The most comprehensive illustrated history of Santa Cruz Island is being released to coincide with the centennial anniversary of the National Park Service, August 25, 2016. This two-volume book contains nearly 600 images, some of which have never been published. Santa Cruz Island An Illustrated History explores the geologic origins of the island and traces the cultural history from the native inhabitants, over 13,000 years ago, to the establishment of the Channel Islands National Park in 1980 and its current efforts to preserve and protect the island.

Santa Cruz Island An Illustrated History will initially be available for purchase on Amazon and at Chauser’s Bookstore, 3321 State Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93105.

“John Gherini is the perfect individual to tell this tale. A descendant of one of the families who shaped twentieth-century Santa Cruz Island and a person with deep roots in the Santa Barbara Channel region, John brings an insider’s knowledge to this complex story.”

— Robert M. Senkewicz,
Professor of History
Santa Clara University

“John Gherini weaves natural history, cultural history, and his own family’s generations on Santa Cruz Island into a fully-realized tapestry of one of the most complex and beautiful locations among our National Parks. This is more than a splendid coffee-table book; it educates even while it illuminates.”

• James F. Brooks,
  Professor of History and Anthropology,
  University of California, Santa Barbara