The Diary of a Forty-Niner

I struggled with how to rate this book. When I bought it, it looked for all the world like a primary source. Even the preface gave that viewpoint. I read it believing that hook, line, and sinker, and I loved it. It gave me such a different perspective of the Gold Rush than a book I had read several......more

Initially presented as the “found” diary of a 49er, this book published in 1908 is a surprisingly engaging read that illuminates life as it was in the northern Sierra Nevada foothills among the burgeoning camps and mining claims that dotted the watershed. The purported narrator is a Connecticut tran......more

This is an interesting fun read!......more

What a beautiful, simple, poignant book. I feel like it was a true and accurate snapshot of the life of a California foothill miner. Having grown up in the area, all I had was the remnants in old and dusty museums: pick axes, partial sluice boxes, tin cans. Sometimes we'd find these relics in our ya......more

Better than expected I was captivated, and wanted to read more. Historical, and entertaining at the same time. I would recommend to anyone interested in an actual first hand account of the California gold rush.......more