California Fault: Searching for the Spirit of a State Along the San Andreas"DELIGHTFULLY ECLECTIC . . . Move over, Alexis de Tocqueville. When Thurston Clarke makes the UFO-earthquake connection halfway through Fault, he elevates himself to the first rank of America's social observers." --Los Angeles Times California has always symbolized the good life, but social problems and natural disasters have tarnished the image of the Golden State. To find out what happened to the California Dream, Clarke sets off on a remarkable journey down the San Andreas fault searching for earthquakes and good news. From the "sensitive" whose headaches predict earthquakes with uncanny precision to a determined dreamer at the Salton Sea who hopes someday to build a blue-collar resort along the abandoned shores, Clarke introduces us to a memorable cast of eccentrics, asking each the provocative question: What is it like living in a place that--no matter how beautiful--might suddenly, while you opened the cereal, combed your hair, or bathed the baby, strike you dead? "VIVID AND CONTINUALLY SURPRISING . . . The author has an unerring ability to search out exactly the right despoiler, utopian, or local eccentric to illuminate the history and character of each stop along the way." --The New Yorker |
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Page 31
... Town had trendy restaurants and a vast storefront kids ' gym . When I asked the proprietors of Old Town stores why they had moved here , they rattled off the predictable reasons - crowding , crime , pollution , freeways , bland suburbs ...
... Town had trendy restaurants and a vast storefront kids ' gym . When I asked the proprietors of Old Town stores why they had moved here , they rattled off the predictable reasons - crowding , crime , pollution , freeways , bland suburbs ...
Page 57
... town , and shopped on Main Street . Ferndale's charm depended on it being ringed with pastures , and if these were lost to sprawl the town would become less appealing . What had ruined other cute small towns was " too many people moving ...
... town , and shopped on Main Street . Ferndale's charm depended on it being ringed with pastures , and if these were lost to sprawl the town would become less appealing . What had ruined other cute small towns was " too many people moving ...
Page 371
... town atmosphere . " He was concerned this might " limit our horizons somewhat , " and was inappropriate for a town about to ap- prove construction of housing tracts containing thousands of new homes . The vice chairwoman suggested ...
... town atmosphere . " He was concerned this might " limit our horizons somewhat , " and was inappropriate for a town about to ap- prove construction of housing tracts containing thousands of new homes . The vice chairwoman suggested ...
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1906 earthquake Angeles asked Beach become believed Berkland Bodega Bay Bolinas bought Bruff building café called camp County Daly City damage death Desert Desert Hot Springs drove earth earthquake lights Eureka eyes filled Filoli fire friends front gang garlic Gate ground hair highway Hollister Holy City houses Humboldt Humboldt County hundred imagined Indian Jim Berkland kids knew land later Leona Valley lived Loma Prieta looked Mendocino miles mountains moved Murphy named neighbors never newspaper Pacific Palm Springs Palmdale Park Parkfield photographs prediction quake ranchers redwood residents Ritter Ranch road San Andreas Fault San Francisco San Juan Santa Cruz Sea Ranch seismic shacks showed someone stopped story street teenagers television thought told Tomales tourists town trees turned USGS walked wanted watching week weekend Wiyot woman wondered