Alta Journal: Stories of California and the West

THE LATEST FROM ALTA

Don't miss this week's upcoming events and new stories.

adam hochschild, michael meyer, american midnight, california book club

Announcing the Special Guest

In this newsletter, we introduce Michael Meyer as the special guest in conversation with author Adam Hochschild and host John Freeman about Hochschild’s American Midnight.

5 min

too l.a., letters never sent but some were, eve babitz, book review

California Dreaming

altatude, cartoon, issue 35, joe dator and kevin maher

Weekly Cartoon: Altatude #4 Issue 36

A Panoramic History

14 min

Five Books to Make You Love Soccer

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ISSUE 34

ice, los angeles, undocumented mother, cancer, faith

Lo Bonito

The Alta Guide to California Summer Road Trips

From Mojave mysteries and sober wine-country detours to the cultural wonders of Highway 99, these routes bypass the standard postcard to reveal the true soul of the Golden State with a literary twist.

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YOUR TBR LIST

10 Books for Your Beach Bag

Heading to the coast? These 10 California-connected reads—from literary fiction to celebrity memoirs—are easy to sink into all summer long.

2 min

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CURRENT ISSUE

Family Portraits

A look inside Alta Journal’s Issue 36.

5 min

Latest from the California Book Club

Join the West Coast literary conversation every month.

adam hochschild, american midnight, history, 1917 1921

The New Canon

The Stories You Know Are Wrong

Adam Hochschild’s American Midnight sheds light on ordinary people during a crucially misremembered period in history: 1917–1921.

book cover of american midnight by adam hochschild featuring a historical image of a protest

Excerpt: “American Midnight”

5 min

native country of the heart: a memoir, cherrÍe moraga

Why I Write: To Change Lives (Of Course)

4 min

native country of the heart, cherríe moraga

Why You Should Read This: ‘Native Country of the Heart’

4 min

Why You Should Read This: ‘The Library Book’

4 min

tree of letters emerging from a hand symbolizing knowledge and creativity, kate braverman, writing mentor, janet fitch

THE WRITER INSIDE ME

My Mentor, My Muse

Janet Fitch recalls the fierce tutelage of Kate Braverman—the L.A. writer who banned clichés, demanded beauty, and changed everything about how Fitch wrote.

8 min

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Special Section: Family Portraits

A special section exploring chosen family, identity, caregiving, and belonging across California.

2 min

THE MONDAY BOOK REVIEW

Sign-up for our weekly book review email.

The Making of Cannabis Country

Charlie Harris’s lucid history of Mendocino County, Mendo, charts how a Northern California outpost was transformed into a lab for counterculture, cannabis and the shifting American West.

7 min

City by the Bay

6 min

earth 7 by deb olin unferth, book review

Brave New World

7 min

Recently Reviewed: New Books Worth Your Time

the last human bear by greg sarris, book review

“Out of My Way!”

7 min

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chicago, short story by emily adrian, illustrations by victor juhasz

A CARNIVAL ACT

Fiction: ‘Chicago’

18 min

THE WEEKLY ALTA NEWSLETTER

New stories from California and the West sent to your inbox every Thursday.

coroner to the stars, documentary, dr thomas noguchi

Hollywood’s Controversial Coroner

A new documentary, Coroner to the Stars, chronicles the career of Dr. Thomas Noguchi, whose work on Marilyn Monroe, RFK, and others reshaped forensic medicine.

8 min