Sierra Stories: Tales of Dreamers, Schemers, Bigots and Rogues by Gary Noy

Entitled Sierra Stories: Tales of Dreamers, Schemers, Bigots, and Rogues, this 235-page book is a fascinating close-examination of 64 true stories, all occurring within California’s breathtaking Range of Light.

Some stories are adventurous, some are horrifying, some are inventive and all are fascinating.
This enthusiastic compilation of tales describes the experiences of artists, entertainers, explorers, courageous adventurers, quirky individualists, innovators and visionaries from throughout the 430-mile long Sierra.

Highlighted are historical oddities and curious events along with some of the darkest episodes in mountain history – illustrated with 65 historic images and photographs, many of which have not been published previously.

Sierra Stories author Gary Noy is a Sierra native and long-time history instructor at Sierra College. Noy is also the author of the best-selling Distant Horizon: Documents from the 19th Century American West (University of Nebraska, 1999) and co-editor, with Rick Heide, of The Illuminated Landscape: A Sierra Nevada Anthology (Heyday Books and Sierra College Press, 2010). In 2006, the Oregon-California Trails Association (OCTA), a national historical society, selected Noy as “Educator of the Year.”

Sierra Stories is co-published with Heyday Books of Berkeley and is the most recent trade book to bear the Sierra College Press imprint. Others include The Illuminated Landscape: A Sierra Nevada Anthology (2010); Tahoe Beneath the Surface (2011); and California Glaciers (2012). Founded in 2002 as part of Sierra College’s award-winning Standing Guard project, Sierra College Press is the first full-service academic press operated by a community college in the United States.

For more information about Sierra Stories and upcoming book signings and events, visit the Heyday Books website at http://www.heydaybooks.com or the Sierra College Press webpages at http://www.sierracollege.edu/press.