George W. Bryan (b. ca. 1844) of Indiana was living in Los Angeles when he wrote this book. The lure of the past (1911) begins with the story of his kinfolk William E. Bryan and his wife Mary, who left Carthage, Kentucky for an overland journey to California in 1853. He describes their life on a ranch near Virginia Flat, Eldorado County, before movng on to a ranch outside Sacramento. Next come Bryan's philosophical musings and reminiscences of Indiana and an account of a rail journey from Indianapolis to California, with stops at San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, Pasadena, and Riverside.