First compiled and produced by publishers and subscriptions agents for area residents and patrons, these original histories represent difficult-to-find materials. Included in this collection of 97 titles are tables and lists of vital statistics, military service records, municipal and county officers, chronologies, portraits of individuals and views of urban and rural life not found anywhere else. The atlases provide additional information on land use and settlement patterns and scarce early town and city plans.
County and Regional Histories & Atlases provides vivid portraits of people, places, and events, putting California's local history into current context with the examination of demographic, social, and cultural transformations. In the chronicles of boomtown San Francisco or in Mark Twain's tall tale, "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," for instance, researchers can see how metaphor and myth invent, distort, and hold captive towns, peoples, and places. Use this collection to support research in areas such as regional studies, social history, genealogy, economics, and business.
"The content of Archives Unbound makes it an excellent resource for students doing research in political science, history, or ethnic studies, as well as multidisciplinary research. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers." --Choice, March 2011