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The Age of Gold: The California Gold Rush and the New American Dream
H.W. Brand Book Review

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Plot Summary of The Age of Gold: The California Gold Rush and the New American Dream
"This book describes the process and possible long-term effects of the California gold rush. Brand manages a fine mix of the larger view -- statistics, maps of larger immigration movements, etc. -- with storylines of various specific characters, from the familiar (General William Sherman and John Fremont), to the vaguely familiar (Leland Stanford and the actual discoverer of gold at Sutter's Mill, James Marshall), to the unknown (fortune hunters and settlers who chronicled their trips across the western prairies as well as from Australia, France, and China). The author has chosen some terrific characters (and decent writers) from other foreign lands to tell their stories. This book also clearly describes the effort of crossing the raw continent, the many human and animal carcasses that fell by the wayside (or succumbed to violence), and the arduous physical process of extracting precious metals from the earth until industrialization took over that work too. One of the more eye-opening sections for me was the description of how many fires -- big, devastating ones -- San Francisco suffered in the 1840s and 1850s. The text is always interesting and very readable."
David Loftus, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of The Age of Gold: The California Gold Rush and the New American Dream
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Kind Of History
Time of history: - 19th century
Nationality? - American--West
Economic History? Yes
Industry - General Economy
History of a journey/colonization? Yes

Subjects of this Historical Account
Is the portrayal sympathetic? - Somewhat sympathetic
Intelligence of subject of history: - Naive

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - West - Midwest - California
Big City? Yes

Style
How much gore? - 3 ()
How fast-paced is the book? - 5 ()
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
Book makes you feel... - concerned
How much focus on stories of individuals? - Focuses on brief history of a lot of players
Minor characters feature lots of: - miners
Pictures/Illustrations? - A handful
Maps necessary? - Necessary maps provided
Length of book - 450 pages+
How much emphasis on small details? - 4 ()
Most similar books to The Age of Gold: The California Gold Rush and the New American Dream
Barren Lands: An Epic Search for Diamonds in the North American Arctic by Kevin Krajick
Roaring Camp: The Social World of the California Gold Rush by Susan Lee Johnson
The Days of the Hercules by John Fahey
In The Footsteps of Lewis and Clark by Gerald S. Snyder
Frontier Women: Civilizing the West 1840-1880 by Julie Roy Jeffrey


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