A historian of her native mountains in California, Jackson here turns from the early settlers of her previous books to the people who were there when the settlers arrived. Acknowledging that people can only construct the past through the lens of their own culture, she looks at the southern High Sierra region from the birth of the mountains to the dawn of history. The first part covers geology, climate, vegetation, animals, and human settlement. The second part profiles the different peoples of the region: the Tuatulabal, the Yokuts, the Western Monache, the Sierra Miwok, the Yosemite, and the Paiute. Historical and modern photographs are included, many of historical reenactments. Annotation 2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
