The California Gold Rush

California Gold Rush Books

Our Recommendations

Roaring Camp : The Social World of the California Gold Rush
Susan Lee Johnson, 2000
$29.95 (less discount)

An exemplary work of imaginative, innovative, and sensitive historical scholarship. . . . Beautifully, even lyrically, written, it opens many new insights in western U.S. history. -- David G. Gutierrez, University of California, San Diego

Rush for Riches : Gold Fever and the Making of California
by J. S. Holliday, 1999
$29.95 (less discount)

The Odyssey had Homer, the Aeneid had Virgil. The California Gold Rush has J.S. Holliday. He has hit pay dirt again with RUSH FOR RICHESS -- Sunset Magazine

A Year of Mud and Gold : San Francisco in Letters and Diaries, 1849-1850
by William Benemann (Editor), 1999
$29.95

Would you like to have seen the Bay Area when it was still wilderness? When Elk and grizzlies roamed the hills of Marin County, and the native wildflowers grew so thick on the slopes of Angel Island that their perfume was almost nauseating? Perhaps you'd just like a chance to have been in San Francisco when you could still buy a lot in the Financial District for $200? In The Year of Mud and Gold, William Benemann gives you the chance to experience all that and more. Through the journals and letters of California's first American settlers, we are able to re-live California's glory days. Like Benemann's editorial commentary, most of the letters are extraodrdinarily well-written, and paint a vivid picture not only of the Paradise that was the Bay Area, but also of daily life in the frenzied early years of the Gold Rush when were trying to create a new society and civilization in a wild land where the only law was that of supply and demand.

Gold Dust and Gunsmoke : Tales of Gold Rush Outlaws, Gunfighters, Lawmen, and Vigilantes
by John Boessenecker, 1999
$30.00 (less discount)

Movies and television have created an image of the Old West as an extremely violent place. This is to a large extent false, for most of the West was relatively peaceful during the frontier era. One outstanding exception was California during the Gold Rush. A lust for gold was the driving force behind the conflicts that developed as a diverse group of participants each fought for a share of the promised fortunes. Violence and lawlessness ran rampant in the 1850s, recording the highest homicide rate in the history of peacetime U.S. This is an outstanding collection of true "Wild West" stories told in a most engaging manner.

Art of the Gold Rush
by Janice Tolhurst Driesbach, Harvey Jones, Katherine Church Holland, 1998
$50.00

"Art of the Gold Rush" features drawings and oil paintings of images of the scenery, people, and activity surrounding the 80,000 travelers to California in search of golden nuggets.

Days of Gold : The California Gold Rush and the American Nation
by Malcolm J. Rohrbough, 1997
$40.00

"Rohrbough treats Gold Rush California as the multiethnic and multiracial society that it was. . . . At the heart of Rohrbough's wonderful book is [the] tension between a way of life that seems a modern libertarian's fantasy . . . and the commitments that the miners had made to a family and a community that they left behind." -- Richard White, The New Republic

Gold Rush: A Literary Exploration
Michael Kowalewski (Editor), California Council for the Humanities, 1997
$18.48

150 years later, we in California are still struggling to understand the legacies of the Gold Rush. How much of California's present "character" can be traced to the tumultous 1850s? Gold Rush: A Literary Exploration attempts to answer this question from two directions: first, by examining the diaries, letters, and journals of the 49ers who actually participated in the rush, and second, though the generations of later writers who have re-interpreted the Gold Rush again and again. The book's many short selections and splendid illustrations provide many access points; though sometimes old, the accounts are never dull. At turns humorous, chilling, and thought-provoking, this book is a compelling read for any Californian interested in the state's roots.

Traveling California's Gold Rush Country
by Leslie A. Kelly, 1997
$14.95 (less discount)

Traveling California's Gold Rush Country, complete with maps and suggested itineraries to capture the flavor of the California gold country, is designed to complement California's Gold Rush Country, the coffee table book. Using this guide published by Falcon, the knowledgeable or novice visitor to California's gold country will be able to see the highlights or explore the details of this history rich area. California's Gold Rush Country, the coffee table book, makes the perfect souvenir of the visit!

The California Gold Rush : A Guide to the California Gold Rush
by Eugene R. Hart, 1993
$14.95

At home or on the road, this informative book will help you explore the major events of western expansionism and lasting changes that led up to and beyond the worlds best known gold rush. Each section is packed with interesting descriptions and illustrations designed to entertain as well as add to your understanding of this era. Included are the details of crossing the continent by wagon on the most widely used land route to California in 1849. Or jump aboard a ship for a voyage by sea via the Panama or Cape Horn routes. Once in the gold fields, take in-depth look at the very oldest methods to the more recent technologies miners used to extract gold from the region known as the mother lode. A wide selection of gold rush towns that emerged during this unique period of American history have also been included all of which you can still visit today and experience throughout the entire length of California's historical Highway 49. Designed for ages 10 and up and teachers who cover California history.

Gold Fever! Tales from the California Gold Rush
by Rosalyn Schanzer, 1999
$17.95 (less discount)
Ages 4-8

Plying the same visually jam-packed format she used to great advantage in How We Crossed the West: The Adventures of Lewis and Clark, Schanzer here turns...to a more atmospheric account of the California Gold Rush...Schanzer vivifies the past and weaves her information together thematically (old-fashioned handbill style type-face announces such subjects as "Off to the Diggings" and "Night Life"). This overview, with its brief, digestible chunks, will likely tempt the appetites of budding historians, and the visual structure keeps the pace brisk. An author's note at the end puts into context the engaging historical anecdotes. --Publishers Weekly

California's Gold Rush : Kids Coloring Calendar
by William Carroll, Wendy Simpson Conner (Illustrator), Any Year
$9.95
Ages 8-12

Yes, it is a Gold Rush calendar for any year!

	Roaring Camp : The Social World of the California Gold Rush Susan Lee Johnson, 2000 $29.95 (less discount)
An exemplary work of imaginative, innovative, and sensitive historical scholarship. . . . Beautifully, even lyrically, written, it opens many new insights in western U.S. history. -- David G. Gutierrez, University of California, San Diego
	Rush for Riches : Gold Fever and the Making of California by J. S. Holliday, 1999 $29.95 (less discount)
The Odyssey had Homer, the Aeneid had Virgil. The California Gold Rush has J.S. Holliday. He has hit pay dirt again with RUSH FOR RICHESS -- Sunset Magazine
	A Year of Mud and Gold : San Francisco in Letters and Diaries, 1849-1850 by William Benemann (Editor), 1999 $29.95
Would you like to have seen the Bay Area when it was still wilderness? When Elk and grizzlies roamed the hills of Marin County, and the native wildflowers grew so thick on the slopes of Angel Island that their perfume was almost nauseating? Perhaps you'd just like a chance to have been in San Francisco when you could still buy a lot in the Financial District for $200? In The Year of Mud and Gold, William Benemann gives you the chance to experience all that and more. Through the journals and letters of California's first American settlers, we are able to re-live California's glory days. Like Benemann's editorial commentary, most of the letters are extraodrdinarily well-written, and paint a vivid picture not only of the Paradise that was the Bay Area, but also of daily life in the frenzied early years of the Gold Rush when were trying to create a new society and civilization in a wild land where the only law was that of supply and demand.
	Gold Dust and Gunsmoke : Tales of Gold Rush Outlaws, Gunfighters, Lawmen, and Vigilantes by John Boessenecker, 1999 $30.00 (less discount)
Movies and television have created an image of the Old West as an extremely violent place. This is to a large extent false, for most of the West was relatively peaceful during the frontier era. One outstanding exception was California during the Gold Rush. A lust for gold was the driving force behind the conflicts that developed as a diverse group of participants each fought for a share of the promised fortunes. Violence and lawlessness ran rampant in the 1850s, recording the highest homicide rate in the history of peacetime U.S. This is an outstanding collection of true "Wild West" stories told in a most engaging manner.
	Art of the Gold Rush by Janice Tolhurst Driesbach, Harvey Jones, Katherine Church Holland, 1998 $50.00
"Art of the Gold Rush" features drawings and oil paintings of images of the scenery, people, and activity surrounding the 80,000 travelers to California in search of golden nuggets.
	Days of Gold : The California Gold Rush and the American Nation by Malcolm J. Rohrbough, 1997 $40.00
"Rohrbough treats Gold Rush California as the multiethnic and multiracial society that it was. . . . At the heart of Rohrbough's wonderful book is [the] tension between a way of life that seems a modern libertarian's fantasy . . . and the commitments that the miners had made to a family and a community that they left behind." -- Richard White, The New Republic
	Gold Rush: A Literary Exploration Michael Kowalewski (Editor), California Council for the Humanities, 1997 $18.48
150 years later, we in California are still struggling to understand the legacies of the Gold Rush. How much of California's present "character" can be traced to the tumultous 1850s? Gold Rush: A Literary Exploration attempts to answer this question from two directions: first, by examining the diaries, letters, and journals of the 49ers who actually participated in the rush, and second, though the generations of later writers who have re-interpreted the Gold Rush again and again. The book's many short selections and splendid illustrations provide many access points; though sometimes old, the accounts are never dull. At turns humorous, chilling, and thought-provoking, this book is a compelling read for any Californian interested in the state's roots.
	Traveling California's Gold Rush Country by Leslie A. Kelly, 1997 $14.95 (less discount)
Traveling California's Gold Rush Country, complete with maps and suggested itineraries to capture the flavor of the California gold country, is designed to complement California's Gold Rush Country, the coffee table book. Using this guide published by Falcon, the knowledgeable or novice visitor to California's gold country will be able to see the highlights or explore the details of this history rich area. California's Gold Rush Country, the coffee table book, makes the perfect souvenir of the visit!
	The California Gold Rush : A Guide to the California Gold Rush by Eugene R. Hart, 1993 $14.95
At home or on the road, this informative book will help you explore the major events of western expansionism and lasting changes that led up to and beyond the worlds best known gold rush. Each section is packed with interesting descriptions and illustrations designed to entertain as well as add to your understanding of this era. Included are the details of crossing the continent by wagon on the most widely used land route to California in 1849. Or jump aboard a ship for a voyage by sea via the Panama or Cape Horn routes. Once in the gold fields, take in-depth look at the very oldest methods to the more recent technologies miners used to extract gold from the region known as the mother lode. A wide selection of gold rush towns that emerged during this unique period of American history have also been included all of which you can still visit today and experience throughout the entire length of California's historical Highway 49. Designed for ages 10 and up and teachers who cover California history.
	Gold Fever! Tales from the California Gold Rush by Rosalyn Schanzer, 1999 $17.95 (less discount) Ages 4-8
Plying the same visually jam-packed format she used to great advantage in How We Crossed the West: The Adventures of Lewis and Clark, Schanzer here turns...to a more atmospheric account of the California Gold Rush...Schanzer vivifies the past and weaves her information together thematically (old-fashioned handbill style type-face announces such subjects as "Off to the Diggings" and "Night Life"). This overview, with its brief, digestible chunks, will likely tempt the appetites of budding historians, and the visual structure keeps the pace brisk. An author's note at the end puts into context the engaging historical anecdotes. --Publishers Weekly
	California's Gold Rush : Kids Coloring Calendar by William Carroll, Wendy Simpson Conner (Illustrator), Any Year $9.95 Ages 8-12
Yes, it is a Gold Rush calendar for any year!

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