There is no history, only biography.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Chapter 1Overview

It’s dangerous to pull off to the side on the winding roads in the Santa Cruz Mountains at night. You run the risk of being sideswiped by another motorist who comes barreling around a curve. But for the view, it’s worth the risk.

I find a place to pull over, end my ascent and get out of the car. A steep, forested mountainside lies to the south and the west. Behind it and above it is a black and starlit sky. This could be the most deserted place in Arizona, Utah, or Wyoming. It’s only when I walk across the road and face to the north and east that the brilliant and sprawling valley two thousand feet below abruptly comes into view: the San Francisco Bay Area.

A stunning ...

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