With its borders spanning almost the entire western coast of the United States and its size dominating most other states in the country, it’s no wonder California has long fascinated pioneers and scholars alike. With such a long history, it could feel overwhelming to try to gain a comprehensive understanding of the state’s full history—until now.

California: On the Edge of American History is a stunning survey of a state many people call home, yet few truly understand. Based on masterly historical research, this is a book that immerses you in the full evolution of one of the country’s most electrifying places.

This book approaches some of the most important parts of California’s story with honesty, compassion, and rigorous research. Whether you hope to gain more insight into the native tribes of the state, the Mexican War of Independence, the Donner Party, or what life was like during World War II, California: On the Edge of American History fearlessly exposes every light moment and every dark shadow with astute vision.

A place of innovation, cultural immersion, and geographical beauty, California has stories hiding in every shadow of her landscape. With this book, you can learn them all.

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The story of California is the story of dreamers—explorers, gold miners, immigrants, ranchers, moviemakers, farmers, and everyday Americans who headed west for a fresh start. The first native inhabitants arrived 9,000 years ago, ancestors of the tribes who would greet the Spanish in the 1700s. Father Junípero Serra later established a chain of missions along the coast, expanding European and Mexican influence. But when gold was discovered in 1848, the rush was on, and two short years later California became a state. After the gold ran out, other rushes followed, from agriculture to industry, Hollywood to Silicon Valley.

            California History for Kids includes a time line of significant events, a list of historic sites to visit or explore online, and Web resources for further study. And to get a better idea of the scope of California history and the lives of its citizens, readers can:

* create a Chumash rock painting

* play the Miwok Hoop-and-Pole game

* bake and eat hardtack like a gold miner

* design a cattle brand

* decode a railroad cipher

* immortalize their handprints in plaster

* assemble an earthquake preparedness kit

* and more

            Author Katy Duffield tells the rich story of the men and women who, despite challenges and occasional hardships, settled and built the vibrant cities and bountiful farms, ranches, and orchards of the Golden State.

The eighth edition of California: A History covers the entire scope of the history of the Golden State, from before first contact with Europeans through the present; an accessible and compelling narrative that comprises the stories of the many diverse peoples who have called, and currently do call, California home.

• Explores the latest developments relating to California’s immigration, energy, environment, and transportation concerns
• Features concise chapters and a narrative approach along with numerous maps, photographs, and new graphic features to facilitate student comprehension
• Offers illuminating insights into the significant events and people that shaped the lengthy and complex history of a state that has become synonymous with the American dream
• Includes discussion of recent – and uniquely Californian – social trends connecting Hollywood, social media, and Silicon Valley – and most recently "Silicon Beach"

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This fresh departure from other California history readers offers students a compilation of engaging essays designed to complement any standard California history textbook or stand on its own as a progressive core text.

The work of ten experts, this book presents interpretive examinations of an ecletic range of topics seldom, if ever, considered in standard texts, making it a welcome choice of supplementary reading for the full range of courses in California history.

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• Presents a provocative and original interpretation of the entire span of California history
• Reveals how the area's Pacific Basin connections have shaped the Golden State's past
• Refutes the widely held notion among historians that California was isolated before the onset of the American period in the mid-1800s
• Represents the first text to draw on anthropologist Jon Erlandson's findings that California's first human inhabitants were likely prehistoric Asian seafarers who navigated the Pacific Rim coastline
• Includes instructor resources in an online companion site: www.wiley.com/go/osborne