California

October 15, 2005
In 2004, California had a population of 36 million and the fifth-largest economy in the world. Starr, USC professor and former California state librarian, has justification for referring to his state as "this nation state, this world commonwealth." His distillation of his previously written seven-volume series, " California and the American Dream," is a single-volume tour de force that is superbly researched and beautifully written. This straight, chronological history opens with a fascinating survey of the geology, climate, flora, and fauna of the region, and then the author provides interesting insights into the achievements and failings of Spanish and Mexican governance, while he pays particular attention to the sad fate of California's indigenous peoples. Most of the book covers the period of American supremacy, and Starr's treatment of topics such as the gold rush, the growth of high-tech industries, and the emergence of California as the center of the motion-picture industry is handled with great aplomb. For both general readers and those with a particular interest in regional history, this is an informative and enjoyable reading experience.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)

October 1, 2005
Acclaimed California historian Starr (University Professor, Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles; "Coast of Dreams: California on the Edge, 1990 -2003") here delivers a single-volume distillation of the Golden State. In 13 succinct chapters, he explores both California's history and the mythologies that have surrounded it for centuries, from the paradise envisioned by 16th-century Spaniards to the latter-day belief in California as the apotheosis of the American Dream. Offering crisp prose, the author spins tales of Spanish California, the birthing of an American state, the building of a megastate, reliance on the defense industry, and suburbanization. Also considered are utopian endeavors (and concerns about dystopia) involving science and technology, the impact of the film industry, the state's current polyglot nature, the ongoing political struggle for preeminence, and, movingly, the historical mistreatment of native peoples, migrants, workers, and individuals of Japanese ancestry. Vivid sketches of figures as disparate as Junipero Serra and J. Robert Oppenheimer pepper the text. Valuable for general readers as well as students, this book is recommended for public and academic libraries. -R.C. Cottrell, California State Univ., Chico

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