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General Vallejo and the Advent of the Americans

Alan Rosenus
312 pages (6 x 9), 25 b&w photos, map
Trade paper, ISBN: 1-890771-21-X, $18.95

Published in conjunction with Urion Press

The penetrating biography of one of the central—and most controversial—figures in California's early history

General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo was one of California's most distinguished citizens in the mid-nineteenth century. A frontier cosmopolitan and visionary, Vallejo owned vast ranchos in northern California and wielded enormous political power throughout the province. While serving as military governor during Mexican rule, he established an open immigration policy that encouraged and facilitated the American entrada to northern California. Dissatisfied with the remoteness of Mexican sovereignty, Vallejo believed that only the United States could unleash California's untapped economic potential.

This richly textured and thoughtful biography explores the contradictions and passions of this most complex of men, shedding light not only on Vallejo, but on the formation of California as a modern state.

Reviews:

"The definitive biography of one of California's most baffling figures."—Choice

"[Rosenus has the] remarkable ability to breathe life into historical figures and clarify complicated political machinations."—New Mexico Historical Review

"Alan Rosenus has written a marvelous book!"—Donald Frazier, editor, The United States and Mexico at War

Author Biography:

Alan Rosenus, a historian and writer, has reintroduced a number of California classics, including The Indian History of the Modoc War, Joaquin Miller's Life Amongst the Modocs, and Selected Writings of Joaquin Miller. A grantee of the National Endowment for the Arts, Rosenus has taught at Coe College, the College of Marin, and San Francisco State University.