More than a book about roses, this illustrated history begins with the wild roses seen by the early explorers and missionary fathers. The book soon launches into the Gold Rush era and the early cultivated garden roses of that time and for six decades afterward. It introduces the stories behind the first roses that were propagated and the oldest still-surviving roses of California. Of course, any history of the rose in California--and this is the first such book to provide that information--focuses also on the many nurseries and nurserymen of the first 75 years of statehood. As such, this history includes "stories of the early men and women who loved, grew, produced, and sold roses" and who led the way for California to become the leading producer of roses in the world during the last half of the 20th century. The book is amply illustrated with color photos and chromolithographs. Helpfully, it contains a glossary, several appendices, a bibliography of several pages, and both a general and a rose index. RAINBOW is the result of more than seven years of research.