West of Eden: Communes and Utopia in Northern California, Paperback

This account charts the rise of communalism in the 60s and 70s, as thousands turned their backs on their assigned roles in order to build another world together. Using memoir and flashbacks, the quest to find an alternative to the traditional nuclear family and the consumptive way of living is illuminated.

About the Author:

Iain Boal is an Irish social historian who is affiliated with the University of California-Berkeley and Birkbeck College-London. He is the author of "The Green Machine" and the coauthor of "Retort's Afflicted Power." He lives in San Francisco. Janferie Stone is a teacher and writer whose essays have been published in "Sustainable Feminisms." She lives in Mendocino, California. Michael Watts is a professor of geology and the chair of development studies at the University of California-Berkeley. He is the former director of the Institute of International Studies. He lives in Santa Cruz, California. Cal Winslow is the author of "Labor's Civil War in California" and the coauthor of "Albion's Fatal Tree." He lives in Mendocino, California.