The Valley of Heart's Delight: True Tales from Around the Bay

by Robin Chapman

The Santa Clara Valley, with its rich soil and sunny weather, has been home to great diversity and great innovation long before it became known as Silicon Valley.
California's first immigrants from Mexico were astonished by its beauty. "The land is moist and the hills have an abundance of rosemary and herbs, sunflowers in bloom, vines as plentiful as a vineyard," wrote one. From the movie stars of Hollywood's golden era who once came to play to billionaires who grew apricots for pleasure, the valley has hosted orchards, electric railroads, Army camps and even a love-struck poet.
Join author and historian Robin Chapman as she uncovers the true tales of this ever-changing place.

160 pages, Paperback

Published July 25, 2022

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a conversation with the author. So many interesting “true tales” about the valley where I live: apricots, trains and depots, Moffett Field, sweetheart jewelry, and Alfred Hitchcock! And pictures galore.

[Abby]

I think that this was a pretty interesting read - although it does seem to biased towards one city in particular, where I think the author is from. I liked reading about the stories of some of the Asian American contributions to the valley, such as Thomas Foon Chew (although, for all you AsAm people out there, this book doesn't really go into too much detail about it).

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting little looks at the area. Mostly focus on Los Altos, so I feel like that could have been reflected more in the title but I like the authors writing style and that she’s a native