The Handy California Answer Book
California is the country's most populous state. The home of the entertainment industry and silicon valley. It's known for its beaches, its redwood forests, and as the “land of fruit and nuts.” Its people, industries, politicians, climate, and allure captivates the world and draws millions of visitors each year. Exploring the state’s fascinating history, people, myths, culture, and trivia, The Handy California Answer Book
takes an in-depth look look at this fascinating, quirky, and diverse state.
Learn about the original Indigenous peoples, the Spanish explorers, the independence from Spain, the secession from Mexico, the Gold Rush, the building of the Los Angeles Aqueducts, the earthquakes, the water shortages, and much, much more. Tour landmarks, learn about famous sons and daughters, the sports teams, and the unique character of the state through a combination of facts, stats, and history, as well as the unusual and quirky. This comprehensive guide to California answers more than 1,100 intriguing questions, including How did “Eureka!” become the state motto? Why is a grizzly bear on the state flag when no grizzlies exist in California? Was the coast of California ever attacked by pirates? How did Silicon Valley become a center for the high tech industry?
Raised in Laurel Canyon and Van Nuys, California, Kevin Hile has had a long career as an author and editor. He worked for several years with the late Jim Fordyce on news, entertainment, and travel radio shows about California and the Coachella Valley. He wrote Visible Ink Press' The Handy Weather Answer Book, has edited many other titles in the “Handy Answer” series, and is is most proud of his history book on Michigan’s oldest zoo, Little Zoo by the Red Cedar: The Story of Potter Park Zoo. He lives in Cathedral City, CA.
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