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Rating: 
Summary: Your #2 travel must have, #1 is a map.
Review: After spending 3 weeks driving the coast of California I can honestly say that this book is the most well written and easy to follow guide of all the books out there. Every detail is layed out in a precise, neat, and easy to follow manner. There were many humorous side notes that are worth reading even if your not planning on visiting thoes areas. These two authors (Puterbaugh and Bisbort) have thouroughly researched the area and are in my opinion very qualified to write this book. Their rating system of the beaches were right on, although their people indicator was only marginaly correct. I highly recommend this book. It will be your second best reference right behind your map. John Yoder (JYoder123@aol.com
Rating: 
Summary: broad overviews are entertaining, not a reliable source
Review: As a local SoCal surfer, I found this book disappointing. The authors chose wit over accuracy. Although the book is a more interesting read than most guidebooks, it feels like it was written BY a tourist, not just FOR the tourists. It falls victim to tiresome cliches as though it were written purely from hearsay accounts of the locations, and not real experience. In addition - and I know surfing was not the main purpose of this book - the information regarding the surf conditions of the california beaches was also inaccurate and skimpy. Not very useful overall.
Rating:
Summary: broad overviews are entertaining, not a reliable source
Review: Boy, did this book ever surprise me! Last month, I purchased CALIFORNIA BEACHES from Amazon.Com, hoping to learn about my home state's more obscure beaches prior to prowling them. Having grown up on an L.A. beach (Playa del Rey, near LAX, to be exact), I wanted also to test my knowledge of the coast. CALIFORNIA BEACHES didn't disappoint. All the knowledge relevant to beach fans was there: quality of beaches, swimming and surf conditions, general description, size of crowds, access information, accommodations, night life, etc. What I didn't expect, and what has kept me reading this thick paperback night after night, is the richness of its cultural sociology. Parke and Allen have California pegged! CALIFORNIA BEACHES is primarily a guidebook, but it is also the most insightful analysis of life on California's Pacific Rim in the late 20th Century I've come across -- and I've read them all. Representative topics discussed in extensive sidebars, frequently running two or three pages, include the ocean as icon, the immigration question, land-preservation controversies, freeway congestion, pollution and clean-up of the seas, access rights for beachgoers vs. property rights of beach homeowners, the evolving music scene, North vs. South as a defining characteristic of California life, and so on. Parke and Allen do an excellent job of describing the local cities that front on the beaches, too, in terms of geography, culture, and even political issues. Moreover, Parke and Allen's descriptions of the state's beaches and beach towns are right-on, based on my personal experience...and they have been to all of them! (I'm envious of their lifestyle, frankly. They get to do this for a living.) CALIFORNIA BEACHES is witty, trenchant, and just plain GOOD. As I read the book it was as if grown-up members of my high-school bodysurfing club were reporting their adventures, still wondering at the California coast's wonders and mysteries. One more thing: CALIFORNIA BEACHES, the publisher notes, i! s printed with soy ink on recycled paper; and a contribution is made to the coastal-protection advocacy organization, the Surfrider Foundation, for each copy purchased. All you surf dudes and dudettes: buy this book! And then get ready to "hit the beach," well-informed. Bob Jacobson Founding Member, Manhattan Beach Bodysurfing Association, 1966-1970
Rating:
Summary: KOWABUNGA! Buy CALIFORNIA BEACHES, now!
Review: Boy, did this book ever surprise me! Last month, I purchased CALIFORNIA BEACHES from Amazon.Com, hoping to learn about my home state's more obscure beaches prior to prowling them. Having grown up on an L.A. beach (Playa del Rey, near LAX, to be exact), I wanted also to test my knowledge of the coast. CALIFORNIA BEACHES didn't disappoint. All the knowledge relevant to beach fans was there: quality of beaches, swimming and surf conditions, general description, size of crowds, access information, accommodations, night life, etc. What I didn't expect, and what has kept me reading this thick paperback night after night, is the richness of its cultural sociology. Parke and Allen have California pegged! CALIFORNIA BEACHES is primarily a guidebook, but it is also the most insightful analysis of life on California's Pacific Rim in the late 20th Century I've come across -- and I've read them all. Representative topics discussed in extensive sidebars, frequently running two or three pages, include the ocean as icon, the immigration question, land-preservation controversies, freeway congestion, pollution and clean-up of the seas, access rights for beachgoers vs. property rights of beach homeowners, the evolving music scene, North vs. South as a defining characteristic of California life, and so on. Parke and Allen do an excellent job of describing the local cities that front on the beaches, too, in terms of geography, culture, and even political issues. Moreover, Parke and Allen's descriptions of the state's beaches and beach towns are right-on, based on my personal experience...and they have been to all of them! (I'm envious of their lifestyle, frankly. They get to do this for a living.) CALIFORNIA BEACHES is witty, trenchant, and just plain GOOD. As I read the book it was as if grown-up members of my high-school bodysurfing club were reporting their adventures, still wondering at the California coast's wonders and mysteries. One more thing: CALIFORNIA BEACHES, the publisher notes, i! s printed with soy ink on recycled paper; and a contribution is made to the coastal-protection advocacy organization, the Surfrider Foundation, for each copy purchased. All you surf dudes and dudettes: buy this book! And then get ready to "hit the beach," well-informed. Bob Jacobson Founding Member, Manhattan Beach Bodysurfing Association, 1966-1970
Rating:
Summary: Irreverant, helpful and a laugh-a-minute
Review: From the tip of the coast to the more rancid parts of Los Angeles, these authors capture the essence of California's life style. I chuckled when reading the description of Venice Beach; I wish I could write as wittily as this!
Rating: 
Summary: OK snapshot overviews, but not always consistent
Review: I feel that the title is a misnomer. In my opinion, you go to the beach when you are south of Point Conception and you go to the coast when you are north of Point Conception. The authors' approach of listing state, local and private facilites is helpful. I would have liked geologic information - for example descriptions of bottom conditions (ie sandy, rocky etc.). However, I realize that a consistent description is geologically impossible. So, I suggest that you get the California Coastal Access Guide as a companion volume and use both to "guesstimate". Some of this book is available at the publisher's website for free. If at all possible, I suggest that you check out the commentary on the website for a beach and town that you know before purchasing this book. That will give you an idea of the the size of the grain of salt that you will need to take with the commentary. For the beaches and beach towns I know well, I come close to concurring with their opinions. However, I find many of their recommendations for food/lodging/nightlife rather rich for my taste and budget, so I'm looking elsewhere for this information.
Rating:
Summary: The most comprehensive, funny, witty and intelligent .
Review: This book is not just a travel book, it's a social expose of all that is wrong (and right) with Califonia. These guys go beyond the specifics and get right to the heart of what it is like to try and navigate the wild and wooly world of Califonia, not just the beaches, but the guts of the place, too. Lots of funny boxes that I read aloud to my husband as we were driving made our trip infinitely more enjoyable! Best out there!
Rating:
Summary: author feedback to customer review
Review: To Whom It May Concern:
This is not a review but a complaint. I am the co-author of the book in question, California Beaches. The very first customer review on your site is by someone who takes us to task for not being very good at steering surfers to beaches. If we purported to do so, that would be a valid criticism. However, our book is a broad-based guide to public beach access, and places to stay, eat and go out at night. Our book is about a lot of things, in fact, but it isn't, nor does it claim to be, a guide for the surfing cult. To be maligned for something we don't claim to be is unfair. Worse, this erroneous pan is the first review that people see when they come to your site to check out our book. Worse still, it was written about the first edition, which came out seven years ago. We have completely rewritten California Beaches twice since then, and the third edition has just been published. I admire the idea of posting reader feedback but see no reason why our chances of selling books on amazon.com has to be undermined by a review that bases its argument on a false assumption - that the aim of this book is to guide surfers to surfing beaches. I would therefore respectfully request that you remove it from the site. Sincerely, Parke Puterbaugh (Greensboro, NC)
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