By Kathryn Reed

It’s hard to believe a picture book about Lake Tahoe could be disappointing. But “Emerald Bay and Desolation Wilderness” by Peter Goin (Arcadia Publishing, 2018) was just that.

Many of the pictures are repetitive and few are ones I have not seen before.

It would even be hard for me to recommend this to someone wanting to learn about the history of the area because the redundancy and the poor quality of so many of the black and white photos. While Goin can’t be faulted for the photos especially since many date back to the early 1900s, he did choose them.

Clearly for some people there will be historical information that might not be known, so the book could be educational.

One of the photos I found most interesting was of the slope above Emerald Bay prior to the slide in 1955. That scar is still such a focal point along Highway 89.

The book is divided into chapters about Emerald Bay, Fannette Island, Vikingsholm, Cabins and Retreat, Emerald Bay Camp, “Rose Marie” the Movie, and Desolation Wilderness.

Had the book been produced by one of the area historical societies it would have been easier to recommend just to support their cause. As a private individual simply using photos procured from elsewhere just adds to a reason to say this book should only be thumbed through at the library if you really want to see it.