As early as 1839, Sacramento, California, was home to one of the most enduring symbols of the American West: the saloon. From the portability of the Stinking Tent to the Gold Rush favorite El Dorado Gambling Saloon to the venerable Sutter's Fort, Sacramento saloons offered not simply a nip of whiskey and a round of monte but also operated as polling place, museum, political hothouse, vigilante court and site of some of the nineteenth century's worst violence. From librarian James Scott and the Special Collections of the Sacramento Public Library comes a fascinating history of Sacramento saloons featuring the advent of all types of gaming, the rise of local alcohol production and the color and guile of some of the region's most compelling personalities..

"Explore the history of the many saloons that sprang up in Sacramento during the bustling Gold Rush era"--

"Art of the Gold Rush" features drawings and oil paintings of images of the scenery, people, and activity surrounding the 80,000 travelers to California in search of golden nuggets.

Sacramento resident and Gold Country native Christopher Arns shares tips on how to best enjoy the sights (and some of the best weather in the country). Using his extensive knowledge of the area, Arns provides original trip ideas to help visitors make the most of their time, including Sacramento on Wheels, Wine Country Road Trip, and Gold Country Adventure. From a visit to Apple Hill or an afternoon at Fairytale Town to dirt biking and kayaking through breathtaking scenery, Moon Sacramento & the Gold Country gives travelers the tools they need to create a more personal and memorable experience.

In 1849, the greatest gold rush in history began as thousands of wouldbe- miners, gamblers, murderers and prostitutes made their way to California to seek their fortunes. In less than two years, more than 100,00 people arrived from all over the world to get in on the action. When the first gold nugget was found in the "Mother Lode," no one understood the importance of the discovery. Soon however, hundreds of ships littered San Francisco's harbor, abandoned by crew members rushing to the goldfields. The first gold was actually discovered in 1847 when California was still part of Mexico. The United States had declared war against Mexico in 1846. In 1848, Mexico ceded California and other western lands to the United States before news of the gold strike was known. The land belonged to the U.S. Government. It was not "open"-not free for the taking - so all the mining done was extralegal (outside of the law). Once word got out that there was gold to be had for the taking, short of sending in the Army to kill them, there was no way to stop the miners. They seized land and established Mining Districts that weren't authorized by Federal law, and then set about governing themselves. San Francisco and Sacramento became lawless, criminal-dominated cities where no man was safe who could not defend himself. In The Gold Rush, 1847-1849, the seventh book in the series, Caleb and his ladies fight to protect their property from a ruthless New York Syndicate that will stop at nothing, even murder, to take over their operations.

From the author of Hellacious California!, deeply human stories of the California Gold Rush generation, full of brutality, tragedy, humor, and prosperity. In less than ten years, more than 300,000 people made the journey to California, some from as far away as Chile and China. Many of them were dreamers seeking a better life, like Mifflin Wistar Gibbs, who eventually became the first African American judge, and Eliza Farnham, an early feminist who founded California's first association to advocate for women's civil rights. Still others were eccentrics—perhaps none more so than San Francisco's self-styled king, Norton I, Emperor of the United States. As Gold Rush Stories relates the social tumult of the world rushing in, so too does it unearth the environmental consequences of the influx, including the destructive flood of yellow ooze (known as “slickens”) produced by the widespread and relentless practice of hydraulic mining. In the hands of a native son of the Sierra, these stories and dozens more reveal the surprising and untold complexities of the Gold Rush. “Seamlessly fuses academic rigor, original reporting and emotional intensity into one meditation on an era.... If the task of the historian is to be faithful to lost truths, then Noy's latest exploration succeeds on every level, and does so in a way that will keep readers wanting to dig deeper into the past.”—Scott Thomas Anderson, Sierra Lodestar “An original and lively look at all the usual suspects, plus bears, weather, women, Joaquín, disappointment and dissipation…. Exhaustively researched and highly entertaining.”—JoAnn Levy, author of They Saw the Elephant: Women in the California Gold Rush

"Navarro encountered people from all over the world brought together in a society marked by racial and ethnic intolerance, swift and cruel justice, and great hardships. It was a world of contrasts, where the roughest of the rough lived in close proximity to extremely refined cultural circles."--BOOK JACKET.

A kaleidoscopic tribute to San Francisco by a life-long Bay Area resident and co-founder of Salon explores specific city sites including the Golden Gate Bridge and the Land's End sea cliffs while tying his visits to key historical events. By the author of Shadow Knights. 30,000 first printing.