Eldorado: The California Gold Rush

Rating:
Summary: Unique, Penetrating, Fascinating
Review: Dale L. Walker's approach to writing American history makes him the most absorbing historian of our times. He tells history by focusing on those who were involved; by drawing vivid and penetrating portraits of the characters who made the history. He is also an amazing researcher, unearthing material that escapes others. This makes him far more readable than Ambrose, and his material is richer as well. Eldorado tells the story of the California gold rush in such rich detail that the whole era springs to life. We come to understandings about what happened, and the men and women who settled California, and the implications of the gold rush that linger even in present times. This is a remarkable work, by a masterful historian, and one that, I suspect, will win literary awards.

Rating:
Summary: Walker shines in this superb narrative ...
Review: Many books have been written about the California Gold Rush, and most recently a popular contender by H. W. Brands, but only the acclaimed author and historian Dale L. Walker, and expert in California history, could bring us such a brilliant and comprehensive account of this time and place of the American West, and he does so in his latest release, ELDORADO.

In the pre-Gold Rush era, California was a mecca of commerce for traders from all over the world. Those who stepped foot on its shores, or made the overland journeys across the Oregon or Santa Fe trails, all sought a prosperous beginning. John Augustus Sutter was no exception, as he left his wife and children and their home in Switzerland, evading substantial debt and economic loss, to start over. Dale L. Walker enlightens the reader on the important role the "Empresario" Sutter played in the commercial and social development of northern California, and ultimately, if not ironically, how such a man in his business ventures suffered, rather than gained, from the discovery of gold at the site of his new saw mill.

Though the story of James Marshall's discovery of gold at Sutter's mill, under Sutter's employ, is likely the key highlight in the history of the Gold Rush, it is a perfect example of how the glamour of such an event can mask the reality of the craze, if not madness, that developed afterward. Walker offers great depth on how the news of the gold discovery reached the media and governments all over the world. How the news was received, who believed it and who didn't, and how those who did attempted to claim their share of the new fortune. Walker offers detailed accounts of the sea journeys around Cape Horn, or the partial sea journeys to the malaria laden jungles of Panama, then to San Francisco Bay - the prices they paid, the accommodations they received, and the fears and anxieties they faced. Rather by land or by sea, the trek alone was dreadful and life-staking. The disease cholera an invisible gauntlet, more so then the social and environmental challenges, to the success in reaching the land of gold.

Dale L. Walker has never failed to provide readers with a compelling, engaging narrative on any of his subjects, but ELDORADO could very well be his best work yet, and is sure to receive worldwide praise and recognition. The book belongs in every public and school library, and in the personal library of world leaders. It's a book for all times and all ages, a tremendous accomplishment, and Dale L. Walker more precious than gold to the writings of American history.