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rschmidt7's review
3.0
Decent primer on Californian history but it loses focus about halfway through when it shifts away from the gold and towards politics and railroads.
deflowd's review against another edition
5.0
Fascinating, history really is the story of people just like you and I.
agalles's review
3.0
Good read on the start and some of the outcomes of the Gold Rush in california. I've lived in California for a few years now and realized I knew little about this era in the founding of California. This book filled many of those gaps and provided a pretty comprehensive overview of 1848 - 1870s california. First half read better/faster than the second half.
librarianonparade's review
4.0
It's no exaggeration to say that California was created by gold. No doubt there'd have been a state there anyway - the concept of Manifest Destiny ensured that Americans were always going to spread out across the continent - but the discovery of gold in 1848 accelerated the process and made for a way of life and an atmosphere quite unlike America up to that point. In pre-Gold Rush America the cardinal virtues were patience and hard work, rural, agrarian and slow - Jefferson's gentleman farmers. The Gold Rush ushered in the era of the quick buck, the sudden fortune, the wealth that could be gambled for, won and lost in the space of a week.
This is a wonderful book, well-written and pacy, and it covers far more than just the lives and wealth of the men and women - Americans and immigrants alike - who rushed to California to strike it lucky. It explores how the Gold Rush impacted the rest of the country, the role of California in upsetting the precarious balance between slave and free states that resulted in the Civil War, the way the ripples of gold spread out to affect the rest of the world, most particularly in the concept of the gold standard and free trade.
Whilst I might have liked a bit more about the day-to-day lives of the miners, more about life in the new city of San Francisco or in the mining camps themselves, for a broad-ranging, comprehensive overview of the Gold Rush and its place in California and America's history, the book can't be bettered.
This is a wonderful book, well-written and pacy, and it covers far more than just the lives and wealth of the men and women - Americans and immigrants alike - who rushed to California to strike it lucky. It explores how the Gold Rush impacted the rest of the country, the role of California in upsetting the precarious balance between slave and free states that resulted in the Civil War, the way the ripples of gold spread out to affect the rest of the world, most particularly in the concept of the gold standard and free trade.
Whilst I might have liked a bit more about the day-to-day lives of the miners, more about life in the new city of San Francisco or in the mining camps themselves, for a broad-ranging, comprehensive overview of the Gold Rush and its place in California and America's history, the book can't be bettered.
kiwi_fruit's review
3.0
Well documented and engaging story of the gold rush era in the California region.
The beginning, the voyages of the gold seekers to California, was the most exciting part for me. I enjoyed reading about the early pioneers background and their history, California’s population international mix and their social status in society, the evolution of the gold extraction methods, the birth the large cities (e.g. San Francisco and Sacramento), their growth and business development overtime, the Pacific railroad project etc. Less interesting for me were the commentaries about regional and national politics (e.g. Frémont’s presidential campaign of 1856 and the Civic War), however given Bands expertise in history of US politics and his background as presidential biographer this was probably to be expected.
The book felt very long however due to the author’s tendency to be sidetracked from the gold rush topic. Departure from the main subject is a common trend that I have noticed among recent non-fiction books and one that I do not appreciate. I feel that these tangents spent on marginally relevant topics are unnecessary fillers and wish the author would return to the subject of the book.
I personally would have preferred that Brands would not have digressed so frequently. A more compact book (with succinct historical and political background chapters) would have held my attention longer and, as a consequence, I would have rated the book higher. 2.5 stars
The beginning, the voyages of the gold seekers to California, was the most exciting part for me. I enjoyed reading about the early pioneers background and their history, California’s population international mix and their social status in society, the evolution of the gold extraction methods, the birth the large cities (e.g. San Francisco and Sacramento), their growth and business development overtime, the Pacific railroad project etc. Less interesting for me were the commentaries about regional and national politics (e.g. Frémont’s presidential campaign of 1856 and the Civic War), however given Bands expertise in history of US politics and his background as presidential biographer this was probably to be expected.
The book felt very long however due to the author’s tendency to be sidetracked from the gold rush topic. Departure from the main subject is a common trend that I have noticed among recent non-fiction books and one that I do not appreciate. I feel that these tangents spent on marginally relevant topics are unnecessary fillers and wish the author would return to the subject of the book.
Spoiler
As an example, in this book, Brands dedicates a long time explaining the US senate discussing the question of slavery. There are long excerpts from speeches by the opposing fronts, explanation of political maneuvering and reports of curious incidents in Washington involving famous senators, before eventually ending with the Compromise of 1850. While these meticulous accounts have a certain merit, they may even deserve their own book, they felt out of place in a book on the Californian gold rush.I personally would have preferred that Brands would not have digressed so frequently. A more compact book (with succinct historical and political background chapters) would have held my attention longer and, as a consequence, I would have rated the book higher. 2.5 stars
sfahrney's review
Interesting insight into the Gold Rush - sometimes too much detail but you can skip those parts. Good perspective on an interesting time in our history.
toitoine's review
5.0
When James W. Marshall first struck gold, he did not know the chain of events he was setting in motion. He wasn't even sure that what he found was actual gold! This book is the story of this discovery and the many consequences it had.
H.W. Brands tells us the stories of different actors of the Gold Rush, from the most famous like John C. Frémont ("The Pathfinder") and his wife Jessie Ann Benton (daughter of the powerful Thomas Hart Benton) to the well-forgotten. The discovery of gold impacted the whole of American society and thousands rushed West to get their share of the Mother Lode, with much different outcomes. Some like Frémont used their fortune and fame to get into politics (he was the Republican candidate against Buchanan). Others like Leland Stanford invested it into the Pacific Railroad and then into the building of Stanford University. Some, like poor James W. Marshall, lost it all.
This wonderful book tells all of those fascinating stories with vivid descriptions and a fair bit of context. I particularly enjoyed the retelling of the 49ers' trips, either around Cape Horn, through Panama or by land across the Wild West. Brands' narrative of the formative years of San Francisco is also a great read that I can only recommend.
H.W. Brands tells us the stories of different actors of the Gold Rush, from the most famous like John C. Frémont ("The Pathfinder") and his wife Jessie Ann Benton (daughter of the powerful Thomas Hart Benton) to the well-forgotten. The discovery of gold impacted the whole of American society and thousands rushed West to get their share of the Mother Lode, with much different outcomes. Some like Frémont used their fortune and fame to get into politics (he was the Republican candidate against Buchanan). Others like Leland Stanford invested it into the Pacific Railroad and then into the building of Stanford University. Some, like poor James W. Marshall, lost it all.
This wonderful book tells all of those fascinating stories with vivid descriptions and a fair bit of context. I particularly enjoyed the retelling of the 49ers' trips, either around Cape Horn, through Panama or by land across the Wild West. Brands' narrative of the formative years of San Francisco is also a great read that I can only recommend.