This is the third edition of the book Place Names of the Sierra Nevada, first published in 1986. In this book are the place names of the Sierra Nevada from the Lake Tahoe basin south to Walker Pass. Not included are place names within Yosemite National Park, with the exception of the names for the features on the park's boundary with the adjacent national forest. All other Yosemite names are in the book Yosemite Place Names. The origin of the names within the Lake Tahoe Basin are in the book Tahoe Place Names. Both those books are also published by Great West Books. Altitudes of most peaks and lakes are given, and the name of the topographical map and the feature's location on that map are also provided. The names of the current 7.5' maps are referenced to their positions on the former 15' map series. There is an extensive bibliography. New in this edition are two indexes: one is of those who named features, and the other of those whose names appear in the text of various entries

Over the years, the High Sierra has attracted a diverse group of travelers and residents who have explored its rivers, valleys, mountain peaks, lakes and passes. These names are clues to the colorful and unusual aspects of the area's past, and the people and events that shaped it.

Author and researcher Helen Carlson spent almost fourteen years searching for the origins of Nevada’s place names, using the maps of explorers, miners, government surveyors, and city planners and poring through historical accounts, archival documents, county records, and newspaper files. The result of her labors is Nevada Place Names, a fascinating mixture of history spiced with folklore, legend, and obscure facts. Out of print for some years, the book was reprinted in 1999.

The historic powerhouses of the Sierras have been powering much of California's growth for the past hundred years or so. Located in canyons where water can be dropped thousands of feet from ridges above, they were California's first source of electrical power. The oldest powerhouses were built by survivors of the original gold rush, who turned metalworking and pipe-fitting skills to the task of generating electricity. The resulting machines were curious amalgamations of steam valves, riveted pipes, waterwheels, and rudimentary electrical devices imported from the East Coast. These views show how miners chipped out a small ledge on a granite cliff hundreds of feet below Spaulding Lake dam to create an anchor point for a powerhouse that seems embedded in the rock itself. They also celebrate the genius of mining-camp tinkerer Lester Pelton, who, in 1880, invented a more efficient waterwheel capable of spinning a generator shaft at high speed. His invention bore his name, and the basic design is used to this day throughout the world.