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Fully-illustrated, The Passenger collects the best new writing, photography, art and reportage from around the world.
IN THIS VOLUME: Growing Uncertainty in the Central Valley by Anna Wiener • How Does It Feel to Be a Solution? by Vanessa Hua • The Burning of Paradise by Mark Arax • plus: direct democracy and unsustainable development, the rise of the ‘land back’ movement, the cultural renaissance of Los Angeles in defiance of rampant gentrification, and much more…
California has stood for more than a century as the brightest symbol of the American dream. In recent years, however, the country’s mainstream media has been declaring with increasing frequency—and thinly veiled schadenfreude—the “end of California as we know it.”
The pessimists point to rising inequality, racial tensions, and the impact of climate change as evidence that the Californian dream has been shattered. Between extreme heat, months-long droughts, devastating wildfires, and rising sea levels, looking at California is like watching the trailer for what awaits the world if we don’t act to reduce global warming. Faced with these pressures, more and more Californians are leaving the state, leading to an unprecedented decline in population that could change the cultural and political balance of power in the country at large.
That said, demographic decline and climate disasters don’t tell the whole story of one of the most dynamic and diverse states in the Union—one that continues to drive technological and political innovation and define the evolution of work, food, entertainment, and social relations. This volume offers a fascinating picture of California in all its complexity and contradictions; an attempt to understand the laboratory where much of the world’s future continues to be written.
Praise for The Passenger
“These books are so rich and engrossing that it is rewarding to read them even when one is stuck at home.”—The Times Literary Supplement
“The Passenger readers will find none of the typical travel guide sections on where to eat or what sights to see. Consider the books, rather, more like a literary vacation—the kind you can take without braving a long flight in the time of Covid-19.”—Publishers Weekly
“A wonderful publication and a beautiful object. The Passenger is a pleasure to read, to hold, and to look at.”—La Repubblica
“A must-read. Much more than a travel guide, The Passenger is indispensable for any reader who is curious about the world.”—Il Venerdì
“Fresh and diverting, informative and topical without being slight or ephemeral [ . . . ] This supremely well-edited combination of current affairs, journalism, commentary, and fun facts is perfect for our pause-button moment.”—Australian Financial Review, Best Books of the Year
Some Numbers
Decalifornication — Francesco Costa
California is a prosperous, welcoming state with high-tech cities, stunning landscapes, an economy in rude health and unemployment rates at historic lows, so why is it losing residents to neighbouring states? What has gone wrong with the Californian dream?
Three Kids, Two Paychecks, No Home — Brian Goldstone
South of San Francisco, in a fertile corner of California that feeds much of the country, soaring housing costs mean working families end up sleeping in shelters and parking lots. The journalist and anthropologist Brian Goldstone introduces us to Brenda, Candido and their kids, forced to live in a minivan and suffer the cascading effects of homelessness.
Rematriation — Lauren Markham
For thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans, the territory we now know as California was inhabited and cared for by indigenous peoples. After centuries of land grabs, genocide and environmental devastation, a movement calling for a return of the land to its legitimate custodians – or ‘rematriation’ – is finally achieving its first concrete results.
Growing Uncertainty in California’s Central Valley — Anna Wiener
California produces much of the food that ends up on America’s tables, but, with the growing drought and frequent interruptions to the supply chain, it is time to ask whether the existing system is sustainable.
What Does It Mean to Be a Solution? — Vanessa Hua
The Asian-American community is fighting back against its imprisonment in a rigid stereotype that sees them only as taciturn, hard-working people incapable of relating to others. At the forefront of this is a new generation of writers whose literary creations are finally reflecting a more multi- faceted image.
An American Place — Francisco Cantú
For millions of Americans Yosemite National Park represents an ideal of unsullied nature, an image perpetuated through family stories and the nation’s epic narratives. But if we ignore the history of violence and massacres behind the park’s creation, we risk doing wrong not only to the historic victims but also to ourselves, because in so doing we deny ourselves the chance to understand – and therefore truly love – a place as intrinsically linked to human beings as it is to its rocks and waterfalls.
Tipping the World Over — Michele Masneri
From counterculture movements to the dominant culture and technology, from culinary trends to social struggles, what happens in San Francisco
and the Bay Area offers a glimpse of what the rest of us will be doing in a few years’ time. Journalist Michele Masneri turns his European gaze on the space–time divide between Silicon Valley and the rest of the world, not as a correspondent from a foreign country but from the perspective of the future, from space.
The Burning of Paradise — Mark Arax
A distinguished reporter tells the terrifying story of the 2018 Paradise fire, explaining why it should never have happened but will happen again and why climate change is not the most significant factor. The blame lies above all with untrammelled development and the negligence of a utilities company.
Ballot-Box Blues: The Indirect Road to Direct Democracy — NC Hernandez
Direct democracy in California takes many forms, sometimes unexpected, and the results of the various ballot initiatives are not always foregone conclusions. Here we are offered a brief overview of this essential democratic tool through two of the most controversial propositions of recent years.
Some of Everything — Lisa Teasley
Despite the gentrification that has reduced the African-American population of central Los Angeles to historic lows, culture is thriving within the Black community, a response, in part, to the widespread anger following the murder of George Floyd.
Hollywood on Hollywood — La McMusa
An Author Recommends — Lisa Teasley
The Playlist — Antonio De Sortis
Digging Deeper