Business & Tech

California Coast Historian to Appear Wednesday at Laguna Beach Books

David Helvarg is the author of "The Golden Shore: California's Love Affair with the Sea."

Submitted by Laguna Beach Books:

Author David Helvarg will be appearing at Laguna Beach Books on Wednesday, Feb. 27, at 3 p.m.

David Helvarg has spent much of his life working for ocean and coastal conservation. His concern for the planet’s seas and shores knows no boundaries but Helvarg has a specific interest and affection for the California coast. His new book, THE GOLDEN SHORE: California’s Love Affair with the Sea (Thomas Dunne Books, February 19, 2013) is his passionate tale of one of the most unique and stunning human and natural habitats to be found anywhere on earth, the 1,100 miles of the California coast.

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Tracing the California coastline back through its history to its earliest Paleo-Indian settlers, Helvarg looks at the growth and changing nature of this rapidly changing maritime frontier. From its first peoples through the millions that have come to its shores in waves of immigration from a Gold Rush to a World War to today’s population of over 37 million Helvarg shows how and why the most populous state in the nation is also the best steward of a wild and living ocean.

Helvarg details what California’s coast means to the economy, the ecology, sciences, lifestyles, enterprises and future of the state, the nation and our blue world. His study of the California coast and ocean covers the following:

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• How Jack London brought surfing to California and how surfing and ocean recreation have become major political and economic forces in the state.
• How the Navy has helped define the state, and its bases, ships and offshore training ranges continue to be a major force in its economy and national security.
• How California has become a leader in marine science discoveries and exploration that are redefining how we understand our world, ocean and climate.
• How America’s largest ports are also leading a global greening ports movement.
• How an offshore oil disaster in 1969 resulted in the best system of late 20th and early 21st century coastal protection in the world.

Helvarg takes the reader on both a geographical and literary journey in THE GOLDEN SHORE. From California’s border with Oregon down to the border of San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico, and out into the sea with the whales, sharks, seals, kelp forests, and Coast Guard patrol boats, this is the ideal volume for the reader to immerse themselves in what it means to live by the sea in a state Teddy Roosevelt called ‘West of the West.’

David Helvarg captures the unique spirit of this amazing coast, its mythic place in American culture, and its role in a state whose ongoing natural disasters and unrelenting sense of renewal are intimately linked to its deep connection with an ever-changing sea.

Helvarg is founder and Executive Director of the Blue Ocean Campaign, a Washington DC based organization working for ocean and coastal conservation. An award-winning journalist, he has written for the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, National Geographic, Popular Science, Sierra, and Parade, and has produced more than forty documentaries for PBS, the Discovery Channel, and others. His previous books include Rescue Warriors and Saved by the Sea: A Love Story with Fish. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.


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