Seeds of Something Different: An Oral History of the University of California, Santa Cruz

925 pages. 200 narrators, 250 archival images

In the 1960s, a small team of innovators gathered on a stunning sweep of land overlooking the California coast. They envisioned a new and different kind of university—one that could reinvent public higher education in the United States. Through this oral history of the University of California, Santa Cruz, we hear first-person accounts of the campus's evolution, from the origins of an audacious dream through the sea changes of five decades. More than two hundred narrators and a trove of archival images contribute to this dynamic, nuanced account. Today, UC Santa Cruz is a leading research university with experimental roots. This is the story of what was learned, what was lost, and what has grown along the way.

"I kept marveling, "So that's what was happening!" I could not put it down." --Nikki Silva of NPR's The Kitchen Sisters

"Fascinating and enlightening, this tapestry of voices is a mesmerizing self-portrait of a beloved campus."-- Reyna Grande, award-winning author of A Dream Called Home

"...a beautiful job weaving stories and images into an engaging read that will draw in everyone, including those who have never set foot on this unique and photogenic campus." --Mary Larson, Past President, Oral History Association