Download or read book Gunfight at Mussel Slough written by Terry Beers and published by Heyday Books. This book was released on 2004 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cultural Writing. Photography. One of the deadlier gunfights in the history of the West, the Mussel Slough tragedy has been the basis for several works of fiction. Editor Terry Beers has assembled selections from several Mussel Slough novels and writings by Ambrose Bierce, Charles Nordhoff, John Muir, and others alongside newspaper articles, song lyrics, photographs, and editorial cartoons, all centered around a distinctive theme: the mechanisms whereby history becomes story. Terry Beers is also the author of UNFOLDING BEAUTY: CELEBRATING CALIFORNIA'S LANDSCAPES. He is the general editor of the California Legacy project.
Download or read book No Duty to Retreat written by Richard Maxwell Brown and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 1994 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1865, Wild Bill Hickok killed Dave Tutt in a Missouri public square in the West’s first notable "walkdown." One hundred and twenty-nine years later, Bernard Goetz shot four threatening young men in a New York subway car. Apart from gunfire, what do the two events have in common? Goetz, writes Richard Maxwell Brown, was acquitted of wrongdoing in the spirit of a uniquely American view of self-defense, a view forged in frontier gunfights like Hickok’s. When faced with a deadly threat, we have the right to stand our ground and fight. We have no duty to retreat.
Download or read book Sunset Limited written by Richard J. Orsi and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2005-05-16 with total page 640 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The only major U.S. railroad to be operated by westerners and the only railroad built from west to east, the Southern Pacific acquired a unique history and character. It also acquired a reputation, especially in California, as a railroad that people loved to hate. This magisterial history tells the full story of the Southern Pacific for the first time, shattering myths about the company that have prevailed to this day. A landmark account, Sunset Limited explores the railroad's development and influence—especially as it affected land settlement, agriculture, water policy, and the environment—and offers a new perspective on the tremendous, often surprising, role the company played in shaping the American West. Based on his unprecedented and extensive research into the company's historical archives, Richard Orsi finds that, contrary to conventional understanding, the Southern Pacific Company identified its corporate well-being with population growth and social and economic development in the railroad's hinterland. As he traces the complex and shifting intersections between corporate and public interest, Orsi documents the railroad's little-known promotion of land distribution, small-scale farming, scientific agriculture, and less wasteful environmental practices and policies—including water conservation and wilderness and recreational parklands preservation. Meticulously researched, lucidly written, and judiciously balanced, Sunset Limited opens a new window onto the American West in a crucial phase of its development and will forever change our perceptions of one of the largest and most important western corporations in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Download or read book The Great American Railroad War written by Dennis Drabelle and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2012-08-21 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How two of America's greatest authors took on the Central Railroad monopoly The notorious Central Pacific Railroad riveted the attention of two great American writers: Ambrose Bierce and Frank Norris. In The Great American Railroad War, Dennis Drabelle tells a classic story of corporate greed vs. the power of the pen. The Central Pacific Railroad accepted US Government loans; but, when the loans fell due, the last surviving founder of the railroad avoided repayment. Bierce, at the behest of his boss William Randolph Hearst, swung into action writing over sixty stinging articles that became a signal achievement in American journalism. Later, Norris focused the first volume of his trilogy, The Octopus, on the freight cars of a thinly disguised version of the Central Pacific. The Great American Railroad War is a lively chapter of US history pitting two of America's greatest writers against one of America's most powerful corporations. "Readers with interests in western American history or the origins of today’s political quagmires will find much to relish. " - Publishers Weekly
Download or read book California Myths and Legends written by Ray Jones and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2020-04-01 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Are the Santa Lucia Mountains really inhabited by shadowy Dark Watchers? Is the labyrinthine Winchester House still inhabited by the reclusive widow who masterminded its construction? And how did a sewing machine salesman make good on his promise to end a terrible drought in Southern California? From Mount Shasta’s legendary Lemurians to battles with alien spacecraft, California Myths and Legends of makes history fun and pulls back the curtain on some of the Golden State’s most fascinating and compelling stories.
Download or read book Myths and Mysteries of California written by Ray Jones and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2011-05-17 with total page 171 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Part of our new and growing Myths and Mysteries series, Myths and Mysteries of California explores unusual phenomena, strange events, and mysteries in California's history. Each episode included in the book is a story unto itself, and the tone and style of the book is lively and easy to read for a general audience interested in California history.
Download or read book The Associates Four Capitalists Who Created California Enterprise written by Richard Rayner and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2009-01-05 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A first-rate look at the little-known story behind the creation of America's first continental railroad…Entertaining and well written." —Publishers Weekly One hundred forty years ago, four shopkeepers in Sacramento, California, rose to become the force behind the American transcontinental railroad, achieving along the way wealth beyond measure. To build influence and maintain power, they lied, bribed, and, when necessary, arranged for obstacles, both human and legal, to disappear. Their names were Collis Huntington, Leland Stanford, Charles Crocker, and Mark Hopkins, and they were known as "The Big Four" or "The Associates." Their drive for money—nothing more, nothing less—was epic. Their legacy is a university, public gardens, museums, mansions, banks, and libraries—and to a large degree, California itself. A captivating chronicle of a crucial period in American urban expansion, The Associates is a true-to-life tale of ruthless ambition, staggering greed, and the making of a nation.
Download or read book The Outback Vs the Wild West written by Jack Drake and published by Boolarong Press. This book was released on 2012 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this volume, Drake focuses on the famous pastoral explorers, drovers and trail drivers; the poddydodgers, horse-thieves and rustlers; the wars of the land grabbers with Australian Aborigines and the American Indians; the clashes of lawless western entrepreneurs with the laws of the bit cities in the east; the colourful females who ventured our into a man¿s world and made thier names, the transport by puffing billies and famous stage coach lines and buckjumpers, roughriders and rodeos.
Download or read book Pacific Eldorado written by Thomas J. Osborne and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2019-11-05 with total page 657 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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. Now in its second edition, this acclaimed textbook reflects new scholarship, places greater emphasis on environmental topics, and examines recent California history. Designed to help students think critically about commonly-held ideas, the author challenges conventional views, such as those of pre-Gold Rush California, confronts the traditional Atlantic-centric approach to American history, and presents a new analytic framework for studying the state’s past. The text enables students to understand the evolution of California, from the time of prehistoric Asian seafarers to the state’s present-day position as the nation’s wealthiest and most populous state. Rigorous yet accessible, this text: Explores a “Greater California” history that extends beyond geographic borders Offers new, expanded, and revised coverage of plate tectonics, the citriculture boom of the late 1800s, the environmental history of California, and more Features “Pacific Profiles,” brief chronicles of notable figures who have made an impact on the state’s history Has a new feature, “Transpacific Connections” that illustrates further the fascinating ties between California and the Pacific World; for example, comparing the California gold rush to the contemporaneous New Zealand gold rush and indicating the connections between the two Supports a Pacific-centric approach with compelling examples, such as the building of the transcontinental railroad to increase the China trade Includes new and updated photographs, illustrations, maps, references, and reading suggestions Already adopted by a wide range of institutions, the new edition of Pacific Eldorado: A History of Greater California continues to be an essential resource for students and instructors in California history courses, as well as those required to pass exams on California history and government to obtain California teaching credentials.
Download or read book Crime and the Rise of Modern America written by Kristofer Allerfeldt and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2011-04-13 with total page 259 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: - Contents:The crimes of the century -- Crime and the West -- Hate crime -- Policing and imprisonment -- Conmen, swindlers, and dupes -- Business and financial crime -- Prohibitions -- Sex crime -- Political crime : scandal, sleaze and corruption -- Terrorists : rebels, radicals and freedom fighters and criminals with a cause -- Immigration and crime.
Download or read book A John Steinbeck Encyclopedia written by Brian Railsback and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2006-09-30 with total page 545 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the greatest novelists of the 20th century, John Steinbeck continues to be read and studied at all levels. This encyclopedia extensively overviews his life and writings. Included are roughly 1200 alphabetically arranged entries by more than 40 expert contributors. Entries cover his works, major characters, family members and contemporaries, influences, and various special topics related to his literary career. Many of the entries cite works for further reading, and the encyclopedia closes with a selected, general bibliography. Known for his searing social criticism, John Steinbeck is one of the most popular and influential American writers of the 20th century. His works are read and studied at all levels and have been made into films. And though critics and scholars initially found fault with his enormously popular works, he is now widely recognizes as a master of his craft. This encyclopedia provides an extensive overview of his life and career and is accessible to high school students, undergraduates, and general readers. Presented are roughly 1200 alphabetically arranged entries by more than 40 expert contributors. These entries cover his works, major characters, family members and contemporaries, influences, and a range of special topics.
Download or read book The End of Eden written by Terry Beers and published by University of Nevada Press. This book was released on 2018-05-31 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of the Joad family’s journey from their ravaged farm in dustbowl Oklahoma to the storied paradise of California helped inform a nation about the brutality, poverty, and vicious competition among fellow immigrants desperate for work. But Steinbeck is only one successor to a rich and esteemed literary tradition in California. Drawing on history and cultural theory, The End of Eden traces the rise of the California social novel, its embrace of the agrarian dream, and its ambivalence about technology and the development it enables. It relies on various cultural conceptions of space, among them, the American Public Land Survey (the source of the “grid” allotments shaping homestead claims), Mexican-era diseños, and Native American traditions that defined a fluid relationship between human beings and the land. This animation of four California social novels of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries demonstrates how conflicts over space and place signify cultural conflict. It is deeply informed by the author’s understanding of historical land issues. The works include Joaquin Miller’s Unwritten History: Life Amongst the Modocs, Helen Hunt Jackson’s Ramona, Frank Norris’ The Octopus, and Mary Austin’s The Ford. Miller’s Unwritten History: Life Amongst the Modocs and Jackson’s Ramona examine the tragic but inevitable consequences for native people of making space—inhabited already by Native American and Hispanic populations—safe for Americans who pursue the agrarian dream without regard to its effects upon those who claim prior tenure on the land. Norris’ The Octopus and Austin’s The Ford examine the murkier story of trying to preserve or to reclaim the agrarian dream when confronted by the unchecked materialist interests of American capitalism. A wide-reaching interdisciplinary approach to various cultural conceptions of space, The End of Eden provides a crucial understanding of the conflicts depicted in social novels that lament the ways in which land is allocated and developed, the ways in which American agrarianism—and its promise of local, sustainable land use—is undermined, and how it applies to contemporary California. In an era where California confronts, yet again, the complicated patterns of land use: fracking, water use and water rights, coastal regulation and management, and agribusiness, this groundbreaking work provides an ever-relevant context.
Download or read book Backcountry Ghosts written by Josh Sides and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2021-04 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: California is an infamously tough place to be poor: home to about half of the entire nation's homeless population, burdened by staggering home prices and unsustainable rental rates, California is a state in crisis. But it wasn't always that way, as prize-winning historian Josh Sides reveals in Backcountry Ghosts. In 1862 President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act, the most ambitious and sweeping social policy in the history of the United States. In the Golden State more than a hundred thousand people filed homesteading claims between 1863 and the late 1930s. More than sixty thousand Californians succeeded, claiming about ten million acres. In Backcountry Ghosts Josh Sides tells the histories of these Californian homesteaders, their toil and enormous patience, successes and failures, doggedness in the face of natural elements and disasters, and resolve to defend hard-earned land for themselves and their children. While some of these homesteaders were fulfilling the American Dream--that all Americans should have the opportunity to own land regardless of their background or station--others used the Homestead Act to add to already vast landholdings or control water or mineral rights. Sides recovers the fascinating stories of individual homesteaders in California, both those who succeeded and those who did not, and the ways they shaped the future of California and the American West. Backcountry Ghosts reveals the dangers of American dreaming in a state still reeling from the ambitions that led to the Great Recession.
Download or read book Encyclopedia of Immigration and Migration in the American West written by Gordon Morris Bakken and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2006-02-24 with total page 945 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Through sweeping entries, focused biographies, community histories, economic enterprise analysis, and demographic studies, this Encyclopedia presents the tapestry of the West and its population during various periods of migration. Examines the settling of the West and includes coverage of movements of American Indians, African Americans, and the often-forgotten role of women in the West's development.
Download or read book A History of California Literature written by Blake Allmendinger and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2015-05-19 with total page 445 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This History explores the historical periods, literary genres, and cultural movements of California.
Download or read book San Luis Obispo County Outlaws written by Jim Gregory and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2017-10-09 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: California was a wild and lawless place in the 1850s, and San Luis Obispo County was no exception. Outlaws and bandits passed along the El Camino Real, now Highway 101, leaving a trail of victims. Despite attempts to stem the tide of crime with a vigilante committee and a string of executions, notorious men continued to be drawn to the central coast well into the next century. The James brothers, the Daltons and even Al Capone made their mark here, while lawmen worked to tame this piece of the western frontier. Author Jim Gregory details nefarious activities lost to time.
Download or read book The Places of Modernity in Early Mexican American Literature 1848 1948 written by José F. Aranda and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2022-02 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Places of Modernity in Early Mexican American Literature, 1848-1948, José F. Aranda Jr. describes the first one hundred years of Mexican American literature. He argues for the importance of interrogating the concept of modernity in light of what has emerged as a canon of earlier pre-1968 Mexican American literature. In order to understand modernity for diverse communities of Mexican Americans, he contends, one must see it as an apprehension, both symbolic and material, of one settler colonial world order giving way to another more powerful colonialist but imperial vision of North America. Letters, folklore, print culture, and literary production demonstrate how a new Anglo-American political imaginary revised and realigned centuries-old discourses on race, gender, class, religion, citizenship, power, and sovereignty. The "modern," Aranda argues, makes itself visible in cultural productions being foisted on a "conquered people," who were themselves beneficiaries of a notion of the modern that began in 1492. For Mexican Americans, modernity is less about any particular angst over global imperial designs or cultures of capitalism and more about becoming the subordinates of a nation-building project that ushers the United States into the twentieth century.
