{"product_id":"welcome-now-leave-stuart-r-ward-9780977175406","title":"Welcome, Now Leave: How a would-be Shangri-la went hopelessly cattywampus","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe true story of a tragicomic, once-obscure, far northern California backwoods ghost subdivision, why it failed, and how it eventually drew national attention\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe peculiar history of Mt. Shasta Vista, a monumentally failed development that elevated dysfunctionality to an art form, \u003ci\u003eWelcome, Now Leave\u003c\/i\u003e explores the unlikely past of the contention-drenched remote subdivision - 1,641, 2-1\/2 acre lots over seven square miles - that flew off the tracks almost from its start.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn deep-diving into \u003ci\u003ewhy\u003c\/i\u003e the 60-year-old backwater went so astray, the author, a 46-year resident, knowledgeably examines his wayward realm's outlandish history with the eye of a bemused anthropologist and timing of a deadpan humorist.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMostly history, partly memoir, it tells of the hopes and dreams (and self-interest) of lot holders and realtors as the arrested development, chameleon-like, transforms from shared campground to fledgling retirement community, to countercultural, code-ignoring back-to-the-lander magnet; to sea of rogue cannabis growers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe writer, at 35, having reluctantly conformed to building code, rebels against his imperious older neighbors by hosting a hippie rainbow gathering, driving them apoplectic and making regional TV news. Decades later, shoe on the other foot as bold growers, mostly Asian American Hmong, snap up hundreds of empty parcels and gain \u003ci\u003enational\u003c\/i\u003e attention, he at 67 adapts to the radical change.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRelated issues covered include: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ethe Uniform Building Code\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eoff grid solar living in rural California\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ehistoric Back-to-the-land movement\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cli\u003esystemic U.S. racism against Asian Americans\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ecomparisons to similar rural developments in the region\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ethe cannabis boom in rural California\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eWelcome, Now Leave\u003c\/i\u003e is part local history, part social satire, and part elegy for a strangely enchanted lotus land. One that has forever sought a place in the sun. Readers will gain a new understanding of how easily the quest for idyllic country living, ever elusive, easily goes astray. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Stuart R. Ward\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0977175405\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780977175406\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Ward \u0026amp; Quill\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/28\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 318\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.70lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.00h x 5.00w x 0.71d","brand":"Stuart R. Ward","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":50921465020671,"sku":"9780977175406","price":15.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/welcome-now-leave-stuart-r-ward-9780977175406","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}