Look for "Valley of Heart's Delight" in SC Valley Media

You can go to the web site of the Palo Alto Daily Post for Saturday 7/30/22 and read a higher resolution version of this (which I converted from a PDF). l have links below and excerpts for other articles about the book. 

My new book about the San Francisco Bay Area came out on July 25, 2022, and one thing I can say for certain: it is easier to get coverage for a third book, than it is for the first one. As a writer, I now have a track record with two other books and reporters know the work is credible (and, I like to think, likable as well). This has helped my new book gain attention more quickly. 

Here's the first review I received, which arrived on the publication date, thanks to veteran journalist Craig MacDonald at See California: Valley of Heart's Delight Review

Here's a brief piece in the Los Altos Town Crier: Los Altos Town Crier Article

Here's what award-winning columnist Sal Pizarro had to say in the San Jose Mercury News on Friday 7/29/2022. (Since their web site charges for membership, I've just excerpted it):

"The Valley of Heart's Delight" Gets its First Review!

"The Valley of Heart's Delight: True Tales from Around the Bay" is my new book from The History Press. Isn't that a dandy cover?

For many years I worked in daily journalism and my experiences in newsrooms was that they were a cacophony of noise and activity. Newsrooms were full of interesting, intelligent and talkative people: phones rang constantly, police radios blasted, news crews dashed in and out and reporters gabbed at each others' desks. Our deadlines were hourly and daily. Then we went home and came back for more the next day. 

Writing a book isn't anything like that. The deadlines are years, not days. The room I work in is quiet and I often feel isolated by the work. Sometimes I do something exciting and go to the library or an archive. Not noisy places, those. When the book is written, there are several more months of copy editing and then page proofs and covers to approve. By the time the book is finally published the writer wonders: do you suppose people will like it?

Today, after working on my new book for a long time, I received my first review. I wanted to share it with you. Thanks to Craig MacDonald of the popular "See California" web site for taking the time to read my book, care about California's many heritage stories and share his thoughts with you. 

CLICK HERE TO READ ROBIN'S FIRST REVIEW

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The Duvenecks: Disseminating Kindness at Hidden Villa

This photograph of Josephine and Frank Duveneck, founders of Hidden Villa summer camp, was taken in 1978 on the couple's 65th wedding anniversary. Josephine died 11 days later, shortly after completing her autobiography. Frank died in 1985 at the age of 99. Image courtesy of the Palo Alto Historical Association.

I was very surprised to read Hidden Villa was caught in the middle of a controversy about some Asian tiles on the side of the old Duveneck house. The tiles represent an ancient symbol in Asia and bear some resemblance to a swastika but are not exactly like the ones we associate with Germany. The controversy shut down the Hidden Villa children's camp this summer for the very first time.

I thought perhaps it might be a time to revisit the history of this forward-thinking couple, who made so many lives better during their lifetimes and beyond.

Here's a piece I published recently about them in the Los Altos Town Crier.

CLICK FOR ROBIN'S ARTICLE ON THE DUVENECKS

Lunch With the Queen: A Stanford Student Remembers

Stanford student Garin Veris look very shy as he shakes hands with Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain. His fellow student Raga Elim is on his right and Stanford president Donald Kennedy is at far left. HRH looks truly delighted to be meeting Mr. Veris. 

Nearly 40 years ago, Queen Elizabeth II came to California on an extended tour. I was working in Washington DC then, but I read about the visit as I researched an upcoming book. I decided to write a short piece for the local newspaper about the visit and looking for a quote for my piece, I realized many who met her then were no longer with us. Reviewing the list of Stanford students who met her, I came up with a winner.  Click the link for the rest of the story:

STUDENT MEETS THE QUEEN

Soldiers Battled Pandemic in Waning Days of World War I

Soldiers from Camp Fremont celebrate the end of World War I on University Avenue in Palo Alto.

Note all of the soldiers are wearing masks due to the 1918 pandemic. Photo courtesy of "The Story of Camp Fremont" and the Menlo Park Historical Society.

I'm working on a new book, which will be a collection of my articles so I'm going back and making sure they still hold up. When I first wrote about Barbara Wilcox's book in 2018, "World War I Army Training by San Francisco Bay: The Story of Camp Fremont," my article was mostly a promotion for an upcoming talk the author was giving. I grew up right down the road from Stanford and I had never heard about this vanished military base. 

When I re-read the book in 2021, I found its section on the 1918 pandemic absolutely fascinating for obvious reasons. So I wrote a new column for the local paper. Click the link for my report. 

The WW I Pandemic on the SF Peninsula

Alfred Hitchcock and his Northern California Connection

Director Alfred Hitchcock displays his famous profile at his estate above Saratoga. The outline was easily identified as it graced the opening of his popular television mystery program "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." Photo courtesy of UC Santa Cruz Special Collections & Archives and Tere Carrubba.

There is something absolutely fascinating about movie director Alfred Hitchcock, who was born in London in 1919 and died in California in 1980. His movies were unlike those of any other director. He became easily as famous as any of the stars he featured in his films. And he seemed to love the macabre. 

What most people in Northern California don't know is that he had a home in the mountains above the Santa Clara Valley that also looked down upon the California Coast and spent a lot of time there from 1940 through 1974 when Hitchcock grew frail and his wife Alma made arrangements to sell the home. 

Having a home in Northern California had a direct impact on "The Birds" one of his most famous films, due to an event on the California Coast Hitch learned about because he kept up on the local news. 

I've recently secured permission to use several interesting archival photos of him at the estate and though I have written about this before I felt the photos definitely added some fun to the tale. Click the link to read the column I filed about him in the Los Altos Town Crier for Halloween.

ALFRED HITCHCOCK AND HIS SCOTTS VALLEY ESTATE

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The Peninsular Railway: Electric Tech Ahead of Its Time

This rail car, from the Peninsular Railroad is Number 102 and shows a sign in the window that it runs from Los Altos to San Jose. It also sports a sign that says "Flyer," which means it was likely used for direct commuting. Photo courtesy of the Palo Alto Historical Association Archives.

This lovely map cover for the Peninsular doesn't even show a train: It was likely used to advertise the line's Blossom Special to tourists in a valley which then had the largest number of commercial fruit orchards the world had ever seen. Image courtesy of History San Jose Archives.

During the years I have done research on the San Francisco Bay Area I have seen a number of images of what looked like a small rail system that ran around the Santa Clara Valley. I always thought the lines were some branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad, which was the only rail I remembered from my childhood. 

Early in August, I attended a lecture by Ray Cosyn at the Saratoga Historical Foundation for the reopening of their museum, and the whole thing began to come into focus. And this led to a story of course. Click to learn more from my regular column in the Los Altos Town Crier: 

THE ELECTRIC PENINSULAR RAILWAY