Synopses & Reviews
California has always been our Shangri-la-the promised land of countless pilgrims in search of the American Dream. Now the Golden State's premier historian, Kevin Starr, distills the entire sweep of California's history into one splendid volume. From the age of exploration to the age of Arnold, this is the story of a place at once quintessentially American and utterly unique.
Arguing that America's most populous state has always been blessed with both spectacular natural beauty and astonishing human diversity, Starr unfolds a rapid-fire epic of discovery, innovation, catastrophe, and triumph.
For generations, California's native peoples basked in the abundance of a climate and topography eminently suited to human habitation. By the time the Spanish arrived in the early sixteenth century, there were scores of autonomous tribes were thriving in the region. Though conquest was rapid, nearly two centuries passed before Spain exerted control over upper California through the chain of missions that stand to this day.
The discovery of gold in January 1848 changed everything. With population increasing exponentially as get-rich-quick dreamers converged from all over the world, California reinvented itself overnight. Starr deftly traces the successive waves of innovation and calamity that have broken over the state since then-the incredible wealth of the Big Four railroad tycoons and the devastating San Francisco earthquake of 1906; the emergence of Hollywood as the world's entertainment capital and of Silicon Valley as the center of high-tech research and development; the heroic irrigation and transportation projects that have altered the face of the region; the role of labor, bothorganized and migrant, in key industries from agriculture to aerospace.
Kevin Starr has devoted his career to the history of his beloved state, but he has never lost his sense of wonder over California's sheer abundance and peerless variety. This one-volume distillation of a lifetime's work gathers together everything that is most important, most fascinating, and most revealing about our greatest state.
Review
"Vivid sketches of figures as disparate as Junipero Serra and J. Robert Oppenheimer pepper the text. Valuable for general readers as well as students." Library Journal
Review
"Kevin Starr is one of California's greatest historians...an invaluable contribution to our state's record and lore." Maria Shriver, First Lady of California
Review
"Kevin Starr captures the fullness of California history in one sweeping and masterful narrative. Starr is not only the Golden State's greatest living chronicler, he is also one of its greatest treasures." Gregory Rodrí guez, senior fellow, New America Foundation, and contributing editor, Los Angeles Times
Synopsis
A definitive, single-volume history of the Golden State ranges from the earliest Native American cultures, through the Spanish and Mexican eras, the Gold Rush, and rise of Hollywood, to the twenty-first century, chronicling the events, places, and personalities that have shaped California. Reprint. 15,000 first printing.
Synopsis
"A California classic . . . California, it should be remembered, was very much the wild west, having to wait until 1850 before it could force its way into statehood. so what tamed it? Mr. Starr's answer is a combination of great men, great ideas and great projects."--The Economist From the age of exploration to the age of Arnold, the Golden State's premier historian distills the entire sweep of California's history into one splendid volume. Kevin Starr covers it all: Spain's conquest of the native peoples of California in the early sixteenth century and the chain of missions that helped that country exert control over the upper part of the territory; the discovery of gold in January 1848; the incredible wealth of the Big Four railroad tycoons; the devastating San Francisco earthquake of 1906; the emergence of Hollywood as the world's entertainment capital and of Silicon Valley as the center of high-tech research and development; the role of labor, both organized and migrant, in key industries from agriculture to aerospace. In a rapid-fire epic of discovery, innovation, catastrophe, and triumph, Starr gathers together everything that is most important, most fascinating, and most revealing about our greatest state.
Praise for California
" A] fast-paced and wide-ranging history . . . Starr] accomplishes the feat with skill, grace and verve."--Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Kevin Starr is one of california's greatest historians, and California is an invaluable contribution to our state's record and lore."--MarIa ShrIver, journalist and former First Lady of California
"A breeze to read."--San Francisco
About the Author
Legendary California historian Kevin Starr is University Professor at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. The recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and the gold and silver medals from the Commonwealth Club of California, he served as the state librarian of California for the decade spanning 1994 to 2004. Starr divides his time between Los Angeles and San Francisco.