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Alta California
- From San Diego to San Francisco, a Journey on Foot to Rediscover the Golden State
- Narrated by: Tristan Wright
- Length: 17 hrs and 36 mins
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Publisher's summary
Nick Neely chronicles his 650-mile trek on foot from San Diego to San Francisco, following the route of the first overland Spanish expedition into what was soon called Alta California. Led by Gaspar de Portolá in 1769, the expedition sketched a route that would become, in part, the famous El Camino Real. It laid the foundation for the Golden State we know today, a place that remains as mythical and captivating as any in the world.
Neely grew up in California but realized how little he knew about its history. So he set off to learn it bodily, with just a backpack and a tent, trekking through stretches of California both lonely and urban. For 12 weeks, following the journal of expedition missionary Father Juan Crespí, Neely kept pace with the ghosts of the Portolá expedition - nearly 250 years later.
Weaving together natural and human history, Alta California relives his adventure, tells a story of Native cultures and the Spanish missions that soon devastated them, and explores the evolution of California and its landscape. The result is a collage of historical and contemporary California, of lyricism and pedestrian serendipity, and of the biggest issues facing California today - water, agriculture, oil and gas, immigration, and development - all of it one step at a time.
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A fantastic book! Timothy Egan describes his journeys in the Pacific Northwest through visits to salmon fisheries, redwood forests and the manicured English gardens of Vancouver. Here is a blend of history, anthropology and politics.
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White man bad, capitalism bad
- By Forget about it on 04-15-21
By: Timothy Egan
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The Old Ways
- A Journey on Foot
- By: Robert Macfarlane
- Narrated by: Robin Sachs
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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In this exquisitely written book, Robert Macfarlane sets off from his Cambridge, England, home to follow the ancient tracks, holloways, drove roads, and sea paths that crisscross both the British landscape and its waters and territories beyond. The result is an immersive, enthralling exploration of the ghosts and voices that haunt old paths, of the stories our tracks keep and tell, and of pilgrimage and ritual. Told in Macfarlane’s distinctive voice, The Old Ways folds together natural history, cartography, geology, archaeology, and literature.
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A perfect pairing of prose and narrator
- By chris on 11-05-12
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The Wild Places
- By: Robert Macfarlane
- Narrated by: Simon Bubb
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Are there any genuinely wild places left in Britain and Ireland? Or have we tarmacked, farmed and built ourselves out of wildness? In his vital, bewitching, inspiring classic, Robert Macfarlane sets out in search of the wildness that remains.
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Magical
- By Jennifer on 01-27-22
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Irons in the Fire
- By: John McPhee
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Fabulously entertaining and filled with the intriguing trivia of life, Irons in the Fire is another impeccably crafted collection of seven essays by John McPhee. His peerless writing, punctuated with a sharp sense of humor and fascinating detail, has earned him legions of fans across the country.
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New New Journalism is on Fire
- By Darwin8u on 02-10-15
By: John McPhee
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The Man Who Walked Through Time
- The Story of the First Trip Afoot Through the Grand Canyon
- By: Colin Fletcher
- Narrated by: Matthew Josdal
- Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1963 Colin Fletcher became the first man to walk the length of Grand canyon, below the Rim. It began with a dream, when he and a friend detoured from a cross-country trip to take a hurried look at the great natural wonder. Standing on the Rim, surrounded by the profound and almost mystical silence, Fletcher knew that something had happened to the way he looked at things. He also knew that the Canyon, with its depths and distances, cliffs, buttes, and hanging terraces, beckoned to him, calling him on a journey that would challenge both his body and his mind.
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Eloquent
- By Bill J on 07-20-20
By: Colin Fletcher
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We Stood upon Stars
- Finding God in Lost Places
- By: Roger W. Thompson
- Narrated by: John McLain
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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You are made for freedom and adventure, friendship and romance. Yet too much of your life is spent unfulfilled at work, restless at home, and bored at church. All the while, you know there is something more. You'll find some of life's best moments waiting for you over a campfire, on a river - even in that coffee shop or brewery you didn't know you'd discover along the way. It's time to begin the search.
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Such a good book
- By The Great Bambino on 06-16-21
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House of Rain
- Tracking a Vanished Civilization Across the American Southwest
- By: Craig Childs
- Narrated by: Craig Childs
- Length: 15 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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In this landmark work on the Anasazi tribes of the Southwest, naturalist Craig Childs dives head-on into the mysteries of this vanished people. The various tribes that made up the Anasazi people converged on Chaco Canyon (New Mexico) during the 11th century to create a civilization hailed as "the Las Vegas of its day", a flourishing cultural center that attracted pilgrims from far and wide, and a vital crossroads of the prehistoric world. By the 13th century, however, Chaco's vibrant community had disappeared without a trace.
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Poetic Travel Log
- By Staci Adleman on 01-09-19
By: Craig Childs
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Lasso the Wind
- Away to the New West
- By: Timothy Egan
- Narrated by: John McLain
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Egan leads us on an unconventional, freewheeling tour: from America's oldest continuously inhabited community, the Ancoma Pueblo in New Mexico, to the high kitsch of Lake Havasu City, Arizona, where London Bridge has been painstakingly rebuilt stone by stone; from the fragile beauty of Idaho's Bitterroot Range to the gross excess of Las Vegas, a city built as though in defiance of its arid environment.
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Narrator mispronounces everything
- By Catherine on 01-27-22
By: Timothy Egan
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Sahara
- By: Michael Palin
- Narrated by: Michael Palin
- Length: 6 hrs and 1 min
- Abridged
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Michael Palin is off again, this time to the seemingly desolate Sahara Desert. There's no easy way across, as he and his team discover on their most challenging expedition yet.
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A wonderful journey.
- By David on 05-22-05
By: Michael Palin
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The Turquoise Ledge
- By: Leslie Marmon Silko
- Narrated by: Alma Cuervo
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Leslie Marmon Silko established herself as “the finest prose writer of her generation” (Larry McMurtry) with her debut novel Ceremony, one of the most acclaimed works of the 20th century. Of mixed Laguna Pueblo, Cherokee, Mexican, and white heritage, Silko brings a unique perspective to her powerful works. In this deeply personal and spiritual book, she combines memoirs, traditional storytelling, and ruminations on the natural world.
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Crazy lady talks about aliens, snakes and rocks
- By Justice Campbell on 10-21-17
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The Oregon Trail
- A New American Journey
- By: Rinker Buck
- Narrated by: Rinker Buck
- Length: 16 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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In the best-selling tradition of Bill Bryson and Tony Horwitz, Rinker Buck's The Oregon Trail is a major work of participatory history: an epic account of traveling the entire 2,000-mile length of the Oregon Trail the old-fashioned way, in a covered wagon with a team of mules - which hasn't been done in a century - that also tells the rich history of the trail, the people who made the migration, and its significance to the country.
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An author does not a good narrator make
- By C. Davis on 07-03-15
By: Rinker Buck
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Visit Sunny Chernobyl
- And Other Adventures in the World's Most Polluted Places
- By: Andrew Blackwell
- Narrated by: Ax Norman
- Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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For most of us, traveling means visiting the most beautiful places on Earth - Paris, the Taj Mahal, the Grand Canyon. It’s rare to book a plane ticket to visit the lifeless moonscape of Canada’s oil sand strip mines, or to seek out the Chinese city of Linfen, legendary as the most polluted in the world. But in Visit Sunny Chernobyl, Andrew Blackwell embraces a different kind of travel, taking a jaunt through the most gruesomely polluted places on Earth.
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Better than I predicted
- By Paul Luthi on 08-23-13
By: Andrew Blackwell
What listeners say about Alta California
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Bulk
- 08-02-23
Cali full circle
From the de Portola expedition to current day (and a lot of history in between), the author does a fantastic job explaining paths that we Californians have taken.
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- Kaui
- 05-15-22
A must read for anyone who loves California
I loved this book. It was tough to get into at the start, because of the density of facts embedded in eloquent, evocative prose. The prose carried me along and then, after a sentence or two, I'd have to go back to grok the facts that I missed. After a while, though, I was able to both enjoy his prose and absorb the facts in my first reading. The chapters are arranged by region, and by lucky happenstance I got to listen to Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo as I drove from the Bay Area down to Santa Barbara, and i was able to listen to the Santa Cruz and San Mateo chapters on my way home. The author ended the book on a contemplative afternoon in Palo Alto. As a longtime Bay Area resident this book resonated with me on so many levels. This is my most recent book in the "conservationist" genre I have dubbed for books that describe our planet with such loving respect that my hope is that there cannot be but an increase in awareness and stewardship. It is worth noting that Neely's tone is never proselytizing or condescending. Throughout, he emanates wonder, appreciation and contentment with his surroundings. This is truly a historian's read and for those of you who are that, I highly recommend! (side note: the narrator is a bit dry but you will get used to him over time)
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- moneylover22
- 10-26-22
Alta California
The story was good. But the translations from spanish to english were hard to understand. Could have used a bilingual narrator for this story.
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- bonnie storm
- 04-28-24
The history
I loved the story being a native Californian growing up in Sonoma where the last of the missions was located and being surrounded with the stories of General Mariano Vallejo But the mispronunciations of the narrator drove me crazy! Not only Spanish errors but English language got butchered. I finished the book but it was painful.
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- Marsha
- 04-17-21
Alta amazing
This is one if the most interesting stories. The author got very detailed and really brought this book alive. All California residents or those born and raised in California should read the history of the state. Even if you are not a California person, it would make a great read of a one mans journey to relive the beginning of a beautiful state. The author is to be complimented in the detail and desire to learn about the beginnings of California and how important the missions were.
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1 person found this helpful
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- audible customer
- 08-28-21
Unique and wonderful
This is the sort of book I’ve always wanted to read. There is a particular pleasure in reading a book by someone with whom I have some things in common: I’m just few years older than the author, I grew up in and have spent 3/4 of my life in California where I did lots of hiking, camping, botanizing, and long distance running. Also like the author, I moved out of state some years ago and my knowledge of the Indigenous Californian peoples was limited to the short module on the California Missions most Californian kids do in elementary school. A great deal of California’s population were born in other US states or abroad, and while this diversity is enriching, in my experience this made a sense of history and place the more elusive for it.
It was a pleasure to read Neely thoughtfully unpack the historical records of early California, weaving the narrative of his journey with those of the people and environments he encountered along the way. I know and love many of the places he passed through and it was really meaningful for me to learn more about the history of these places. What a wonderful way to contextualize modern California.
The audiobook narrator has a pleasing voice and cadence, better than many I’ve come across. However the majority of Spanish words and names are badly mispronounced, and some common English words are too. It’s a shame that the producer didn’t attempt to remedy this. I can’t see why the reader couldn’t have been given more help with the Spanish language words. It’s rather insulting to the sincerity and reverence with which Neely clearly has for California’s multi-cultural history and high numbers of Spanish speakers, especially for a book that is so focused on the Portola Expedition.
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- alexn
- 06-01-21
decent book, awful narration
it was a struggle to listen to this narrator butcher the pronunciation of everyday words as well as names of California places, flora, and fauna. if you're interested in this title, save yourself the frustration: get a paper copy and read it yourself.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Andre
- 01-17-24
Magnificent!
Alta California is an achingly beautiful book in which he retraces the sights, sounds, smells, and stories to be found along an 18th century Spanish expedition along the California Coast from San Diego to San Francisco. The book captivated me, especially since I have seen some of the sights but didn’t know the stories behind them. Nick reading poetry during his trek shows in his lyrical, poetic prose. I would enjoy taking this journey with him again. I highly recommend this book.
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- Daniel
- 05-24-20
Way, way, way too long
Although I learned a lot about the Portola Expedition and the history of California, the book was hard to finish. The story drags on way too long and the thing is: nothing really happens. Nothing funny, nothing exciting, nothing interesting. It's just a guy that hikes a very long distance (kudos for that by the way) and talks about birds he sees and how cold the nights where.
Decent performance by the narrator.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Trebla
- 04-24-20
A good idea badly executed
I have lived, walked & ridden this same part of SoCal for 60 years and know it well. I was unable to finish this book largely because of the recurrent and awful pronunciation of places and things, which tore deeply into the credibility of the effort. Tule is not "tool", it's "two-lee", the avocado is not "hahs", it's "hass" there seemed to be one of these irritants at every page. But the content- Neely spent way too much time telling us about himself- if he was cold or hot or scared or tired- to the extent the core issue of the tie between the expedition of Portolà and what is before us today is badly diluted.
I stopped listening just short of Lompoc. It's possible it got better as he moved closer to home, but my time was better spent elsewhere
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9 people found this helpful