The Age of Gold: The California Gold Rush and the New American Dream
by H. W. Brands
Book Description
By the Author of the Bestselling Pulitzer Prize Finalist THE FIRST AMERICAN
THEY WENT WEST TO CHANGE THEIR LIVES AND IN THE BARGAIN THEY CHANGED THE WORLD. THIS IS THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE GOLD RUSH.
When gold was first discovered on the American River above Sutter's Fort in January 1848, California was sparsely populated frontier territory not yet ceded to the United States from Mexixo. The discovery triggered a massive influx as hundreds of thousands of people scrambled to California in search of riches, braving dangerous journeys across the Pacific, around Cape Horn, and through the Isthmus of Panama, as well as across America's vast, unsettled wilderness. Cities sprang up overnight, in response to the demand for supplies and services of all kinds. By 1850, California had become a state -- the fastest journey to statehood in U.S. history. It had also become a symbol of what America stood for and of where it was going.
In The Age of Gold, H. W. Brands explores the far-reaching implications of this pivotal point in U.S. history, weaving the politics of the times with the gripping stories of individuals that displays both the best and the worse of the American character. He discusses the national issues that exploded around the ratification of California's statehood, hastening the clouds that would lead to the Civil War. He tells the stories of the great fortunes made by such memorable figures as John and Jessie Fremont, Leland Stanford and George Hearst -- and of great fortunes lost by hundreds now forgotten by history. And he reveals the profound effect of the Gold Rush on the way Americans viewed their destinies, as the Puritan ethic of hard work and the gradual accumulation of worldly riches gave way to the notion of getting rich quickly.
Amazon.com
Texas A&M University professor H.W. Brands enhances his reputation as one of America's great popular historians with The Age of Gold, which tells the story of the California gold rush through rollicking narrative and intelligent analysis. "James Marshall's discovery of gold at Coloma [in 1848] turned out to be a seminal event in history, one of those rare moments that divide human existence into before and after," he writes. It launched "the most astonishing mass movement of people since the Crusades" and "helped initiate the modern era of American economic development." Brands describes how thousands of people from all over the world hazarded the journey, faced the scientific challenge of extracting precious metal from the earth, and finally struggled "to sink roots" where so many came merely "to strip the land." This book is something of a departure for Brands, who most recently has written biographies of Benjamin Franklin and Theodore Roosevelt (both of them excellent). Yet he tackles this new topic with confidence, telling dozens of stories about John Fremont, Leland Stanford, and less famous forty-niners. He concludes by describing why these tales have a national and even global importance. The Age of Gold is magnificent in its sweep, and not to be missed by fans of American history. --John Miller
From the Back Cover
“A fine, robust telling of one of the greatest adventure stories in history.”
– David McCullough, Pulitzer-Prize winning author of John Adams
“The unforgettable story of… the Gold Rush—big, brassy, raucous… H.W. Brands tells it all—and more. Terrific.”
– Jay Winik, author of April 1865
“A gripping narrative account of the mad rush for California riches that forever changed America… A real page-turner.”
– Douglas Brinkley, Director of the Eisenhower Center and professor of History at the University of New Orleans.
“Fascinating stories that transcend the mundane and take us to new levels of the human experience...Brands tells it, superbly.”
– Stephen E. Ambrose
“Brands gives us the literary equivalent of the Comstock Lode.”
– Richard Norton Smith, author of the Pulitzer-Prize finalist Thomas E. Dewey and His Times and Patriarch : George Washington and the New American Natio
“A magnificent, compelling story that takes us into one of the most thrilling and important moments in the American past.”
– Michael Beschloss, author of The Crisis Years: Kennedy and Khrushchev, 1960-1963
“An engrossing, multifaceted history... Its author, like the miners of the gold rush themselves, leaves no stone unturned.”
– Janet Maslin, The New York Times
“A barn burner...There’s only one thing to say...and that’s ‘Eureka!’”
– The San Francisco Chronicle
“Reminiscent of a hundred shoot-em-up flicks...Earns its keep from start to finish.”
– Book Magazine
“Brilliantly pans the historical record for nuggets of hardship and, in the process, hits upon a mother lode of a story.”
– The Austin American Statesman
“Brands weaves a grand tale about Americans, of all races, of diverse origins, who were heroic but not perfect.”
– Raleigh News and Observer
About the Author
H. W. Brands is Distinguished Professor and holder of the Melbern G. Glasscock Chair in American History at Texas A&M University. He is the author of the New York Times Bestseller The First American, an acclaimed biography of Benjamin Franklin, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the Los Angeles Times Book Award for Biography, as well as T.R., a celebrated biography of Theodore Roosevelt. He lives in Austin, Texas.
Keywords: The Age of Gold: The California Gold Rush and the New American Dream, Books, H. W. Brands, California, Gold discoveries, Social aspects, United States, Civilization, History - General History, History, United States - 19th Century/Old West, United States - State & Local - General
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