"I thought it must be the fairest picture the whole earth affords," wrote Mark Twain of Lake Tahoe. Countless other visitors have agreed, and since the turn of the century the lake's clear, pure waters and breathtaking natural surroundings have made it a national treasure and an international vacation destination. As one of the deepest and largest of alpine lakes in the United States and the world, Lake Tahoe is said to be one of the most photographed spots on earth. In the clarity and vivid detail of black-and-white photography, Historic Photos of Lake Tahoe showcases nearly 200 images and two centuries of the lake and its surroundings, along with the people, places, and events that have shaped its unique history. Journey with researcher and writer Ellen Drewes as she visits the remarkable past of this scintillating American hideaway.

Of all the dramatic mountain lake environments in the world, the Lake Tahoe basin--split between Nevada and California--has the greatest draw. A destination for excursion-goers and vacationers since the 1870s, Tahoe is a mecca for second homes, skiing, summer visits, retirement tax havens, and spirited gambling. Lake Tahoe: A Rephotographic History offers the most comprehensive view of the Lake and its environment in a compelling visual compendium. Peter Goin and his research team spent more than two decades researching original images made in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and they rephotographed selected historic views between 2009 and 2021. Each pair of photographs reflects two moments in time in a historical narrative of sight and words. This is the largest photographic survey of Lake Tahoe, and it will be the definitive survey for many years to come.

Known for its stunning surroundings, South Lake Tahoe has changed dramatically since its industrial-logging beginnings to today’s tourist destination and mountain setting of natural splendor. Matching vintage images with their modern counterparts, Peter Goin of the University of Nevada, Reno, worked with a research team and the collections of the South and North Lake Tahoe Historical Societies, Nevada Historical Society, and the University of Nevada to compile these surprising juxtapositions as the dramatic landscape of this mountain community changes over time.

Photographs representing a visual document of the evolving landscape within the Tahoe Basin. Lake Tahoe attracted tourists in droves in the late nineteenth century, but the logging industry wrought extensive damage to the land. Now, as second-growth forests are maturing, new problems challenge the Tahoe basin's identity. Well known for the clarity of its deep water, the lake is now threatened by urban sewage and motor boat traffic. The fish population has yet to return.

Lake Tahoe transformed America, and not just once but many times over--from the earliest Ice Age civilizations to the mysterious death of Marilyn Monroe. It even played a hidden role in the American conquest of California, the launch of the Republican Party, and the birth of John Steinbeck's first novel. Along the way, Lake Tahoe found the time to invent the ski industry, spark the sexual revolution, and win countless Academy Awards. Tahoe beneath the Surface brings this hidden history of America's largest mountain lake to life through the stories of its most celebrated residents and visitors over the last ten thousand years. It mixes local Washoe Indian legends with tales of murderous Mafia dons, and Rat Pack tunes with Steinbeck novels. It establishes Tahoe as one of America's literary hot spots by tracing the steps of more than a dozen authors including Bertrand Russell, Maxine Hong Kingston, and Michael Ondaatje. Tahoe beneath the Surface reveals how the lake transformed the lives of conservationists like John Muir, humorists like Mark Twain, and Hollywood icons like Frank Sinatra. It even touches upon some of the darker aspects of American history, including anti-Chinese racism and the Kennedy assassination. Despite the impact Lake Tahoe has had on America, environmental threats loom large, and Tahoe Blue--a term that Lankford uses to encompass the whole range of life, beauty, and meaning the lake represents--grows increasingly vulnerable. In Tahoe beneath the Surface, human history and natural history combine in a most engaging way, one that will both inform and inspire all who would keep Tahoe blue.

Professional and amateur photographers have captured images of Lake Tahoe, California and Nevada, since the invention of the camera. In this photographic journal, we experience the transformation of Lake Tahoe from a Washoe paradise, to a timber resource for the Comstock Lode, and finally to a land of private retreats and hostelries. Herein we experience the environmental, business, and economic changes in the Tahoe Basin through time. Redefinition of the D. L. Bliss family business from timber and forest products to hostelry economically transformed Lake Tahoe. Investments in the Tahoe Tavern, Steamer SS Tahoe, modern rail service, and marketing to affluent San Francisco clientele reshaped the economy. Millions discovered the alpine air, pristine blue waters, and good times that Tahoe offers. Today, visitors still carry cameras and vow to visit again next year.