New Book Releases

Name: Around Boron
Brand: Barbara J. Pratt
SKU: 9780738569437
Price: 24.99 USD
Availability: InStock

We’re always on the hunt for the next great American history book. When we find it, you’ll see about it here, with our new book releases. We release new history books each month in a variety of subjects and series. Browse through all of our newest titles below, and discover your next favorite history book at Arcadia Publishing! [View all New Book Releases]

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Around Boron

9780738569437

$24.99

In the late 1920s, this high desert area with little water and unproductive soil held no attraction for most people, but the small community of Amargo provided a grocery store, gas station, and of course a saloon for the convenience of tenacious gold and borax prospectors. In 1938, after the large deposit of borax was discovered and mining had begun, a town hall meeting was called and Le Roy Osborne, supervisor of Pacific Coast Borax Company, suggested changing the name from Amargo to Boron. Boron is the fifth element on the periodic table and combines with other nonmetallic minerals to form a family of related minerals called borates; after this was explained to those gathered at the town hall meeting, Boron was unanimously chosen as its new name and the community was forever linked to the borax mining industry.

Seaside

9780738569819

$24.99

Seaside's local history is unique and in many ways a microcosm of the ethnic mosaic that is California. Situated on the Monterey Bay, this working-class community of approximately 33,000 was incorporated in 1954; it was a typical military town, tied to Fort Ord, until the closure of the base in 1994. Seaside was home to a variety of ethnic groups, but after World War II, the city experienced a surge of immigration by African Americans associated with the military. Today the city is witness to another demographic shift symbolic of the state's changing face, as Mexican immigrants and their children now form the largest minority group in Seaside. Over the years, the city has continued to grow and attract new residents and visitors with its friendly community and striking coastal location.

Carlsbad

9780738569925

$24.99

Once a small coastal community known for avocados and flower fields, Carlsbad has grown into a sprawling suburban city, with a small beach-town feel that still maintains ties to its roots. The discovery of its mineral wells in 1885, and the subsequent naming of the city after the famed European spa in Karlsbad, Bohemia, put Carlsbad on the map as a world-class resort destination. Miles of beautiful beaches, and three lagoons located within its boundaries, have shaped Carlsbad into a recreational destination as well. The Flower Fields, with vibrant rows of colorful ranunculus, now serves as a reminder of the past and a link to the future, as shopping and businesses have grown up around them, helping Carlsbad evolve into the diverse, progressive city it is today.

San Ramon Valley:

9780738530819

$24.99

The San Ramon Valley stretches for 20 beautiful miles under the shadow of Mount Diablo and includes the bustling communities of San Ramon, Alamo, and Danville. Some 113,000 people make their homes here in a scenic area of open spaces, gracious homes, and tree-lined streets. Also here are major business hubs and the winding Interstate 680 freeway. Of course, this valley wasn't always so populous. In the 1850s, while nearby San Francisco boomed and Oakland grew up, this valley remained rural. Mount Diablo became an important early survey marker during California's gold rush, but only in recent decades have the early ranchos and small villages given way to the modern cities we know today.

Lodi

9780738569246

$24.99

Originally founded as the town of Mokelumne in 1869, Lodi formed when a group of settlers persuaded the Central Pacific Railroad to build a route from Sacramento to Stockton through their land. Mokelumne changed its name to Lodi in 1874 and incorporated as a city in 1906. Described early on as the queen city of the San Joaquin Valley, the Lodi area quickly boomed into an agricultural powerhouse, its fertile soil producing wheat, watermelons, orchards, and wine grapes. Laura DeForce Gordon, the second female lawyer in California, called Lodi home, as did winemaking pioneer Robert Mondavi. Lodi is also the birthplace of A&W Root Beer, first sold by Roy Allen at his drugstore on Pine Street. Today Lodi boasts over 75,000 acres of vineyards and 60 wineries, producing over 40 percent of California's zinfandel grapes and making this town the zinfandel capital of the world.

Encino

9780738569918

$24.99

The San Fernando Valley area that became the modern city of Encino has gone through a surprisingly international sequence of ownership, beginning with Native American tribes, then the Spanish and Californios, followed by the French, Basques, and Americans. In the post-World War II boom, Encino became an affluent enclave of those who portrayed all of the above on the screen: Hollywood movie and television stars. Encino originated around an artesian spring that served for several thousand years as the gathering place of three tribes: the Fernandeño, Tongva, and Chumash. This spring, which was documented in Fr. Juan Crespi's diary during the Portola Expedition in 1769, today still provides water within the grounds of Los Encinos State Historic Park. El encino is Spanish for "the oak," and the area was so named for the vast panorama of oak groves covering it.