A project of the California Council for the Humanities, the collection seeks to generate discussion of the human realities at work in the most populous, most ethnically diverse state in the nation. The 25 stories show characters who love the idea of California and characters who struggle with living there. The authors include John Steinbeck, Joan Didion, Richard Rodriguez, and Maxine Hong Kingston. Each chapter opens with a small b&w photo and brief biography of the author. The volume is indexed only by author's name, but an "alternate" table of contents divides the pieces thematically. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)