California

An American History

By: John Mack Faragher

Narrated by: John Chancer

A concise and lively history of California, the most multicultural state in the nation

“Faragher takes the reader on a captivating journey through myriad twists and turns of California’s multicultural history, enlivened by stories of people who rarely penetrate our traditional state chronicles.”—Carlos E. Cortés, University of California, Riverside

California is the most multicultural state in the nation. As John Mack Faragher argues in this concise and lively history, that is nothing new. California's natural variety has always supported diversity, including Native peoples speaking dozens of distinct languages, Spanish and Mexican colonists, gold seekers from all corners of the globe, and successive migrant waves from the eastern states, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the Pacific Islands.

Beautifully crafted and elegantly written, Faragher tells the stories of a colorful cast of characters, some famous, others mostly unknown, including African American Archy Lee, who sued for his freedom; Sinkyone Indian woman Sally Bell, who survived genocide; and Jewish schoolgirl Marilyn Greene, who spoke up for her Japanese friends after Pearl Harbor. California's multicultural diversity often led to conflict, turmoil, and violence, but also to invention, improvisation, and a struggle for multicultural democracy.

©2022 John Mack Faragher (P)2022 Yale Press Audio

Outstanding

This is history done right, it’s a strong narrative supported by facts and with a compelling through-line that keeps you glued to book like how a well done piece of fiction captures your imagination.

Best California History Yet

I'll always be grateful to Kevin Starr for his works in California History. For me, Mack Faragher's California is the finest and frankest historical account of California I have ever read. "John Muir was a racist." Muir's racist account of Yosemite natives is no secret, but has anyone dared to declare Muir's obvious racism so simply? I have never seen it. Faragher deals with Muir fairly acknowledging his importance and achievements. But, Faragher also completes the complex picture of Muir and California throughout this important book. This is a history for grown-ups not a book of Golden State fairy tales. Faragher does not skip on the extraordinary historical wonders of California, but he tells the whole story. And, California is still here. Californians still have just as many reasons to love our state and the places in colossal California that we know as our homes. With Faragher's California we can shed childish ignorance about the legacies of criminality, racism, and violence for which we must seek to make amends and to end forever. Now we know. No excuse for inaction remains.

Every Californian should read/ listen to this book

it is Fascinating. It is very enlightening to be able to put a story to the names of all of our streets. I doubt if very many people know how extremely bloody the history of California is bornia is.

Reads like a novel

Thoroughly enjoyed this history. It did not gloss over the mistreatment of minorities. It was fun hearing the history of the men for whom streets were named and their politics. That it reads like a novel is appropriate for our colorful, diverse state.

How Racial and Economic Discrimination Shaped CA

This was a very good book and I am glad to have listened to it. However, it's subtitle "An American History" is misleading. It should more accurately be; "How Racial and Economic Discrimination Shaped California". Everything in this book is covered from the perspective of California's racial and economic discriminatory practices. It is all sadly true. But it is not the whole story. And it is not a balanced story. The Spanish Missions were founded to subjugate the natives. President Polk created a war to steal California from Mexico. I am glad California ended up part of the USA so I have to be OK with that. All farming history was focused on taking advantage of Mexicans (and Okies). All manufacturing focused on suffrage, unions and breaking unions. Big California names like Randolph Hearst, Henry Huntington, Leland Stanford, Levi Strauss, Harrison Gray Otis (LA Times) primarily received coverage in this book from the perspective of their shortcomings. Again, true but not the whole story.

Maybe the goal was to give a focused perspective on racial and economic discrimination to balance out the white-washed history most of us have read. But I would have liked something more. then again, the book would have doubled in length so I will take it as presented. I learned and appreciated the sacrifices of all those who came before us. As busloads of immigrants get shipped in from Texas in our day I can only hope we can do better in the future and present.

This book is awful

An academic is trained to explore many sides of an issue they study. This book fails miserably to do that. This is a history of the perceived victims told by the leaders of modern victimology on today’s college campus.

Shame on academics who fail to present the whole story in their pursuit of popularity in today’s deranged culture.