"One of the classic first-person accounts of the California Gold Rush period." In 1848, two years before California became a state, and at a time when the population of the area was sparse, James W. Marshall discovered gold while constructing a saw mill along the American River in Coloma, northeast of present-day Sacramento. Over the following months, word spread across America and overseas and gold seekers soon began to arrive in Northern California by the thousands, hoping to find riches. John David Borthwick, a young artist from Scotland, was one of the adventurous men who came to California. He spent three years in the golden state, at first mining and then using his artistic talents to capture the life of the pioneers with pencil and paper as he explored the Sierra mining camps and the towns rising up to meet the expanding population. In 1857, after returning to Europe, he published, "Three Years in California," which remains one of the classic first-person accounts of the California Gold Rush period. Borthwick's book colorfully portrays so well the diverse cultures, the hardships, the successes, and failures, of a state coming into being. An excellent book on the early history of San Francisco, Sacramento, Placerville, and other towns in the Sierra foothills of California. Linda Pendleton, a California native, has written an Introduction to Borthwick's historical account. She is the author of nonfiction and fiction. She has written Introductions to other historical books about California.
About the Author: Linda Pendleton's writings include mystery and suspense novels, Comics, and nonfiction books. She wrote several books with her husband, Don Pendleton, the creator of The Executioner: Mack Bolan Series, the Joe Copp Private Eye Series, and Ashton Ford Psychic Detective Series. Their fiction included Roulette: The Search for the Sunrise Killer. Together they wrote several nonfiction books including the popular To Dance With Angels; Whispers From the Soul; The Metaphysics of the Novel. Linda recently published her historical novel, Corn Silk Days, Iowa, 1862; and two books in her Catherine Winter Private Investigator Series: Shattered Lens; and Fractured Image. Linda's other books can be found on her Amazon author page.