Rating: 
Summary: Addictive Page Turner
Review: California Gold has it all! Lust, greed, amition, and historical tie-ins all in one! I have read and re-read this wonderful work of fiction 6 times at last count. I never become bored with it. In fact, some of the book's fabulous historical references have even lead me on some great adventures as a tourist in both San Francisco and the Los Angeles area.
Rating:
Summary: Addictive Page Turner
Review: California Gold has it all! Lust, greed, amition, and historical tie-ins all in one! I have read and re-read this wonderful work of fiction 6 times at last count. I never become bored with it. In fact, some of the book's fabulous historical references have even lead me on some great adventures as a tourist in both San Francisco and the Los Angeles area.
Rating:
Summary: Best book I've read!
Review: California Gold is a story about a man named Macklin Chance. It has a mixture of love, war, and excitement. I love reading this book. I would recomend this book to any of my friends.
Rating: 
Summary: Another great John Jakes novel.
Review: CALIFORNIA GOLD is the story of Macklin Chance, who like many others of his day, journeys to the land of California with the hopes of finding a new life and fortune. It is the start of the gold rush, and Macklin, along with thousands of others, help build the state of California in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Macklin starts from the bottom and works his way to the top,and along the way he encounters the men that helped build California: Leland Stanford, Randolph Hearst, to name a few. As in all John Jakes novels, CALIFORNIA GOLD is filled with a lot of history and a lot of great characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, although I do not feel it's Jake's best. I felt the ending was a little disappointing - can't explain it but it felt wrong to me - but otherwise this was one of those books that I couldn't put down. A must-read for all John Jakes fans!
Rating:
Summary: Another great John Jakes novel.
Review: CALIFORNIA GOLD is the story of Macklin Chance, who like many others of his day, journeys to the land of California with the hopes of finding a new life and fortune. It is the start of the gold rush, and Macklin, along with thousands of others, help build the state of California in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Macklin starts from the bottom and works his way to the top,and along the way he encounters the men that helped build California: Leland Stanford, Randolph Hearst, to name a few. As in all John Jakes novels, CALIFORNIA GOLD is filled with a lot of history and a lot of great characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, although I do not feel it's Jake's best. I felt the ending was a little disappointing - can't explain it but it felt wrong to me - but otherwise this was one of those books that I couldn't put down. A must-read for all John Jakes fans!
Rating:
Summary: Would like the hard cover of California Gold, if available
Review: Have all the books so far written, in hard copy, and would like "California Gold" to complete the set I already have. Books are excellent.majew
Rating:
Summary: A great read
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this exceptional novel by John Jakes. Previously I had read only the Bicentennial Series-Kent Family Chronicals, which I loved. I liked California Gold because, being from California, I loved the rich historic information. It was more than 49's and/or movie stars. I loved reading about Hearst and Bierce, and the fact that the story ends in my neck of the woods, Riverside. The California orange-growing business is under-rated. This novel incompassed virtually every aspect of history and life in California, and that is saying quite a lot!
Rating:
Summary: Not Jake's best, but a FINE EFFORT!
Review: I'm a big John Jakes fan. His historical fiction is always easy to read, sweeping, passionate and infused with memorable characters, fictional and real. CALIFORNIA GOLD has many of Jakes' familiar elements, but on a reduced scale. The KENT FAMILY CHRONICLES is his crowning achievement, of course, and those books dare to cover the entire first 150 years or so of American history. The NORTH AND SOUTH saga is in many ways the best work of fiction about the Civil War ever written. It makes history burst off the page, and the characters live that history in a way that makes it immediate. The real problem (which costs the book the one star) is that CALIFORNIA GOLD just doesn't have that kind of sweep and immediacy. It does a fine job showing how California developed after the Civil War era into the glorious state it is today. Jakes, as always, isn't afraid to paint things both good and bad. The railroad's importance to the development of the state is accentuated...as is the horrendous monopoly that railroad exercised. But for all the grandeur, it is frankly hard to care all that much about the history being presented to us. The book has great characters, usually memorably presented in a few brief sentences so that when they reappear 300 pages later, we remember exactly who they are. Our hero, Macklin Chance, is a character we root for, faults and all. He is faced with many terrific obstacles, including several villianous characters, both male and female. It isn't hard to cheer for the guy when things go well and wince when things turn ugly. Jakes has an easy-going writing style. We know we're getting spoon fed history with our melodrama, but we don't mind...he knows how to make it IMPORTANT to our story, not just a sidenote (although there are literally some sidenotes to start each chapter...they are a type of Cliff Note to California History, and must be read to follow the developments in the novel.) But it feels just a little rote. Some passages, such as the violent polo match leap right off the page. Others, such as the discovery of oil, are fumbled a bit...they could have held more emotional payoff. All in all, it's a solid read and a good introduction to Jakes. You don't have to jump into an entire series. But it makes me WANT to have a new Jakes series to read. Most certainly there are better historical novels out there, and surely many that are more "literate" or "learned," but few will entertain you and divert you more. Check it out!
Rating:
Summary: Not Jake's best, but a FINE EFFORT!
Review: I'm a big John Jakes fan. His historical fiction is always easy to read, sweeping, passionate and infused with memorable characters, fictional and real. CALIFORNIA GOLD has many of Jakes' familiar elements, but on a reduced scale. The KENT FAMILY CHRONICLES is his crowning achievement, of course, and those books dare to cover the entire first 150 years or so of American history. The NORTH AND SOUTH saga is in many ways the best work of fiction about the Civil War ever written. It makes history burst off the page, and the characters live that history in a way that makes it immediate. The real problem (which costs the book the one star) is that CALIFORNIA GOLD just doesn't have that kind of sweep and immediacy. It does a fine job showing how California developed after the Civil War era into the glorious state it is today. Jakes, as always, isn't afraid to paint things both good and bad. The railroad's importance to the development of the state is accentuated...as is the horrendous monopoly that railroad exercised. But for all the grandeur, it is frankly hard to care all that much about the history being presented to us. The book has great characters, usually memorably presented in a few brief sentences so that when they reappear 300 pages later, we remember exactly who they are. Our hero, Macklin Chance, is a character we root for, faults and all. He is faced with many terrific obstacles, including several villianous characters, both male and female. It isn't hard to cheer for the guy when things go well and wince when things turn ugly. Jakes has an easy-going writing style. We know we're getting spoon fed history with our melodrama, but we don't mind...he knows how to make it IMPORTANT to our story, not just a sidenote (although there are literally some sidenotes to start each chapter...they are a type of Cliff Note to California History, and must be read to follow the developments in the novel.) But it feels just a little rote. Some passages, such as the violent polo match leap right off the page. Others, such as the discovery of oil, are fumbled a bit...they could have held more emotional payoff. All in all, it's a solid read and a good introduction to Jakes. You don't have to jump into an entire series. But it makes me WANT to have a new Jakes series to read. Most certainly there are better historical novels out there, and surely many that are more "literate" or "learned," but few will entertain you and divert you more. Check it out!
Rating:
Summary: One of John Jakes best.
Review: If you are a John Jakes fan, this novel is for you. He spins a marvelous tale of a young mans journey to California and his life experiences once he arrives. This novel will take you through many stops along California history, from the beginnings of the ferry boats, the legendary Leland Stanford's and the early days in the wine country. I was captivated by this novel, a definite page turner
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