Laura Cunningham (1)

A State of Change: Forgotten Landscapes of California by Laura Cunningham is a gem of a book that defies easy classification. It is a folio that is part art book (modern day California school), part memoir (of growing up in the Bay Area), and part ecology book (about what California probably looked like centuries earlier).

The book — both painting and text — represents years of careful study and work. While the book doesn't cover all of California, what it does, is done lovingly and in show more depth. For nature lovers living in the Bay Area, A State of Change should be a must have title. show less

This is a time travel type of book about the Bay Area of California for kids of all ages. It is a history book about what the Bay Area looked like through tens of thousands and millions of years back. The illustrations are simply AMAZING. Laura Cunningham chose to go back in time instead of linear toward today. I loved what America looked like 80 million years ago. I am a 50 year old historian, and I have never seen this It blew my mind! The book has facts along with great pictures of what show more the landscape looked like, and what plants, animals and such were in the Bay Area at those times. This is a great book for anyone who is interested in learning about San Francisco and the surrounding areas in prehistoric times.

Thank you to Laura Cunningham and Goodreads First-Reads for giving me a free ARC copy of this book to read and give my honest opinion. show less