Do you know that the first California native to become an admiral was born near Valley Springs? Or that Wallace was named after the older brother of one of the most famous naturalists of the modern era? Or that a poet-soldier of the Civil War was a Burson postmaster? With most of its subjects never before written about, Something From Nothing, The Early History Of West Calaveras County, Vol. I collects the first 20 installments of the popular monthly column penned by Sal Manna for the Valley Springs News. A 48-page, full color magazine that adds numerous photographs to the originally published columns, this publication is a fascinating, must-have for anyone interested in the history of the area.