California: Land of New Beginnings

by David Lavender

Overview

From the earliest Spanish explorations in the late 1500s through the present, California's history and growth have been both tumultuous and phenomenal. All the historical facts are here: the missions and the Indians, the struggles between the Mexicans and the Americans, the fabulous gold rushes, statehood in 1850, railroad wars, furious labor upheavals, the disastrous scandals and bankruptcies of the 1920s, and the recent gigantic tamperings with nature. David Lavender tells, with unusual clarity and grace, the story of a beautiful state's rise to giganticism. In an afterword to this Bison Book edition, he looks at California today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780803253193
Publisher:	Nebraska Paperback
Publication date:	12/01/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	480
File size:	2 MB

Editorial Reviews

French's diary provides a vivid picture of what it was like to be a poor working woman in Colorado in 1890. French, recently divorced, worked as a laundress, cleaning woman, and nurse, and, regardless of illness or weariness, kept a diary of her work and how she felt about it. It is rare to find a diary describing the work of day laborers, since many were illiterate or too poor or tired to keep a journal. French wrote about every aspect of her world, including family, friends, values, and attitudes toward God. The diary is carefully edited and is a valuable source for information on the life of a working poor woman. Recommended for college libraries and public libraries with women's studies collections. Sheila R. Herstein, City Coll. of CUNY Lib.

Library Journal

"A magnificent, fast-paced, immensely readable account of California."—John Seelye, New York Times

New York Times - John Seelye

"There may be other histories of California as good as this (although I know of none better) but there are none so vividly written, so exciting to read. [David Lavender] has, as usual, endowed the past with an interest and a sense of reality that is unique."—Ray A. Billington

Ray A. Billington