内容简介
California has always been our Shangri-la–the promised land ofcountless pilgrims in search of the American Dream. Now the GoldenState’s premier historian, Kevin Starr, distills the entire sweepof California’s history into one splendid volume. From the age ofexploration to the age of Arnold, this is the story of a place atonce quintessentially American and utterly unique.
Arguing that America’s most populous state has always beenblessed with both spectacular natural beauty and astonishing humandiversity, Starr unfolds a rapid-fire epic of discovery,innovation, catastrophe, and triumph.
For generations, California’s native peoples basked in theabundance of a climate and topography eminently suited to humanhabitation. By the time the Spanish arrived in the early sixteenthcentury, there were scores of autonomous tribes were thriving inthe region. Though conquest was rapid, nearly two centuries passedbefore Spain exerted control over upper California through thechain of missions that stand to this day.
Arguing that America’s most populous state has always beenblessed with both spectacular natural beauty and astonishing humandiversity, Starr unfolds a rapid-fire epic of discovery,innovation, catastrophe, and triumph.
For generations, California’s native peoples basked in theabundance of a climate and topography eminently suited to humanhabitation. By the time the Spanish arrived in the early sixteenthcentury, there were scores of autonomous tribes were thriving inthe region. Though conquest was rapid, nearly two centuries passedbefore Spain exerted control over upper California through thechain of missions that stand to this day.