Tahoe beneath the surface : the hidden stories of America's largest mountain lake / Scott Lankford.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lankford, Scott, 1957-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

American literature.

Indians of North America.

Authors, American.

Tahoe, Lake (Calif. and Nev.)--History--Anecdotes.

Tahoe, Lake (Calif. and Nev.).

Tahoe, Lake, Region (Calif. and Nev.)--History--Anecdotes.

Tahoe, Lake, Region (Calif. and Nev.).

Tahoe, Lake, Region (Calif. and Nev.)--Environmental conditions--Anecdotes.

Tahoe, Lake, Region (Calif. and Nev.)--Intellectual life--Anecdotes.

Authors, American--Tahoe, Lake, Region (Calif. and Nev.)--Biography--Anecdotes.

Indians of North America--Tahoe, Lake, Region (Calif. and Nev.)--Biography--Anecdotes.

Tahoe, Lake, Region (Calif. and Nev.)--Biography--Anecdotes.

American literature--Tahoe, Lake, Region (Calif. and Nev.)--History and criticism.

Genre:

Biographies.

Anecdotes.

Physical Description:

267 pages : illustrations, maps ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

Berkeley, Calif. : Heyday ; Rocklin, Calif. : Sierra College Press, [2010]

Summary:

Lake Tahoe transformed America, and not just once but many times over--from the earliest Ice Age civilizations to the mysterious death of Marilyn Monroe. It even played a hidden role in the American conquest of California, the launch of the Republican Party, and the birth of John Steinbeck's first novel. Along the way, Lake Tahoe found the time to invent the ski industry, spark the sexual revolution, and win countless Academy Awards. Tahoe beneath the Surface brings this hidden history of America's largest mountain lake to life through the stories of its most celebrated residents and visitors over the last ten thousand years. It mixes local Washoe Indian legends with tales of murderous Mafia dons, and Rat Pack tunes with Steinbeck novels. It establishes Tahoe as one of America's literary hot spots by tracing the steps of more than a dozen authors including Bertrand Russell, Maxine Hong Kingston, and Michael Ondaatje. Tahoe beneath the Surface reveals how the lake transformed the lives of conservationists like John Muir, humorists like Mark Twain, and Hollywood icons like Frank Sinatra. It even touches upon some of the darker aspects of American history, including anti-Chinese racism and the Kennedy assassination. Despite the impact Lake Tahoe has had on America, environmental threats loom large, and Tahoe Blue--a term that Lankford uses to encompass the whole range of life, beauty, and meaning the lake represents--grows increasingly vulnerable. In Tahoe beneath the Surface, human history and natural history combine in a most engaging way, one that will both inform and inspire all who would keep Tahoe blue. Winner of a 2010 ForeWord Book of the Year Award.

Contents:

Map of Lake Tahoe and environs

Jacques Cousteau : diving beneath the surface

Spirit cave man : curse of the Ice Age mummy

John Frémont : the man who "discovered" Lake Tahoe

Sarah Winnemucca : the burning woman

Luis and Salvator : the Donner Party murders

Datsolalee : a Washoe watershed

Samuel Clemens : Tahoe Twain

John Muir : Tahoe National Park

John Steinbeck : the winters of his discontent

Bertrand Russell : the last resort

Frank Sinatra : Tahoe's Sinatraland

The Cartwright crusaders : Tahoe's Bonanza

Maxine Hong Kingston : the Truckee method

Michael Ondaatje and Gary Snyder : Déjà Blue

The Weasel brothers : waterspouts and water babies.

ISBN:

9781597141390

1597141399

OCLC:

630457315