Elaine Lewinnek is professor of American Studies at California State University, Fullerton, and author of The Working Man's Reward: Chicago’s Early Suburbs and the Roots of American Sprawl. Gustavo Arellano is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times, former editor of OC Weekly, and author of the books Orange County: A Personal History, Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America, and ¡Ask A Mexican! Thuy Vo Dang is curator for the Southeast Asian Archive at University of California, Irvine, and coauthor of Vietnamese in Orange County.
Their project applies political acumen to a practical regional guidebook featuring wayback machine-style micro-histories that reveal the county's depth and breadth. . . . Meticulously, almost giddily cross-referenced, A People's Guide to Orange County offers sources for every one of its 122 listings: scholars, journalists, poets, and activists. Entries include photographs, maps, archival materials, song lyrics, and protest chants. The idea is to uncover, piece by piece and location by location, the story of-forgive me-the real OC. * Alta Journal *