California Story

"A lyrical love letter to California." - Kirkus Reviews

"In brisk and translucent prose that is at once lyrical and unsentimental, Steven Falk's CALIFORNIA STORY is a rich and varied memoir of how place shapes one's life. Sharp, haunting, and gripping in its storytelling, this manuscript has the potential to join California's literary canon beside the work of writers such as Joan Didion, Kevin Starr, Cheryl Strayed, Rebecca Solnit, David Mas Masumoto, and Gary Kamiya." -- John Sheehy

"California, with its powerful ocean waves and spectacular mountaintops, becomes a character itself in the author's debut memoir, which spans nearly 100 years. (Falk's) stories provide insight into the people who made California what it is today-they are stories of hard work, struggle, joy, tragedy and, simply, life. Some tales are thrilling; others are simply relatable." - Kirkus Reviews

Ten Notable Books of 2023 -- Reed Magazine

"(Falk's) personal voice reveals larger, universal themes that address home, family, identity, faith, 'parenting, love, death, convictions, ethics, philosophies." - Lou Fancher

Steven Falk's California Story, a history and memoir of California, covers the years between his grandparents' arrival in Redondo Beach in 1935 and the COVID pandemic. Each chapter takes place in a different California location and stories include growing up in the uber-suburb of Lakewood; hardcore punks in the Coachella; KGB agents at Disneyland; fortunes made and lost; YIMBYs, NIMBYs, mountain climbing, surfing; a helicopter assault on Palo Alto; public service and city management; and how Falk unexpectedly wound up being featured in the New York Times.

It's a book about fathers and sons and brothers, compromise and conscience, nature-as-tonic, climate change, how place shapes our lives, profiles of decency, and, of course, California: land of everything.