California Exposures: Envisioning Myth and History [Hardcover]

Winner of the 2021 California Book Award (Californiana category) White tells his stories with economy, but nevertheless with considerable nuance, subtlety, wry humor, and in fierce confrontation with the unvarnished truth. As its title puns, In this ingenious, entertaining book, Richard White, the preeminent chronicler of the American West, alters our understanding of how the Golden State came to be. Every page of this book displays history as surprising, confounding, unsettling, andmore often than the cynical might expectspirit lifting. A master class in how to interpret California landscapes past and present. Richard Whites brilliance is his ability to excavate history from myth. With wit, grace, and wisdom, he has written an inimitable, indispensable history. Richard Whites California history is brilliant and dark. A work of art that brings an evocative intimacy and lucidity to Californias past. A deeply original work. No one who reads this book will see the states landscape in the same way again. A highly original, important rumination on myth and history, images and words, memories and meaning. This is a beautiful book. Masterful explorations of the Golden State by a leading historian of the American West.