In April 2023, we lost Natale “Nat” Zappia, a passionate humanist who was also an extraordinary scholar, teacher, and community leader—and a loyal friend to California History, serving on the journal’s editorial board throughout my time as editor. Nat’s academic bona fides were impeccable. A graduate of Cornell (BS), Claremont Graduate University (MA), and UC Santa Cruz (PhD), he was a leading scholar of American environmental history, focusing on patterns of production and consumption between regions and communities across North America, including trade networks and food pathways. He authored or coauthored several books, including Traders and Raiders: The Indigenous World of the Colorado Basin, 1540–1859 (University of North Carolina Press, 2014) and Rez Metal: Inside the Navajo Nation Heavy Metal Scene (University of Nebraska Press, 2020), as well as numerous articles in prestigious journals such as Nature, Early American Studies, Environmental History, California History, Southern...
University of California Press