California has long been a bellwether state -- a place where crucial trends that eventually spread throughout the U.S. first take root. Its national and international influence is driven by one of the largest economies in the world, by its extraordinary technological and cultural innovations, and by a disproportionately affluent and activist population larger than that of entire countries. In short, the issues of California are the issues that are likely to have an impact on the rest of America, and college students in California are well served by studying, thinking, and writing about their home state in their composition courses.California Dreams and Realitiesis the one composition reader that allows students to do just that.