City Lights Books transfers@onixsuite.com 20130918 eng

COM.ONIXSUITE.9781931404099 03 01 City Lights Books 01 GCOI 87286100373190 02 1931404097 03 9781931404099 15 9781931404099 BC 1 A01 Frank, Dana Dana Frank Dana Frank grew up in Los Altos, California and graduated from what is now Mountain View High School in 1974. She attended the University of California, Santa Cruz, from which she received a B.A. in American Studies in 1978. In 1980 she moved to New Haven, Connecticut, to attend graduate school in American Studies at Yale University. She received her MA in 1982 and her Ph.D. in 1988, with an emphasis on US labor and women's history. She received the George Washington Eggleston Prize for best dissertation in US History. During her years at Yale she was active in solidarity work with the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees union representing Yale clerical, technical, and blue-collar workers; she also served on the Executive Board of the Union for Radical Political Economics. In 1987-88 she taught history at the State University of New York, Binghamton and from 1988-90 at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.<br /> <br /> In 1991 she returned to Santa Cruz to teach at the University of California, Santa Cruz, in the American Studies Department (to 2002) and then History Department. <br /> <br /> Franks research topics included but were not limited to U.S. social and cultural history, labor history, gender studies, working-class history and culture, comparative ethnic studies, contemporary political economy, and modern Central America. 01 eng 24 Internet CL Hierarchy California Writers 24 Internet CL Hierarchy San Francisco Literature & History 24 Internet CL Hierarchy Travel 01 <P>"Dana Frank is the kind of smart and funny friend you'd want on any roadtrip. I love this totally original take on some of my favorite spots in Northern California. " -- Beth Lisick, author of <em>Everybody into the Pool</em> and the forthcoming <em>Helping Me Helping Myself</em> <P></P> <P>"Historian Dana Frank has given us an exquisitely crafted narrative delving into the mysteries of childhood California haunts, in the process producing a fine California cultural and economic history, reminiscent of Joan Didion's California work." Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, author of several memoirs including <em>Red Dirt: Growing Up Okie</em><br /> <br /> </p> <P>A Bay Area historians nostalgic journey to a series of four local daytrip sites takes an unexpected turn as she explores the mysterious draw of these places. Childhood memories, anecdotes and urban myths lead to interviews and scholarly research as she investigates the hidden stories and surprises both historical and intellectual that she encounters along the way. Whats revealed tells us much about the politics of history and the ways in which history is embedded in the landscape of everyday life. <br /> <br /> Writing in a personal, humorous and engaging style, Dana Frank brings the reader along on her process of discovery. Full of surprises and plot twists along the way, her adventures are quirky, fun and informative. The tension between private memory and public history draws us deeper and deeper into each investigation, and small places in California come to symbolize larger political questions in the United States. <br /> <br /> A combination of memoir, local history, and reflections on culture, politics and the politics of history-making, <em>Local Girl</em> is heavily illustrated with photos, news clippings and memorabilia. Each essay is also accompanied by a map and driving directions for those who will no doubt become inspired to make their own pilgrimages.<br /> <br /> <br /> Dana Frank grew up in Los Altos, California and has lived in Santa Cruz most of her life. Since 1991 she has taught at University of California, Santa Cruz in the American Studies and History Departments. She is the author of several books, and has long been active in labor solidarity work.</p> 02 A Bay Area historian's nostalgic journey to childhood tourist attractions reveals their hidden stories and universal relevance. 04 <p> Chapter 1: "Redwood Empires"<br /> A visit to the 2,000 year-old redwood slice on display at Big Basin Redwoods State Park. Frank traces the narrative of imperialism inscribed on its rings.<br /> <br /> Chapter 2: "Clan of the Cave Train Ride"<br /> Frank visits the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk's Cave Train Ride to find out who the "Cave People" might be, and interviews the Boardwalk's designers, builders, and riders.<br /> <br /> Chapter 3: "Upstairs, Downstairs at The Cats"<br /> A visit to the two "Stone Cats" by Highway 17 in Los Gatos. Frank presents an exposé of the Bohemian poets who erected "The Cats" in the 1920s and their relationship with their Italian immigrant servants.<br /> <br /> Chapter 4: "I Heard it Through the Pulgas Water Temple"<br /> A visit to the Pulgas Water Temple, up the San Francisco Peninsula by Highway 280 on Crystal Springs Reservoir. Frank discusses urban myths about the temple and its relationship to the legendary Hetch Hetchy water system.</p> 08 "There's a lot of humor in Frank's book, quite a few opinions, gobs of interviews, and, of course, plenty of history. . . . Each of the book's chapters is a mixed bag of fun and serious study."Chris Watson Santa Cruz Sentinel 08 "A wacky, illuminating exploration of the political and cultural currents swirling around four public monuments.<br /> <br /> Lurking behind even the most seemingly innocent object is a story of power and exploitation, avers self-styled radical historian Frank (History/Univ. of Calif., Santa Cruz; <em>Bananeras: Women Transforming the Banana Unions of Latin America</em>, 2005, etc.). She opens with a dazzling consideration of the redwood trunk that has long attracted tourists to Big Basin Redwoods State Park. In the 1950s, someone added date markers connecting some of the redwoods rings to great historical eventsalmost all of which, Frank notes, involved 'conquest, invasions, or expansion.' The preservationists who campaigned to save the redwood trees from extinction 'projected onto these innocent treesthe notion of human history as the rise and fall of civilizations.' Many of them were also eugenicists, urging Americans to practice 'selective breeding' in order to create a fit race that could lead the world. Another fascinating chapter looks at Santa Cruzs Cave Train Ride, a childs amusement-park entertainment with an adult cult following. Built in 1961, the ride features cavemen and cavewomen playing cards and hanging out at the Laundromat. Frank sensitively examines the race and gender scripts on which these vignettes draw, shedding light along the way on such diverse cultural icons as <em>The Flintstones</em>, <em>Lil Abner </em>and <em>Clan of the Cave Bear</em>. The final two sections are more predictable. Franks investigation of two giant stone cats along Californias Highway 17 quickly leads her into a saga of 'the unequal politics of history' as embodied in the relationship between the wealthy couple that commissioned the sculptures and their domestic servants. Her discussion of the Pulgas Water Temple at the Crystal Springs Reservoir focuses unsurprisingly on its function as 'a charming but powerful pawn in the grand scheme of Californias environmental politics.' Nonetheless, Franks personal engagement and punchy prose enliven even the slighter chapters.<br /> <br /> Will delight nostalgic Californiansand make all readers think differently about the monuments in their own towns." Kirkus Reviews 04 03 72 01 http://www.citylights.com/resources/titles/87286100373190/images/87286100373190L.jpg 07 03 72 01 http://www.citylights.com/resources/titles/87286100373190/images/87286100373190S.jpg http://www.citylights.com/book/?GCOI=87286100373190 City Lights Foundation Books 01 City Lights Foundation Books 20071001 08 16 oz City Lights Books 01 WORLD 20 20071001 01 02 16.95 USD