Competing Visions: A History of California uses the stories of the people of California to create a chronological narrative from the geological formation of its landscape to the watershed 2003 recall election. In 13 concise chapters, Competing Visions incorporates the social, environmental, political, cultural, and economic diversity of the state into a coherent chronological narrative. Each chapter begins with a brief biography of a person who reflects the major issues and trends of that era and all of the people who have shaped California are given a voice through three themes woven into the text. California within a regional, national, and international context. California's location, geography, and environment have internally shaped its history while simultaneously inviting unique outside influences beginning with the complex trade networks of its first peoples to its current role in the Pacific Rim economy. California's cultural richness and diversity. From the first human civilizations in California, it has been a land filled with a range of cultures, languages, and traditions. The variety of groups that have shaped California history are all given voices in this text, and the influences Asian-Americans, Mexican-Americans, African-Americans, Native Americans, and women are reflected as agents of change. Competing visions of California. California history has been marked by epic struggles over the geographic and political, landscape. The text uses these competing visions to illustrate how the "California Dream" has meant something unique to all those who have pursued it. Book jacket.