California is our show state. The colorfulness of the region—in both history and geography- has become almost legendary in America, and for this reason, among others, THE STORY OF CALIFORNIA promises to be one of the most successful of C.H. DeWitt's popular books on Regions of America.

The many striking scenes in the state's lively history and its astonishingly varied natural beauty have provided perfect subject material for Mr. DeWitt's pencil. In sixteen brilliant full-color lithographs and a series of gay black-and-white panels, Mr. DeWitt vividly highlights California's story.

May McNeer, who wrote THE STORY OF THE GREAT PLAINS, has done a delightful and colorful text. In a crisp, swift-moving style she traces the life of the region from the coming of the first Spaniards. We glimpse life on the old Spanish haciendas, within mission walls, in wagon trains fighting their way across the Sierra Nevadas. We feel the excitement of the great, rollicking era of the Gold Rush, and the race to span the continent with rails. We marvel at the variety of the state's present-day industries, ranging from is magnificent fruit orchards to aircraft plants and the ever-incredible Hollywood.

The combined liveliness of subject, text, and illustration make THE STORY OF CALIFORNIA a book of great charm and wide appeal.

From the dust jacket