The Great Morgani aka Frank Lima There is a lot to write about in Santa Cruz. From travel books to narrative fiction set in the area, this is a list of books written about Santa Cruz and Santa Cruzans. For a list of writers who live in the area, but who have written books about other topics, see Local Writers.
Biographies & Autobiographies
- Chinatown Dreams: The Life and Photographs of George Lee by James D Houston, Geoffrey Dunn, Sandy Lydon, Morton Marcus, Lisa Liu Grady, Tony Hill, Mark Stuart Ong, George Ow, Jr.
- First There Is A Mountain: A Yoga Romance by Elizabeth Kadetsky
- The Great Morgani: The Creative Madness of a Middle-Aged Stock Broker Turned Street Musician by Frank Lima
- Mama's Memoirs: Growing Up in the Santa Cruz Mountains by Margaret Louise Rapp Tarquinio
- My Father Talked To Trees by Wilma Erlandson
- William Everson: The Shaman's Call by Steven Herrmann
History
- A Gathering of Voices The Native Peoples of the Central California Coast - Santa Cruz by Linda Yamane
- A Howling Wilderness: A History of the Summit Road Area by Stephen M. Payne
- A Legal History of Santa Cruz County by Robert E. Bosso
- A Trip Through Time and the Santa Cruz Mountains by Billie J. & Reece C. Jensen
- Blossoms Into Gold: The Croatians in the Pajaro Valley by Donna F. Mekis and Kathryn Mekis Miller
- California Redwood Park by Arthur A. Taylor
- The Cambodia Strike of May 1970 At the University of California Santa Cruz Author unknown
- Chinese Gold: The Chinese in the Monterey Bay Region by Sandy Lydon
- Durham's Place-Names of California's Central Coast by David L. Durham
- Ghost Towns of the Santa Cruz Mountains by John V. Young
- Grand and Ancient Forest: The Story of Andrew P. Hill and Big Baisn Redwood State Park by Carolyn de Vries
- Hate Crimes: A Bibliography (Contemporary Social Issues (Santa Cruz, Calif.), No. 66.) by Joan Nordquist
- Highway 17: The Road to Santa Cruz by Richard Beal
- History of Santa Cruz County, California by E. S. Harrison
- In the Ocean Wind;: The Santa Cruz North Coast by Cynthia Wayburn
- La Nostra Costa (Our Coast) by Ivano Franco Comelli
- Late Harvest : Wine History of the Santa Cruz Mountains by Michael Holland
- A Light In the Midst of Darkness: The Story of a Bookshop, a Community, and True Love by Wallace Baine
- Lighthouse Point: Illuminating Santa Cruz (Topics in Monterey Bay History) by Frank A. Perry
- Like Modern Edens: Winegrowing in Santa Clara Valley and Santa Cruz Mountains 1798-1981 by Charles L Sullivan
- Living and Loving: Santa Cruz in the Fifties by Daisy Rose Gandolfi
- Miguel and the Pirates;: A tale of Mission Santa Cruz (Mission Tales) by Helen M. Roberts
- Mission Santa Cruz (The Missions of California) by Kim Ostrow
- Monterey Bay Yesterday by Betty Lewis
- The Ohlone by Barbara A. Gray-Kanatiiosh
- Ohlone Way by Malcolm Margolin
- Pogonip: Jewel of Santa Cruz by Joan Gilbert Martin and Colleen McInerney-Meagher
- Rings in the Redwoods: The Story of Mount Hermon by Kay Gudnason
- Sacrifice Unto Me: The 21 Santa Cruz Murders by Don West
- The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk: A Century by the Sea by Santa Cruz Seaside Company
- Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk: The Early Years - Never a Dull Moment by Chandra Moira Beal
- Santa Cruz, California (Images of America) by Sheila O'Hare and Irene Berry
- Santa Cruz Coast (Then and Now) by Gary B. Griggs and Deepika Shrestha Ross
- Santa Cruz County: A Century by The Staff of the Santa Cruz Sentinel
- Santa Cruz County: Parade of the Past by Margaret Koch
- Santa Cruz County Place Names: A Geographical Dictionary by Donald Thomas Clark
- Santa Cruz County: Restless Paradise : An Illustrated History by Jennie Dennis Verardo and Denzil Verardo
- Santa Cruz, Exciting Early History of an Era by Margaret Koch
- Santa Cruz Historic Building Survey by Charles Hall Page & Associates
- Santa Cruz Is in the Heart: Selected Writings on Local History, Culture, Politics & Ghosts by Geoffrey Dunn
- Santa Cruz Spirituality by Paul Tutwiler
- The Sidewalk Companion to Santa Cruz Architecture by John Chase
- The Snake That Lived in the Santa Cruz Mountains & Other Ohlone Stories by Linda Yamane
- Soquel Landing to Capitola-By-the-Sea by Sandy Lydon and Carolyn Swift
- The Walk Around Santa Cruz Book: A look at the City's Architectural Treasures by Margaret Koch
- They Called It Home: Santa Cruz, California by Margaret Koch
- Surf, Sand & Streetcars: A Mobile History of Santa Cruz, California by Charles S. McCaleb
- Surfing in Santa Cruz Images of America) by Thomas Hickenbottom
- Watsonville: Memories That Linger by Betty Lewis
Photo/Art Books
- Big Basin (Book) by Denzil Verardo and Alexander Lowry
- Big Sur to Big Basin: California's Dramatic Central Coast Photographs by Larry Ulrich, Text by Pamela Verduin Cain
- Castle Rock: West of Skyline by Alexander Lowry
- The Grand Vision: A Journey Through Big Basin Redwoods State Park published by the Mountain Parks Foundation
- Sand Between Your Toes: A Watercolor Journey Through Santa Cruz County by Sally Bookman
- Santa Cruz: Visions of Surf City by Patrick Tref
- Twelve Days at Santa Cruz Photos of Santa Cruz by students in a workshop led by Ansel Adams
Nature Guides
- Animals of the Santa Cruz Mountains by Robert W. Piwarzyk
- Coastal County Plants from Santa Cruz to Mendocino by George I. Pikkarainen
- Flora of the Santa Cruz Mountains by John Hunter Thomas
- Fossil Invertebrates of the Marine Cliffs at Capitola, California by Frank A. Perry
- Fossils of Santa Cruz County by Frank A. Perry
- The Natural History of the UC Santa Cruz Campus Edited by Sheridan F. Warrick
- Plants of Big Basin Redwoods State Park by Mary Beth Cooney-Lazaneo, Kathleen Lyons, and photography by Howard King
- Plants of the San Francisco Bay Region: Mendocino to Monterey by Eugene N. Kozloff and Linda H. Beidleman
- Trailside Plants of Ano Nuevo by Karen De Lapp
- Watching the Watsonville Wetlands by Jerry Busch
Travel & Local Recreation
- Secret Walks and Staircases in Santa Cruz by Debbie Bulger and Richard Stover
- 100 Things To Do in Santa Cruz Before You Die by Leslie Chavez, Sara Clevenger, Dede Harrington and Misty Oliver
- Backroads & Hiking Trails, Santa Cruz Mountains by Jerry Schad
- The Bay Area RidgeTrail: Ridgetop Adventures Above San Francisco Bay by Jean Rusmore
- Coast and Valley Towns of Early California, Number 5: Santa Cruz by George Tays
- Combing The Coast, San Francisco To Santa Cruz by Ruth A. Jackson
- Explore...The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park by Jeff Thomson
- Local Girl Makes History by Dana Frank
- The Monterey Bay Shoreline Guide by Jerry Emory, Photography by Frank Balthis
- Monterey Bay Trails by David Weintraub
- Mountain Biking Santa Cruz by David & Allison Diller
- Polk's 1981 Watsonville (Santa Cruz County, CA.) City Directory by NA
- Ranch del Oso Trails by Hulda Hoover McLean
- Santa Cruz: A Guide for Runners, Joggers, and Serious Walkers by Eileen Brown and Steven Bignell
- The Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Book by Tom Taber
- Walking the Central California Coast: A Day Hiker's Guide by John McKinney
Fiction Set Locally
- A Killer Festival: A Capitola Mystery by Mysty W. Moonfree
- Backyard Bones by Nancy Lynn Jarvis
- The Death Contingency by Nancy Lynn Jarvis
- Death's Other Kingdom: A mystery of the Santa Cruz Mountains by Susan Retten
- The Jewel Box: A Capitola Mystery by Mysty W. Moonfree
- Killer Code by John U. Walker
- The Mental Traveler by Stephen Kessler
- One Tough Cookie by Vinnie Hansen
- The Santa Cruz Guru Murders: A Mystery by Marc Darrow
- Star Witness by Lia Matera
- Surferhunter: A Nick And Sarah Mystery by James Henry Littlefield
- Ups And Downs by Brad McClure
Poems Featuring The Area
Culinary/Cookbooks
- Crayon Soup: A Parents Guide To Child Friendly Dining In Santa Cruz County by Kimber L. Styles-Ashley and Michael P. Ashley
- Whole Earth Cookbook by Sharon Cadwaller, and Judi Ohr
Essay
- The Leftmost City: Power and Progressive Politics in Santa Cruz by Richard Gendron and G. William Domhoff
- The Rise and Demise of the UC Santa Cruz Colleges (Clark Kerr Memoirs Project) by Carlos G. Norena
