Book excerpt: "DELIGHTFULLY ECLECTIC . . . Move over, Alexis de Tocqueville. When Thurston Clarke makes the UFO-earthquake connection halfway through Fault, he elevates himself to the first rank of America's social observers." --Los Angeles Times California has always symbolized the good life, but social problems and natural disasters have tarnished the image of the Golden State. To find out what happened to the California Dream, Clarke sets off on a remarkable journey down the San Andreas fault searching for earthquakes and good news. From the "sensitive" whose headaches predict earthquakes with uncanny precision to a determined dreamer at the Salton Sea who hopes someday to build a blue-collar resort along the abandoned shores, Clarke introduces us to a memorable cast of eccentrics, asking each the provocative question: What is it like living in a place that--no matter how beautiful--might suddenly, while you opened the cereal, combed your hair, or bathed the baby, strike you dead? "VIVID AND CONTINUALLY SURPRISING . . . The author has an unerring ability to search out exactly the right despoiler, utopian, or local eccentric to illuminate the history and character of each stop along the way." --The New Yorker