California has a rich and varied history, and we really only know a little bit of it. The time since Europeans arrived is well documented, and frequently soaked with water or oil or blood or some combination.
Early and contemporary photographs tell many stories of the state, and photographs are frequent companions to the text in the book California Exposures: Envisioning Myth and History.
Jesse Ambler White took the modern pictures, and his father, historian Richard White wrote the text. We lose the visual in this audio chat with the book's creators, but they tell a pretty good story in that realm, too.