Arcadia Publishers.

Arcadia Publishers

420 Wando Park Blvd., Mt. Pleasant, CS 29464

www.arcadiapublishing.com

Arcadia Publishing was launched in New Hampshire in 1993 as a small publisher of local history, specializing in a regional approach to each title which blends vintage duotone photos with community histories. We aren't just talking the usual same-old high-profile communities, either. Take San Francisco as one example. You'd think so many books have appeared on San Francisco history and travel that there'd be little need for another, let alone a number of titles--think again. Arcadia proves there are many unplumbed parts of the city by providing very specialized focuses: Paul C. Trimble and John C. Alioto Jr.'s The Bay Bridge (0738529702, $19.99) comes from a transport historian who tells of the bridge's construction using over 200 rare photos and conceptual drawings, and providing a story of three years of building challenges. Trimble's Railways Of San Francisco (0738528870, $19.99) is an even more unique offering, surveying the immense task of building a rail system through San Francisco's neighborhoods. Trimble's own collection of vintage photos provides a gorgeous visual display to accompany a fine history. Plenty has been written about San Francisco's famous neighborhoods such as Telegraph Hill--but where else will you find a focus on the Excelsior, as in Walter G. Jebe Sr.'s San Francisco's Excelsior District (073-8528897, $19.99), not a 'spotlight' neighborhood to be sure, but one any native San Francisco will know about. The Excelsior is located south of the better-known districts: once a sparsely populated, rural section of the city, the Excelsior today sports row houses and action. View the Excelsior of yesterday through vintage photos and history. Speaking of heading South, the South San Francisco Historical Society has a hand in producing South San Francisco (0738529214, $19.99), and once again Arcadia has chosen an area well known to locals and much less known to outsiders. The Historical Society collaborated on this book and provides an excellent overview and celebration of the economic and social istory of San Francisco's 'sister city'. Martin Jacobs reveals San Francisco 49ers (0738529664, $19.99) for any who love football, providing a 'must' of over 200 rare photos, stories and statistics charting the rise and incarnations of San Francisco's most notable team. Head further south with Kathleen Manning and Jerry Crow's Half Moon Bay (073852963X, $19.99), an excellent survey of a small town which remains limited to this day. Rare prints, photos, and local history trace Half Moon Bay's progress from the early days of photography to modern times. The North Bay isn't neglected by Arcadia, either: The Napa Valley Museum and Lin Weber's Napa (0738529516) provides an excellent history of the valley. As a resident of the area for 30 years, author Weber has more than a casual knowledge of the valley and has extensively researched local photographic archives to provide the best images representing Napa's past and present. The Bolinas Museum and Stinson Beach Historical Society collaborate with Bolinas And Stinson Beach (0738528951, $19.99), telling the story of two small beach towns north of the city which remain relatively isolated from the bustle of the Bay Area to this day. From Indian early life to local political struggles, Bolinas And Stinson Beach provides an excellent in-depth survey of two communities typically given only cursory travel attention in competing Bay Area guides. If it's local history and vintage photos you relish, consult the reading list of Arcadia Publishers before going anywhere else: the focus on small under-featured neighborhoods can't be beat.