"Aldous Huxley, British author turned Hollywood resident, once described the California dream as "this great crystal of light, whose base is as large as Europe and whose height for all practical purposes, is infinite." Such words shimmer and resonate in this book, which combines the photographs of the late Galen Rowell—a California native—with a panoply of quotes about the Golden State from an impressive array of writers. Eschewing the large coffee table book format, this volume measures just 8x8 inches, but the design was a smart one. Rowell's landscapes are so vividly rich, sometimes almost to the point of being lurid, that they work at this scale like dazzling jewels, and alternate with gems and nuggets of prose from the likes of Joan Didion, John Muir, Gary Snyder and Wallace Stegner. Another skillful blending of text and image from Welcome Books."

"As a California native and former photographer and travel expert, I can truly say that the photographs in California the Beautiful are the next best thing to being there."

"Galen Rowell was a modern day Ansel Adams, but in vivid, saturated color. California the Beautiful is a stunning tribute to his home state."

"Berkeley born nature photographer Galen Rowell's shots of sunrise, sunset, and sand adorn California the Beautiful, a visual and literary tribute to the state."

"California the Beautiful captures the soul of the land."

"A stunning collection of images and prose."