The Rough Guide to California (Rough Guide Travel Guides) Book

INTRODUCTION California is America squared. It?s the place you go to find more America than you ever thought possible. What?s Wrong with America by Scott Bradfield No region of the world, perhaps, has been as publicized, and idealized, as California, and none lives up to the hype to quite the same degree. A terrestrial paradise of sun, sand, surf and sea, it has a whole lot more besides: high mountain ranges, fast-paced glitzy cities, deep primeval forests, and hot dry deserts. Having zoomed from the Stone Age to Silicon Valley in little more than a couple of centuries, California doesn?t dwell on the past. In some ways this part of America represents the ultimate "now" society, with all that entails ? life is lived very much in the fast lane, and conspicuous consumption is emphasized to the exclusion of almost everything else. But this is only one side of the coin; the deeper sense of age here often gets skimmed over. Provided you get out of the cities, it is readily apparent in the landscape: dense groves of ancient trees, primitive rock carvings left by the aboriginal Native American culture, and the eerie ghost towns of the Gold Rush pioneers. A land of superlatives, California really is full of the oldest, the tallest, the largest, the most spectacular, all of which goes far beyond local bravura. It?s important to bear in mind, too, that the supposed "superficiality" of California is largely a myth, an image promoted as much by Americans on the East Coast as by foreigners ? even if the area?s endeavours to gain cultural credibility can sometimes seem brash. Politically, it?s probably the USA?s most schizophrenic region, home state of some of its most reactionary figures ? Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon to name just two ? yet also the source of some of the country?s most progressive political movements. Some of the fiercest protests of the Sixties emanated from here, and in many ways this is still the heart of liberal America. Consider the level of environmental awareness, which puts the smoky East to shame, and the fact that California has set the standard for the rest of the US (and the world) regarding gay pride and social permissiveness. Economically, too, the region is crucial, whether it?s in the traditionally dominant film industry, the recently ascendant music ! business, even in the increasingly important financial markets ? in which Los Angeles has come to set the pace.Read More