"J. S. Holliday--better than anyone, ever--has set forth in one volume the epic story of California's founding era. Here in rich language and full detail, in all the sweep and grandeur of history as social science and imaginative art, are chronicled the four decades of the nineteenth century that shaped California for all time to come." -Kevin Starr, author of "Americans and the California Dream"
J. S. Holliday authored "The World Rushed In: The California Gold Rush Experience" (1981), which has become the classic book on the subject and has remained continuously in print. Holliday was Director Emeritus of the California Historical Society and former Director of the Oakland Museum of California; Associate Professor of American History at California State University, San Francisco; and Assistant Director of the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. A popular lecturer--his insightful talk at Anchor Brewing was very well-received--he also appeared in several television documentaries, including Ken Burns's series "The West."
