A World Transformed: Firsthand Accounts of California Before the Gold Rush

Edited with Introduction by Joshua Paddison


Although it is often thought that modern California, like the goddess Minerva, was born full-formed after the discovery of gold in 1848, this important collection of writing illustrates that its modern roots go back almost a century earlier. In A World Transformed, the impressions of early explorers, missionaries, and sea captains combine to provide a remarkable and multifaceted picture of a land in transition.

Strikingly honest and insightful, the pieces span the rise and fall of Spanish California, its brief Mexican period, and the Anglo infiltration and eventual conquest. From the first Spanish missionaries who marveled at the idyllic landscape and bewildering residents to the Bostonian immigrants who populated Yerba Buena on the cusp of the gold rush, these writers chronicle firsthand California's amazing transformation.

Reviews

"Enthralling... [a] well-edited, attractive volume."—San Francisco Chronicle

About the Editor

Joshua Paddison is a Ph.D. candidate in history at the University of California, Los Angeles. He has worked as a writer or historical consultant for a variety of institutions, including the National Park Service, the California Historical Society, the California Council for the Humanities, and San Francisco State University. His research interest is the social history of California and the American West.