The Diary of a Forty-Niner

by Chauncey L. Canfield and Alfred T. Jackson

Book Overview

One of the most important and memorable events of the United States' westward push across the frontier came with the discovery of gold in the lands that became California in January 1848. Located thousands of miles away from the country's power centers on the east coast at the time, the announcement came a month before the Mexican-American War had ended, and among the very few Americans that were near the region at the time, many of them were Army...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1507570627
• ISBN13: 9781507570623
• Release Date: January 2015
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 152 Pages
• Weight: 0.47 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

What it was really like

If you have ever wondered what it might be like to have lived "back then" then this is the book for you. A first hand look at the day to day life of a 49er as he lived it. Not a dry history book but filled with personality and adventure. I have read many diarys and books of the old west and this is one of the best.

primary yet not dry history

A great read for anyone interested in the social environment of the 49er. Turns popular misconceptions upside down about the barbarity of these Gold Rushers--they actually were quite civilized.

Excellent

An antidote for all the revisionist history that's come out in the last 20 years. An actual account of a man's day to day life in the 1850's written as it happened. It gives you a good idea of what people were like back then.

AN ILLUMINATING ACCOUNT

A VERY INTERESTING FIRST PERSON ACCOUNT--STRESS FIRST PERSON. NOT A DERIVATITVE BOOK OF THOSE TIMES AS ARE SO MANY OTHERS. BOTTOM LINE, IT COULD VERY WELL BE THE BEST LOOK AT WHAT IT WAS REALLY LIKE IN THE GOLD FIELDS AROUND, NEVADA CITY---GRASS VALLEY, CALIF, IN 1850 THAT YOU COULD FIND.

A sleeper--gold fever and personal growth

Gold fever! This diary portrays one man's passage through the turbulent gold rush. From small farmer just wanting to return home with enough money to marry his sweetheart to a man aware of all the world has to offer. A journey of personal growth. Wonderful.