California is a difficult state to describe_ Carey McWilliams called it "The Great Exception;" others, including Frank Lloyd Wright, have been less kind. But it is certain that the Golden State is the nation's most populous one, and that its dynamic economy outperforms those of all but the very largest nations of the world. It is a state with booming industries in tourism, agribusiness, electronics, aerospace, and entertainment (including sports). And it prides itself on being the place "where the future begins." But perhaps California is a state of mind more than anything else. And Californians? They are a restless, energetic and innovative breed, and their periodicals reflect these characteristics.
CRITERIA OF SELECTION
Faced with a bewildering array of periodicals published in the Golden State, the writer had to decide which titles to include in this survey. First, the publications had to be fairly substantial in size and had to be published on a regular basis. Their contents had to be about California topics, although not exclusively so. They had to be representative of a broad range of subjects (no attempt is made to be all-inclusive in this survey). They had to be published in a magazine format; there is no description of newspaper or tabloid publications in this article. And finally, and most importantly, they had to reflect the free-wheeling, informal and ever-changing lifestyles of today's Californians. All of these periodicals are Englishlanguage ones, although a diligent search was made for Spanish-language publications. The state's fast-growing Hispanic, Asian and Armenian populations publish many newspapers but unfortunately few magazines that merit serious consideration.
With these thoughts in mind, the writer selected 34 titles which he feels represent the ideas, interests and activities of Californians; these are divided into several subject groupings: