A World Transformed: Firsthand Accounts of California Before the Gold Rush

Paddison, Joshua [Editor]

ISBN 10: 1890771139 / ISBN 13: 9781890771133

Published by Heyday Books, 1999

About this Item

In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title!

Seller Inventory # Q-1890771139

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A World Transformed: Firsthand Accounts of California Before the Gold Rush
• Publisher: Heyday Books
• Publication Date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1890771139
• ISBN 13: 9781890771133
• Binding: paperback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 21 ounces

About this title

Synopsis

A World Transformed gathers together the writings of early European explorers, missionaries, sea captains and other visitors, from the first Spaniards to glimpse San Francisco Bay in 1769 to the eve of the gold rush. In 15 literate and accessible accounts by Father Juan Crespi, George Vancouver, Richard Henry Dana, Jr., Edwin Bryant and others, the transformation of San Francisco (and by extension, all of California) unfolds before us. A land of bountiful and open meadows, oak woodlands, plentiful game, and countless distinct groups of native people becomes dominated by a Spanish mission and presidio. A Mexican town grows up and eventually becomes a small city inhabited largely by Bostonians and other Anglo merchants, engaged in trade with the Clipper ships of the East Coast. Modern California emerges, not suddenly but perhaps inevitably.

About the Author

Joshua Paddison is a freelance writer and research historian who lives in San Francisco. He has worked for a variety of historical institutions and publications, including the Southern Oregon Historical Society, the California Council for the Humanities, and California History journal. He served as chief researcher for Gold Rush: A Literary Exploration (Heyday Books, 1997) and worked on Gold Fever: The Lure and Legacy of the California Gold Rush and A Golden State: Mining and Economic Development in California (both University of California Press, 1999). He is currently a graduate student in U.S. history at San Francisco State University.