This guide presents basic material on the sierras' many regions - an admirable accomplishment. Yet it is poorly written, and riddled with the writer's own experiences. This would be a nice idea if these personal anecdotes were interesting or witty, but they fail in these regards, and are thus of no use to the reader. These anecdotes tell the reader, for instance, that the writer once saw a snowman at the top of the peak - not particularly helpful for a reader trying to discern what's important on their trip.

Not recommended.

This book provides a thourough set of the features and attractions you will see on a drive through the Sierra Nevada. Most guides cover Highway 49 and some cover US395, but this guide also covers the far southern and far northern ends of the mountain range.

An exhaustive guide might be 1000 pages long, but in the 300 pages here, Koehler lovingly covers the highlights as well as some hidden gems in the area.

When I recently planned a trip to the Sierra I browsed through many books on the region. It wasn't until I saw Koehler's new title that I knew I had struck Sierra gold. This book is not just a timely overview of the region that is one of the nation's true scenic wonders--it is impressively well-written. Koehler threads her own experience into a beautifully-rendered survey of every destination you would probably consider visiting, whether by foot, snowshoes or car.