Nestled in the rolling hills of West Marin lies the beautiful San Geronimo Valley, with its historic state park and four quaint villages of Woodacre, San Geronimo, Forest Knolls, and Lagunitas. After its early history as ranching country, it became a popular vacation destination for residents of San Francisco and the East Bay. Forced out of San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake, some vacationers converted their summer cabins to year-round residences, the early stages of further development that lasted into the 1970s. While the area has changed little in the past four decades, it was at the center of contentious battles over urban development, public education, and a counterculture takeover during the late 1960s and early 1970s. It has been the home of legendary music icons like Kate Wolf, Van Morrison, Janis Joplin, and Jerry Garcia and played host to American heroes such as Alexander Graham Bell and Julia Ward Howe. A refuge for artists, craftspeople, and commuters, the area today retains all the elements of its past and remains one of the most unique and intriguing regions of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Written for cyclists of all stripes, Best Bike Rides books offer a diverse array of scenic tours in and around some of America’s largest urban destinations. Road rides, rail trails, bike paths, and single-track mountain bike rides all get included. Most rides are in the 5 to 30 mile range, allowing for great afternoon outings and family adventures. Each book features 35-40 rides with color photos, maps, and point-by-point miles and directions.

Murder ends a sibling rivalry and ignites a manhunt in this “stirring narrative of hostility, pursuit, and the desire for vengeance” (Kirkus Reviews). When Silas Van Loy flees home on horseback to avoid capture for his brother’s murder, he is followed by both the police and his brother’s wife, Lena, who is intent on exacting revenge. She reluctantly lets her trusted stable assistant join her in a journey across the wilds of Northern California in the hopes of catching Silas for one final showdown. Stansel follows the chase and shares the story of the brothers’ rise from hardscrabble childhood to their reign as the region’s preeminent horse trainers, tracking the tense sibling rivalry that ultimately leads to the elder’s death . . . A “fast-paced, moving narrative in which family loyalty is tested, broken, and redeemed in unexpected ways,” The Last Cowboys of San Geronimo will satisfy fans of Kent Haruf, Charles Portis, Molly Gloss, and Smith Henderson, and establish Stansel as a new voice in this grand tradition (BookPage). Praise for The Last Cowboys of San Geronimo “One of the most compelling novels I’ve read in a long time.” —Eowyn Ivey “Shares the trail with the likes of Edward Abbey, Cormac McCarthy, and Larry McMurtry.” —Craig Johnson, New York Times–bestselling author of the Walt Longmire Mysteries, the basis for the hit show Longmire “In his forthright, beautifully rendered first novel, following the PEN/Bingham Prize-winning story collection Everyone’s Irish, Stansel limns the murderous tension between two brothers, showing how families can fracture for mysterious reasons. . . . Stansel has written a captivating novel, elegantly spare in language but big in purpose.” —Library Journal (starred review)

"San Francisco has no single landmark by which the world may identify it," according to San Francisco in the 1930s, originally published in 1940. This would surely come as a surprise to the millions who know and love the Golden Gate Bridge or recognize the Transamerica Building’s pyramid. This invaluable Depression-era guide to San Francisco relates the city’s history from the vantage point of the 1930s, describing its culture and highlighting the important tourist attractions of the time. David Kipen’s lively introduction revisits the city’s literary heritage—from Bret Harte to Kenneth Rexroth, Jade Snow Wong, and Allen Ginsberg—as well as its most famous landmarks and historic buildings. This rich and evocative volume, resonant with portraits of neighborhoods and districts, allows us a unique opportunity to travel back in time and savor the City by the Bay as it used to be.