California Inside Out Mapping an Ecology of Mind

A mind- and soul-expanding manifesto on connecting more deeply with the land called California. Obi Kaufmann, author of The California Field Atlas and The State of Fire, now presents a gorgeous and provocative manifesto calling for a revived look at the Golden State. As Kaufmann writes, the popular idea of California as a place of novelty, riches, and self-reinvention has been shaped by 250 years of European American settlement. This view is so often rooted in economic exploitation, destruction of the land, and attempts at erasing Native histories. As climate breakdown accelerates and natural disasters escalate, Kaufmann calls on us to see the land we call California with fresh eyes. The boundless complexity of the flora and fauna around us prompts bold, imaginative questions: What words might connect us more deeply with the places where we live? What if a watershed can think? What if a forest has a mind of its own? Across five chapters full of wisdom and heart, Kaufmann tells poignant personal stories from his fifty years living in California. Designed in a handsome pocket-size format, and featuring watercolor maps and illustrations drawn from across Kaufmann’s career, California Inside Out is a call for awe and action.