie Nevers, a football hero at Santa Rosa High School, and track giant Ralph Rose of Healdsburg, a major Olympian who was struck down by tragedy early in the 20th century. Captured here is the famous upset when the Bonecrushers and Leghorns met in 1948, the short-lived but glorious years of an ice hockey team imported from Canada, the local enthusiasts who enjoyed hunting and fishing, the early female athletes of the region from the 1850s to 1952, and several legendary heroes of their times, including Helen Wightman, Smith Robinson, and Joe DeMaggio (before he was DiMaggio.)

The Santa Rosa Valley, once carpeted in wild oats and littered with acorns from ancient oaks, was home to Pomo and Miwok Indians for thousands of years. The cattle ranches and farms that displaced them in the mid-1800s had already spawned a thriving commercial town named Santa Rosa, the county seat, when the railroad arrived in 1870. That railroad, and the commerce it brought, secured the city's role as the legal and financial nexus of Sonoma County and its most populous city. When many of the downtown buildings collapsed in the famous 1906 earthquake, the community built itself back into a picture-perfect all-American city, the setting for such films as Hitchcock's Shadow of Doubt and Disney's Pollyanna. Another devastating quake in 1969 damaged many structures, but once again that destruction prompted redevelopment and renewed growth for Santa Rosa in the 21st century.

The encyclopedia takes a broad, multidisciplinary approach to the history of the period. It includes general and specific entries on politics and business, labor, industry, agriculture, education and youth, law and legislative affairs, literature, music, the performing and visual arts, health and medicine, science and technology, exploration, life on the Western frontier, family life, slave life, Native American life, women, and more than a hundred influential individuals.

Taking a global, multicultural, social, and economic perspective, this work explores the diverse and colourful history of human attire. From prehistoric times to the age of globalization, articles cover the evolution of clothing utility, style, production, and commerce, including accessories (shoes, hats, gloves, handbags, and jewellery) for men, women, and children. Dress for different climates, occupations, recreational activities, religious observances, rites of passages, and other human needs and purposes - from hunting and warfare to sports and space exploration - are examined in depth and detail. Fashion and design trends in diverse historical periods, regions and countries, and social and ethnic groups constitute a major area of coverage, as does the evolution of materials (from animal fur to textiles to synthetic fabrics) and production methods (from sewing and weaving to industrial manufacturing and computer-aided design). Dress as a reflection of social status, intellectual and artistic trends, economic conditions, cultural exchange, and modern media marketing are recurring themes. Influential figures and institutions in fashion design, industry and manufacturing, retail sales, production technologies, and related fields are also covered.