California: A History
Kevin Starr
Modern Library
c/o Random House, Inc.
280 Park Avenue, 8th floor, New York, NY 10017
9780812977530, $14.95 www.randomhouse.com 1-800-726-0600
"California: A History" by the award winning historian
Kevin
Starr (Professor of History, University of Southern
California--Los Angeles) is a comprehensive and thoroughly 'reader
friendly' history of the state of California beginning with the
Spanish Conquest in the early sixteenth century, through the achievement
of statehood, to the impact of the gold rush of 1848, to the advent of
the railroads, to the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, to the emergence
of Hollywood as the entertainment capital of the world, to the rise of
Silicon Valley in the age of the computer. Professor Starr covers the
role of labor (both unionized and migrant), key industries including
agriculture and aerospace, California's contributions to the
politics, economics, and culture of the nation. Superbly researched,
written, and organized, "California: A History" is a model of
regional history, an enthusiastic recommendation for school and
community libraries, and could well serve as a template for other state
and regional histories.