The Secret
The Secret

Author: Byron Preiss

Publisher: ibooks

Published: 2016-10-05

Total Pages: 1

ISBN-13:

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The tale begins over three-hundred years ago, when the Fair People—the goblins, fairies, dragons, and other fabled and fantastic creatures of a dozen lands—fled the Old World for the New, seeking haven from the ways of Man. With them came their precious jewels: diamonds, rubies, emeralds, pearls... But then the Fair People vanished, taking with them their twelve fabulous treasures. And they remained hidden until now... Across North America, these twelve treasures, over ten-thousand dollars in precious jewels, are buried. The key to finding each can be found within the twelve full color paintings and verses of The Secret. Yet The Secret is much more than that. At long last, you can learn not only the whereabouts of the Fair People's treasure, but also the modern forms and hiding places of their descendants: the Toll Trolls, Maitre D'eamons, Elf Alphas, Tupperwerewolves, Freudian Sylphs, Culture Vultures, West Ghosts and other delightful creatures in the world around us. The Secret is a field guide to them all. Many "armchair treasure hunt" books have been published over the years, most notably Masquerade (1979) by British artist Kit Williams. Masquerade promised a jewel-encrusted golden hare to the first person to unravel the riddle that Williams cleverly hid in his art. In 1982, while everyone in Britain was still madly digging up hedgerows and pastures in search of the golden hare, The Secret: A Treasure Hunt was published in America. The previous year, author and publisher Byron Preiss had traveled to 12 locations in the continental U.S. (and possibly Canada) to secretly bury a dozen ceramic casques. Each casque contained a small key that could be redeemed for one of 12 jewels Preiss kept in a safe deposit box in New York. The key to finding the casques was to match one of 12 paintings to one of 12 poetic verses, solve the resulting riddle, and start digging. Since 1982, only two of the 12 casques have been recovered. The first was located in Grant Park, Chicago, in 1984 by a group of students. The second was unearthed in 2004 in Cleveland by two members of the Quest4Treasure forum. Preiss was killed in an auto accident in the summer of 2005, but the hunt for his casques continues.

California Coastal Resource Guide
California Coastal Resource Guide

Author: California Coastal Commission

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 1987

Total Pages: 388

ISBN-13: 0520061861

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This comprehensive and authoritative guide to the natural and cultural resources of California's magnificent 1,100-mile coastline is the companion to the best-selling California Coastal Access Guide. Whereas the Access Guide stressed public access to the California coast, the Resource Guide focuses on the rich and varied natural resources of the coast and its diverse habitats, including detailed descriptions of flora and fauna; the Guide also features accounts of the history of the coast, and includes numerous striking and informative drawings, photographs, and maps. Part One consists of sections of statewide interest divided into three categories: the first is coastal geography, which includes descriptions of coastal mountains, rivers, marine terraces, beaches, wetlands, nearshore waters, and the open ocean; the second is living resources, covering the flora and fauna of the coast; and the third is cultural resources, treating history, architecture, recreation, and economy, including such topics as parks and beaches, recreational fishing, amusement parks, lighthouses, offshore oil, tourism, agriculture, and other coastal industries. Part Two is composed of individual sections on each of California's coastal counties, as well as San Francisco Bay, the Farallon Islands, and the Channel Islands. This portion of the book includes 150 maps, lists of species of interest, a summary of each county's history, and site-by-site descriptions of parks, beaches, rivers, wetlands, coastal towns and cities, missions, museums, and other coastal resources; detailed information on the habitats, wildlife, and history of each site are included, as well as its address, and, where applicable, the phone number. Copiously illustrated, accessible, and above all, entertaining, this book is an indispensable reference guide for residents and vacationers as well as a fun book to browse in for anyone interested in California's coast.

The WPA Guide to California
The WPA Guide to California

Author: Federal Writers' Project

Publisher: Trinity University Press

Published: 2013-10-31

Total Pages: 580

ISBN-13: 1595342044

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During the 1930s in the United States, the Works Progress Administration developed the Federal Writers’ Project to support writers and artists while making a national effort to document the country’s shared history and culture. The American Guide series consists of individual guides to each of the states. Little-known authors—many of whom would later become celebrated literary figures—were commissioned to write these important books. John Steinbeck, Saul Bellow, Zora Neale Hurston, and Ralph Ellison are among the more than 6,000 writers, editors, historians, and researchers who documented this celebration of local histories. Photographs, drawings, driving tours, detailed descriptions of towns, and rich cultural details exhibit each state’s unique flavor. The guide to California stands out among the rest of the WPA guides for the quality of its writing, photographs, and pen-and-ink drawings. The Golden State contains much diversity of people, places, and things, and the WPA Guide expertly reflects and records the eclectic quality of this quintessentially American state. Published in 1939, the guide’s essays on history cover everything from the gold rush to the movie industry at the nascence of Hollywood’s golden age, and its back-road tours through California's coastal fishing villages and mountain mining towns still provide a splendid alternative to freeways.