Name: African Americans of San Jose and Santa Clara County
Brand: Jan Batiste Adkins
SKU: 9781467102438
Price: 24.99 USD
Availability: InStock

African Americans of San Jose and Santa Clara County

9781467102438

$24.99

The rich history of people of African heritage in the Santa Clara Valley began as early as 1777, and in the 1800s, a lively black community took root. By the Great Migration in the 1900s, neighborhoods in San Jose, Palo Alto, and Santa Clara became home to many African Americans from Southern and Midwest states who were seeking new opportunities. By the 1960s, African Americans found jobs in the emerging technology industry, at Ford Motor Company, and in public service agencies. African Americans pursued degrees at San Jose State College (SJSC), the University of Santa Clara, Stanford University, and community colleges located in the Santa Clara Valley. SJSC's athletic programs opened the door for student athletes, while Dr. Harry Edwards, John Carlos, and Tommy Smith took on civil rights challenges. The complicated history of the black community throughout Santa Clara County has mirrored the nation's slow progress towards social and economic success. This progress is captured in the presented images chronicling individual stories of political struggle, success, and triumph.

African Americans of San Jose and Santa Clara County

Los Angeles Art Deco

9780738530277

$24.99

Art Deco made its formal appearance in Paris at the 1925 L'Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes, a showcase for art, architecture, and design that promoted progress, modernity, and the present. The greatest export from this exhibition was a style that has since been recognized as one of the great design movements of the 20th century. Art Deco's growing recognition coincided with the growth of Los Angeles as the entertainment capital. Between world wars, the city's architecture sprouted characteristic signs of Art Deco: the interplay of vertical and horizontal features, geometric shapes, use of exotic and modern materials, as well as simplified streamlined forms. This volume's marvelous collection of images celebrates Los Angeles's Art Deco heritage, showcasing such structures as Bullock's Wilshire, Sunset Tower, the Oviatt Penthouse, the Wiltern and Pantages Theatres, and many, many more.

Cover image for Los Angeles Art Deco, isbn: 9780738530277

Irvine

9780738575759

$24.99

The story of Irvine goes back more than 200 years, to a time when it was a vast, sprawling ranch extending from the brush-covered foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains to the dramatic bluffs of the Pacific coast. Since that time, the Irvine Ranch has experienced a revolutionary change from pastoral wide-open spaces to one of the most successful planned communities in the nation. All along the way, there were people whose vision shaped the transformation of Irvine. Among them were the members of the Irvine family, who for nearly a century were stewards of a ranch that amounted to more than one-fifth of modern-day Orange County. The Irvine of today owes its success to the ideals from its past: the determination to develop the immense potential of the land while still preserving its natural beauty.

Niles, Fremont

9780738529127

$24.99

Beautiful Niles Canyon in Fremont is a chosen spot. Jose de Jesus Vallejo chose it for the first mill town in Alta California, Joaquin Murieta slept here, and Leland Stanford chose it in 1869 for the last leg of the transcontinental railroad, the true "last spike" of the line linking the Atlantic to the Pacific. The home of the largest nursery in the West, Niles could also boast the first gravel mines in California and fine Art Deco tile production. In 1912 world famous Essanay Studios chose the oak-studded hills of Niles Canyon as the location for some of the most famous silent films of all time, including Charlie Chaplin's The Tramp, and the first Wild West movie stars strutted the dusty streets of Niles.

Wrangell

9780738574981

$24.99 $12.50 Save 50%

Wrangell is named after Baron Ferdinand von Wrangell of the Russian American Company, who was charged with extending Russia's fur trade into Southeast Alaska. To that end, he ordered a fort to be established in 1833, on Wrangell Island near the mouth of the Stikine River. The Stikine Tlingit Indians, who were scattered in villages nearby, moved closer to take advantage of fur trading opportunities. In 1839, the fort passed into the hands of the British Hudson's Bay Company. With the purchase of Alaska in 1867, the need was urgent to enforce the United States' presence in its recently acquired territory. An American fort was built, which the US Army occupied during a series of gold rushes, ending with the Klondike Rush in 1898. Wrangell began to grow beyond its boom-and-bust origins during the 20th century, becoming a thriving hub for lumber, fishing, and mining, as well as the newly minted tourist industry.

Honolulu Television

9781467127585

$24.99 $12.50 Save 50%

Honolulu Television celebrates 65 years of local broadcasting in the islands. Test patterns first appeared on local station KONA, and soon after, KGMB broadcast Carl "Kini Popo" Hebenstreit's first words on air on December 1, 1952. Honolulu has had a wealth of colorful personalities grace its airwaves. Sheriff Ken, Lucky Luck, Chubby Roland, Captain Honolulu, and Checkers & Pogo are just some of the names and shows that entertained island viewers back in the day, when there were few choices on the dial. Some Honolulu television personalities would get their start here and move on to national and network television stardom, like famed sports broadcaster Al Michaels; Ken Kashiwahara, the last journalist remaining on scene at the Fall of Saigon; and Doug Bruckner, a longtime correspondent for Hard Copy, A Current Affair, and Extra syndicated entertainment and television news magazine shows.

El Cerrito

9780738530284

$24.99

El Cerrito, Spanish for "Little Hill," is a bustling and modern community today, sandwiched between Albany and Richmond along busy San Pablo Avenue. Quaint houses in the hills look down upon an active commercial strip with two BART stations and over the bayfront, where warehouses and processing plants in neighboring Richmond hum night and day. But as modern it is, El Cerrito has roots that run deep. In the early 1900s, only about 1,500 people lived in these hills, then a scruffy cattle-grazing enclave known as Rust. Founder William Rust had a blacksmith shop at the site of the present-day Pastime Hardware. Soon the name was changed to El Cerrito. A tax was levied on the 20- odd saloons scattered through town so that streets could be paved and a modern city administration could be set up. The town grew steadily, especially in the postwar boom years, and today houses roughly 23,000 people in a pleasant and sylvan bayside environment.

San Francisco

9780738529875

$24.99

The "real" San Francisco lies below the streets, sidewalks, and buildings, hidden from view. This famous city is known for its beautiful setting of water, trees, hills, and beaches, but relatively few people know of its true natural state. Before it
was built up and paved over, the earth here was a diverse ecosystem of creeks, marshes, sand dunes, estuaries, and densely forested hills. Over this landscape roamed elk, rabbit, bears, bobcat, and mountain lion, and the now-crowded bayfront teemed with mollusks, otters, dolphins, and whales, while huge flocks of birds blocked out the sun overhead. Today, only about two percent of the city's natural areas remain as they were.

Vons Grocery Company

9781467130905

$24.99

In 1906, the downtown area of Los Angeles was fundamentally a small town when Charles Von der Ahe opened his little Groceteria on the corner of Seventh and Figueroa Streets using $1,200 in savings. It was a neighborhood store that catered to the needs of local families, where Von der Ahe pioneered "cash and carry," replacing the "charge and delivery" way of thinking. Its expansion and innovation over the next 90 years was legendary, growing to more than 325 stores and 30,000 employees. This book focuses on the legacy of this great company, its visionary leaders, and its dedicated employees who made it the number one grocery retailer in Southern California.

Lost Fort Ellis

9781626199798

$21.99

Established in 1867 in the Gallatin Valley of Montana, Fort Ellis played a key role in the development of the Montana frontier. From post commanders attacking the town to restoring order when riotous mobs got out of control, explore the ambivalent, albeit contentious, relationship from 1867 to 1886 between the civilians and soldiers in whimsical but dramatic fashion. Competing visions of economic and military conditions on the frontier led to a complex relationship that has all the drama of a Hollywood western. Join MSU–Billings history professor Dr. Thomas C. Rust as he examines the fort's impact on the social and economic development of early Bozeman, the problems of military command and the dynamics of the soldier-civilian interaction on Montana's frontier.

Sports of Santa Cruz County

9781467130073

$24.99

Its inviting climate, enticing rugged mountains, and welcoming beaches have always made Santa Cruz County a haven for athletic activities. A wide variety of sporting endeavors, some beyond the norm, have called Santa Cruz home over the decades. In the 19th century, Santa Cruz served as a springboard for modern surfing. It was an early bastion for organized baseball, too, beginning in the 1860s, and it was home to a series of professional teams as early as the 1870s. Other colorful athletic activities took place here (including fire hose teams, long-distance walking, and bicycling), along with more traditional American sports like basketball, football, boxing, and tennis. The region boasts of a strong tradition of women athletes as well, in particular Marion Hollins, perhaps the greatest all-around woman athlete of the early 20th century.

Palm Springs Golf:

9781626199637

$21.99

Against a dramatic background of desert mountains, the sparkling green fairways of the Coachella Valley have attracted world-class golf tournaments, athletes and dignitaries for decades. In the 1920s, enterprising oil tycoon Tom O'Donnell built one of the first nine-hole courses in Palm Springs, and the area was a hangout for Hollywood's elite by the 1940s and '50s. Bob Hope's namesake PGA Tour event became a mainstay, while Bing Crosby, Dinah Shore, the Marx Brothers, Marilyn Monroe and more frequented over the years. Today, the valley is a renowned perennial golf destination boasting over 120 courses and exceptional resorts. Follow award-winning local golf columnist Larry Bohannan as he recounts the storied history of the game under the desert palms.

Early Redlands

9781467130677

$24.99

Redlands saw rapid town building from 1880 to 1920, with an expanding citrus industry and a growing, energetic populace. Many early residents came for their health and for the mild winters. These included the wealthy, who brought immediate income to a small town, introducing beautiful mansions, parks, and philanthropic investment. This economic boon allowed over 30 professional photographers to come and go in this young town, producing the legacy of high-quality photographs that illustrate this book. Tourism created the need for souvenir photographs, schools meant graduation pictures, and business promotion demanded commercial views. Walk through the life of days gone by into the stores, neighborhoods, homes, schools, and town entertainment in Early Redlands. A chapter is provided to help other communities locate their local photographers while sharing the rich history of Redlands.

San Diego Baseball Fantography

9781467131698

$24.99

No sport provides a better opportunity to document the fan experience than baseball. Fantography: San Diego Baseball features amateur photographs taken by real fans--ballpark memories that often reach beyond the game-winning hit or strikeout pitch. Within these pages is an assortment of images that peers into the Padres' Pacific Coast League days, the early years of struggling in the National League, the 1984 World Series season, and its recent years. Featured are household names like Tony Gwynn, Jerry Coleman, and Trevor Hoffman, as well as more forgotten players, managers, broadcasters, and ballparks. These are your snapshots, and they are from your personal albums. These images are accompanied by many Padres stories--your stories--that have never before seen print.

Bozeman

9780738548449

$24.99

Surrounded by dramatic mountain ranges, Bozeman is an impressive city with a remarkable past. The land that would become Bozeman and the Gallatin Valley was cherished by Native Americans for its fertile soil, plentiful water, and bountiful hunting grounds. During the 1800s, pioneers traveling on the Bozeman Trail hailed the lush valley as a welcome oasis. While gold lured many to the region, it was
the abundant natural resources and the beauty of the landscape that persuaded them to settle here. Although miners once flooded the area in search of riches, many found their fortunes in the black gold of coal, in agriculture, or in local businesses. Bozeman owes its existence to the dogged determination of the first settlers, and it managed to retain that hardy pioneer spirit even as it evolved into a modern town. Present-day Main Street and downtown still showcase the historic architecture of early Bozeman and preserve its unique legacy.

San Lorenzo

9780738546933

$21.99

San Lorenzo has been a desirable place to live since 1847, when squatters built their cabins on the north side of San Lorenzo Creek, then part of two Mexican ranchos. When landowners could not evict their unwanted guests, the settlement known as Squatterville grew into a town at Four Corners, now the intersection of Hesperian and Lewelling Boulevards. Named San Lorenzo in 1854, over the next 90 years it developed into a close-knit rural community. The great shipyard boom during World War II brought many new families to one of the first self-contained communities of tract homes in the nation, initially developed by David D. Bohannon. This tract, San Lorenzo Village, helped swell the population of this unincorporated area, striving to hold its own between the urban encroachment of San Leandro and Hayward.

Cemeteries of Carson City and Carson Valley

9780738581064

$24.99

In Roughing It, Mark Twain wrote that "in order to know a community, one must observe the style of its funerals and know what manner of men they bury with most ceremony." Many of Nevada's most prominent pioneers can be found by visiting the historic cemeteries of Carson City and Carson Valley. A visit to the final resting sites of the pioneers of the Silver State, some dating from the 1850s, will readily provide the confirmation of Twain's statement. Those buried with "the most ceremony" include governors, stagecoach drivers, business owners, soldiers, desperados, and lawmen. Headstones with biographical epitaphs and symbolic expressions of grief are often the only record that still exists to provide a glimpse into a community's history or the lives of the individuals who forged Nevada from the sagebrush. Many locations are readily accessible to visit, while others are not. The sites presented here provide an overview of the state's pioneers and their role in the history of Nevada.

Cemeteries of Carson City and Carson Valley

Delano Area

9780738502472

$24.99

Delano's roots began when the first white man came into contact with the Yokuts of the San Joaquin Valley. Further development came as the Southern Pacific Railroad attempted to connect San Francisco with Bakersfield and the rails east. At the end of the track, Delano became a boom town overnight, a shipping center for sheep, cattle, and gold. This collection illustrates the Delano area's history from 1776 to 1930, touching on an 1891 train robbery by the famous outlaws, the Dalton brothers, introducing the reader to the Jack Rabbit King of Kern County, and exploring the kindling pioneer spirit of men and women struggling against the elements to build a life out of the wilderness surrounding Delano. Small neighboring settlements that were influential in Delano's growth and development are also featured here, including Famosa, McFarland, Pond, Alpaugh, Pixley, Terra Bella, Columbine, Richgrove, Ducor, Earlimart, Jasmine, Allensworth, Rag Gulch, California Hot Springs, and Woody.

Northwestern Pacific Railroad

9781467130622

$24.99

The year 2014 marks the centennial of the completion of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad (NWP), celebrated by driving a "golden spike" at Cain Rock in October 1914. This achievement was the culmination of a massive, six-year engineering effort to connect rail lines ending at Willits with the early lumber company railroads of the Humboldt Bay region. When it was completed, the NWP linked Eureka with San Francisco by rail, a milestone in the history of Humboldt and Northern Mendocino Counties. This book examines the impact of the NWP on Northwestern California. Although no longer operational, the railroad today symbolizes the ongoing struggle to connect this isolated region with the wider world.

Capitola

9780738596907

$24.99

School is out and temperatures nudge the triple digits as a great migration begins. Each year, inhabitants of California's sweltering interior valleys journey to the coast. Here, they dash toward the surf and sprawl contentedly in the cool mists of a summer day at the beach in Capitola. Some have made this trip annually all their lives. Parents and grandparents owned or rented cabins on streets named for the stifling cities they had just left, like Stockton, Sacramento, and San Jose. Opening on July 4, 1874, Capitola is "The Oldest Camping Ground on the Pacific Coast." Its visionary owner, German immigrant Frederick Hihn, shaped the grounds in European style, wound up to run as efficiently as a German clock. As the resort progressed from a tent camp into a dignified Victorian retreat by the sea, its character similarly advanced. Incorporating as a city in 1949, Capitola reached its 75th birthday as a tidy village of historic cottages, beach-oriented shops, and esplanade concessions bordering a seasonal lagoon.

University of the Pacific

9781467107068

$23.99 $12.00 Save 50%

Located in the Central Valley in the city of Stockton, California, the University of the Pacific has thrived. Founded in Santa Clara in 1851, the university moved to College Park in 1871 and then Stockton in 1924, and it now has campuses in Sacramento and San Francisco. Pacific is considered to hold many firsts in California, including being the first chartered university, the first music conservatory, and the first university to open its doors to women. University of the Pacific's mission is to provide a superior, student-centered learning experience integrating liberal arts and professional education and preparing individuals for lasting achievement and responsible leadership in their careers and communities.

Point Arena Lighthouse

9780738599663

$24.99

The low rumbles of the fog signal and flashing beam of light from the powerful lens have guided mariners away from the perilous waters surrounding Point Arena Lighthouse since 1870. After the great earthquake in 1906 and the rebuilding of the tower in 1908, Point Arena's navigational aids continued to warn ships away from the peninsula off Northern California's Pacific coastline. The original tower was replaced with a concrete cylindrical tower that rises 115 feet from the headland. This became the first lighthouse tower in the United States constructed with materials found to be superior to the stone and masonry lighthouse structures of the past. The new tower, crowned with a nearly 13,000-pound first-order Fresnel lens, sent a beam of light 20 miles out to sea and continued alerting ships of the dangers just offshore.

Hiking Lake Tahoe

9781467148603

$23.99

The history of Lake Tahoe, nestled in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, stretches far beyond its shores. Travel back in time on more than two dozen hikes, from short lakeside trails used by the Washoe People to all-day trips exploring the abandoned shelters left behind by early mapmakers. Visit the remains of one of California's most violent towns and the ruins of a lighthouse built in the early twentieth century when travel by boat was preferred over driving treacherous roads. Discover the legend of "Hermit Isle" and walk in the footsteps of the earliest pioneers. Join author and hiker Suzie Dundas as she dives deep into the history of Tahoe's scenic trails.

California’s Capitol Corridor

9781467124171

$24.99

The "Capitol Corridor" is the name of the Amtrak passenger train route between California's capital, Sacramento, and San Jose, the state's first capital upon admission to the Union in 1850. The scenery between these two areas highlights vastly different land uses; examples include an industrialized shoreline covered with a forest of petroleum refineries, urban areas transitioning from industrial to residential use, and a wildlife refuge disturbed only by the passage of trains. The Capitol Corridor is now an integral part of the transportation scene in Northern California. Since 1991, its equipment and infrastructure have evolved to keep pace with technology as well as the area's dynamic economic and social environment.

Tehama County

9781467117456

$24.99

Tehama County--its name is a mystery but its sense of place is not. The county portrays a friendly Norman Rockwell-like America, with everything from May Day picnics and parades to fall harvests, rugged lumbermen, tough cowboys, and rodeo roundups. Carved out of three Northern California counties in 1856, Tehama County is largely rural, with fertile open spaces dominated by ranching and agriculture. To the east and west are lofty mountains and deep-set canyons sculpted by fast-moving streams to delight recreationists. These streams tumble into the mighty Sacramento River that courses through the middle of the county on its way to the Pacific Ocean. While rural, Tehama County has a rich and colorful heritage reflected in its people. Some of the more notable residents have included Ishi, a Yahi Indian considered the last of his people; William B. Ide, commander in chief of the brief Bear Flag Republic; and railroad magnate and governor of California, Leland Stanford, who built the largest vineyard and brandy distillery in the world here.

Newhall

9780738580258

$24.99

Newhall's many firsts include the first gold discovery in California and the first commercially successful oil well, which led to the first pipeline and oil refinery in California. Some of the earliest movie location filming was done here. First recorded by Juan Crespi on the Sacred Expedition of 1769, the Little Santa Clara Valley was recognized by the Spanish as an important junction between the mountain ranges separating Northern and Southern California. The early city fathers of Los Angeles saw the settlement of Newhall as an integral part of their strategy for growth from the days of the stagecoach and railroad through to the building of Ridge Route and Interstate 5. This book tells the story of the town that never quite lived up to its potential but still managed a varied history with a colorful cast rivaling those of the movies filmed here.

Wicked Coeur d'Alene

9781467149129

$21.99

Wicked Coeur d'Alene recounts the violent conflict and lascivious mischief in the town's early years. Newspapers echo accounts of desperate gamblers, prostitutes and prospectors who did everything they could to secure their own future--at all costs. Town druggist Mr. Salis Smith concocted medicine composed of 50 percent alcohol mixed with cocaine or opium for the despondent. Characters like Bootleg Mary or murderous Fatty Carroll, notorious for employing shallow graves, populate dark tales of hushed murders, illegal gambling and corrupt politics. From bloody mining disputes to outlaw train robberies, author Deborah Cuyle recounts the sordid, salacious and sinful sides of Lake City's past.

Apple Valley

9781467106825

$23.99 $12.00 Save 50%

Like the endless layers of desert sand, Apple Valley visionaries invented and reinvented their desert canvas for more than 100 years. The history-making milestones of Apple Valley's pioneers are kept alive through the efforts of loyal and dedicated descendant families' memories and photographs, along with the constant help of local history aficionados. Contributions from our desert's memory-keepers mark the cornerstones of Apple Valley history and the genius minds of its creators.

Historic Tales of Whoop-Up Country

9781467146449

$23.99

Withdrawal of the mighty Hudson Bay Company from present-day Alberta and Saskatchewan created a lawless environment with new economic opportunities. A cross-border trading bond arose with growing steamboat mercantile center Fort Benton in Montana Territory. In 1870, Montana traders Johnny Healy and Al Hamilton moved across the Medicine Line and built Fort Whoop-Up. It established the two-hundred-mile Whoop-Up Trail from Fort Benton, through Blackfoot lands, to the Belly River near today’s Lethbridge. Over the next decade, the buffalo robe trade flourished with the Blackfoot, as did violence. The turmoil forced the creation of Canada’s North West Mounted Police, tasked with closing down the whiskey trade and evicting the Montana traders. Award-winning historian Ken Robison brings to life this dramatic story.

Cover image for Historic Tales of Whoop-Up Country, isbn: 9781467146449

Davis California 1910s-1940s

9780738501512

$24.99

Founded in 1868, Davis''s history is divided into an
initial '"village'" period (1860s'-1900s), a middle
four-decade '"town'" period (1910s'-1940s), and a
current and on-going '"city'" period (1950s to present). Much of what people think of as quintessential '"Davis'" was created in the middle, town period. About 1910 and with the start of the University of California experimental farm, Davis began to grow and become a striving and thriving town. Focusing on the four decades of the 1910s to the 1940s, this book contains over two hundred images of Davis, including downtown streetscapes and businesses, public events and gatherings, prominent families and homes, churches, government, the Old East, Old North, and College Park neighborhoods, schools, and the University Farm.

Idyllwild and the High San Jacintos

9780738559858

$24.99

Southern California's hidden treasure lies in the San Jacinto Mountains. Capped by the last 10,000-foot peaks on the way to Mexico, these mountains have enriched human lives for centuries. Discovered by loggers in 1876, partially stripped of their trees during California's first population boom in the 1880s, then protected by federal edict in 1897, these mountains attracted a special breed of settler. The uncommon village of Idyllwild was created by common people who were enchanted by the surrounding forest wilderness. Isolated here, high above the chaos of modern life, they have preserved a vestige of mid-20th-century small-town America in the woods. This collection of around 200 previously unpublished photographs, including stunning images by the gifted photographers Avery Field and Harry Wendelken, offers glimpses of the paths along which village and wilderness have shaped each other.

The Port of Long Beach

9780738569857

$24.99

Rising from a tidal mudflat at the mouth of the Los Angeles River, the Port of Long Beach has grown through the 20th century into the one of the busiest deepwater ports. The ultramodern Port of Long Beach, the second-largest active harbor in the United States in the first decade of the 21st century, progressed steadily through a difficult adolescence fueled by the ambitions of a visionary few local community leaders who overcame political opposition to create a port separate and distinct from its neighboring Port of Los Angeles. Fueled by oil, Southern California's unprecedented post-World War II growth, and the container revolution, the Port of Long Beach surmounted numerous natural and man-made hurdles to position itself, in its own right, as a critical link in the nation's global supply chain.

Lake Tahoe's West Shore

9780738588919

$24.99 $12.50 Save 50%

First sighted by John C. Fremont and Charles Preuss in 1844, the "Lake of the Sky" beckons to pioneers and adventurers today as it has through history. Author Mark Twain, popular lecturer George Wharton James, industrialist Duane Bliss, and film star Elizabeth
Taylor all found inspiration in its secluded sylvan beaches. Washoe tribal members held Dá'o' a ga ("Edge of the Lake") as their paradise until lumber demands for the Comstock Lode all but stripped the dense forests. Gradually, lakefront property became private retreats and hostelries catering to tourists happily arriving from around the world for winter skiing, summer boating, and holidays.

Santa Rosa, California in Vintage Postcards

9780738502335

$24.99

From the first Rose Carnival in 1864, to the Great Earthquake in 1906, and the building of Highway 101, this book documents the history of Santa Rosa, illuminated in over 200 vintage postcards. Included are postcards of Luther Burbank, horticulturalist and local hero, as well as many views of Fourth Street as it changed and grew with the town.

Santa Rosa, California in Vintage Postcards

Silicon Valley

9780738570938

$24.99

Nestled at the south end of San Francisco Bay, there lies a fertile valley. Cradled by the ancient Diablo and Santa Cruz Mountain ranges, the region spans much of the Santa Clara Valley, curling north from Menlo Park into Palo Alto. At its eastern gateway lies Milpitas and in the south is the Evergreen area, in the shadow of Mount Hamilton. The heart of the valley is San Jose. For many years, each spring, fruit trees produced flower blossoms as far as the eye could see. After World War II, veterans returned home, attended local engineering schools, and quickly became engaged in electronics and aeronautics development. The discovery of semiconductors and computer and Internet technologies radically altered the area, sped its momentum, and earned it its title--the Silicon Valley--now arguably the world's preeminent center for technological advances. Like the seismic waves that created the region, the valley's economic peaks and plunges have shaped the lives of its residents, but they continue to look to the future, developing new technologies to advance mankind.