Pacific Eldorado

THE FULLY-REVISED SECOND EDITION OF THE BESTSELLING TEXTBOOK-AN ORIGINAL INTERPRETATION OF THE ENTIRE SPAN OF CALIFORNIA HISTORY The rich history of California can best be told through its connection with the Pacific Basin. From the geological origins of the land and its earliest seafaring inhabitants, to current economic trade relationships and remarkably diverse cultural influences, the factors that continue to shape the Golden State are inseparably linked to the vast ocean to its west. Pacific Eldorado is a comprehensive exploration of the entire sweep of California's past in relation to the maritime world of the Pacific Basin. Offering a bold and original interpretation of the history of the region, prominent historian Thomas J. Osborne enables readers to view the state's development through a Pacific-focused lens. PRAISE FOR PACIFIC ELDORADO The book is meticulously up to date. It brings together the historical past with the mythic imagined place, and incorporates details into a real narrative that tells the story as well-balanced as anything on the subject of California. With California's increasing relevance in the world, the update of this text is of massive significance. -Jason S. Sexton, University of California, Los Angeles and Editor-at-Large, Boom California This second edition of Pacific Eldorado provides exciting new material on the many intersections between California and Pacific history. Thomas Osborne's text and illustrations are compelling to students and scholars alike. -David Igler, University of California, Irvine The book is going into its second edition precisely because it is the most compelling one-volume narrative of the Golden State's complex past-and that in turn is a testament to its author's keen insights and deft prose. -Char Miller, Pomona College A fresh and compelling interpretation of California history that places the state in a new and welcome perspective. This book, in other words, delivers on the promise of its title. -Glenna Matthews, author of The Golden State in the Civil War: Thomas Starr King, the Republican Party, and the Birth of Modern California