The text and captions were written by Lee Torliatt (former teacher in Santa Rosa and writer & editor at The Press Democrat) and provide a very clear glimpse into the circumstances surrounding each and every photograph. The book is divided up into four chapters which do an excellent job of giving readers a view into live in Sonoma County during some monumental changes such as the increasing population of settlers and the rise of agriculture and trade:

• From Early Days to the 1906 Earthquake (1850s – 1909)
• Earthquake Recovery in a ‘Growing’ Economy (1907 – 1919)
• Prohibition, Labor Conflicts, and a Bridge (1920 – 1939)
• Gains and Loses from Postwar Growth (1940 – 1979)

The Good
The problem I have with most collections of historic Sonoma County photos is that they all seem to be almost entirely focused on the 1906 quake. While the 1906 earthquake definitely helped shape the future of Northern California, there is so much more to the history of the area, which many books leave out. That’s not the case with “Historic Photos of Sonoma County”

To start with, this book is 205 pages long, including the Bibliography. It’s large enough to do the photos justice but also makes a great coffee table book and conversation starter. The quality and sheer number of photos make this book worth every cent. There were some photos that definitely brought up some memories, such as photos of Rosenberg’s Department Store or of the then new Coddingtown and Montecito Center in Rincon Valley.

These photos really help you appreciate the rich history of Sonoma County and anyone who has spent any amount of time in the area — let alone any of us raised here — will enjoy this book without a doubt. If you’re a history buff, you really have no business not owning a copy of “Historic Photos of Sonoma County”!

The Bad
To be fair, I’ve really been trying to find some negative aspects of this book, just to prove that I’m not giving an assumed, biased review. The only thing I can possibly think of that might disuade some people from purchasing this book is the price. At $39.95 this is more than most people spend on a book after leaving college. For those that buy this book, you won’t be disappointed!

The Bottom Line
Get this book. Click here to order your own copy. You won’t regret it!

Note: Photos in this post were used with permission from Turner Publishing.

This is one of those posts that all of the alleged blogging pros tell you not to write. This is a post telling you all why I haven’t been posting very much lately. Those pros claim that telling people why you haven’t been posting only compounds the issue and will bring around death and digital pestilence. But what do they know, huh? This is my blog. Not theirs.

Anywho, things have been very busy with us crazy De Guia’s. To start with, our landlords filed for bankruptcy and foreclosed on the house we were renting from them. Joy, huh? So we’ve officially received the 60-day “GTFO” notice and have been going to look at damn near every apartment and condo in the Santa Rosa – Windsor – Rohnert Park area of Sonoma County. We think we have a lead on one, which is awesome. If everything pans out, we’ll be in a better and more affordable, albeit much smaller situation. Going from a two story, three bedroom, three bath home with a yard and garage to a small two bedroom, one bath apartment is going to be a slap in the face like none other. I figure it will feel much like it would if Bugs Bunny showed up suddenly in our house, dropped a brick into his leather glove and slapped me across the face with it.

I haven’t been writing much lately because, to be honest, the words are sort of stuck in my head. When I’m not to put the time into writing, I have a ton of things right there at the brink waiting to be put to paper. then later on when I’m finally able to sit down, after the kids are asleep, and write… there’s just nothing. So instead I’ve been doing a lot of reading. I’m still slowly reading “World War Z” and it’s taking this long, not because I don’t like it, but because I’m savoring it. If you haven’t bought your own copy of the book, you should. It’s awesome! Beside “World War Z” I’m still on a Lovecraft kick along with pretty much anything else I can get my hands on.

Speaking of reading, I’ve been given a super cool opportunity to do a book review. That’s about all I’ll say about that right now. After all, I do want you all to come back and read the actual review when it’s done hopefully later this week!

I saw a couple of really good movies recently, too. The first was “Burn After Reading”. Now, before you choose sides on this movie just remember: It’s by the Cohen Brothers. Their movies are very good, but typically have some very unexpected twists and turns. People that like the Cohen Brothers will no doubt like “Burn After Reading”. Those of you who don’t like their stuff probably won’t enjoy this flick. Keli and I loved it and recommend it to anyone up for a funny, quirky and fun movie.

The other movie was “Traitor”. Someone described this movie to me as “the Bourne Identity, but with Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda & Reign Over me), Guy Pierce (Momento & L.A. Confidential) and Neal McDonough (The Guardian & Band of Brothers) to name a few. All I’ll really tell you is the movie is without a doubt one of Don Cheadle’s best performances and very much worth the rental.

What have you all been up to lately?

According to the military, Blanton was on his third tour of Iraq with his platoon on a search of what they thought was an abandoned house when they encountered insurgents.

One of his platoon members, Sgt. Michael Ferschke, was killed and two others were injured in the fighting in which Blanton drove his armored vehicle into the house, crashing through one of the walls, and rescuing a wounded soldier.

Blanton’s vehicle was disabled by a suicide bomber during the fight, after which he was involved in a close-quarters fight armed with his pistol, according to the military.

Source: The Press Democrat

Thank you, Gunnery Sgt. Robert Blanton for your years of service to our country!

Related Link: The Press Democrat’s “Frontline” section