"When prisoner Elliott Michener began tending the gardens at Alcatraz, his thoughts of escape were replaced with new skills and a sense of dignity. Back matter discusses the history of Alcatraz and the US prison system today"--

"A curious child who always knew he wanted to be an inventor when he grew up, Frank spent much of his youth experimenting in his basement laboratory -- mixing and measuring, testing and inspecting, studying and scrutinizing. One of his favorite things to experiment with was soda water, and one day after discovering the perfect flavoring for his most recent invention, he left it outside on his back porch with a spoon in it. The next morning, the drink...

Rhyming text tells how Charley became one of the best stagecoach drivers in the West, joined a men's club, and voted in a presidential election, all while disguising the fact that she was a woman.

Traces the life of Father Junipero Serra from his childhood on the Spanish island of Majorca, his duties and travels as a missionary, to his death in 1784 and his legacy of the "Golden Chain" of missions in California.

Traces the life of the Spanish explorer and missionary who travelled to Mexico and California to teach the Indians about Christianity and who established nine missions along the California coast.

Describes the journey of the ill-fated Donner Party, ninety pioneers who became stranded in the Sierra Nevada mountains in the winter of 1846-47.

Surveys the life of Swiss/German immigrant John Sutter, on whose land gold was discovered in the mid-nineteenth century, spurring the California gold rush and westward expansion.

Recounts the life of the architect whose projects included designing the Hearst Castle at San Simeon, California.