California Dreaming: More Stories from Dr. History

Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but Not Astounding "Historical" Tidbits
Review: "California Dreaming" is an interesting, but definitely not astounding, collection of "historical" tidbits for the reader who is longing for information, no matter how trivial, about the Golden State. The stories are "written sound bites" (each about two pages long) and occasionally cause the reader to think, "I didn't know that," but they definitely do not constitute serious history. Topics covered range from the introduction of the yo yo, and prunes to America, to a recounting of the loss of the dirigible, "Macon," to a brief peek into the Huston family of Hollywood noteriety. The 50 or so stories (100 pages) are interestingly presented and coherently written, but they are not so remarkable as to justify the price of the book. The author is very good at what he does--presenting stories of the past in very palatable portions--but the reader looking for serious insights into the history of California will find these h'ors d'oeuvres unsatisfying. I'm sure the author did not intend to mislead the potential reader as to the quality of the historical record contained in this book, but when this reviewer notes the author goes by the name, Dr. History, he expects a bit more than he got