Related Subjects: Author Index
Book reviews for "Derby,_George_Horatio" sorted by average review score:

Successful Direct Marketing Methods, Seventh Edition
Published in Hardcover by McGraw-Hill Trade (30 July, 2001)
Authors: Bob Stone, Ron Jacobs, and H. Robert Wientzen
Amazon base price: $38.47
List price: $54.95 (that's 30% off!)
Average review score:

Interesting for California History Buffs
"Bright Gem of the Western Seas" is a compilation of newspaper articles written by James Carson for the San Joaquin Republican from January 17 to May 29, 1852, and reports on the Tulare Valley by George Derby. The articles written by Carson occupy the bulk of the volume, and are by far the more colorful and illuminating.

Mr. Carson holds a minor place in California history, having been an early inhabitant, gold panner, and explorer for whom some landmarks are named. He is not writing as someone concerned with his place in history, as a Stanford, Ralston or Hearst might have been. He is just telling it "like it is," or at least as he sees things to be.

And that is what makes this work so interesting. It is anything but politically correct. He speaks of the native Indian population in fairly disparaging terms that, I gather, were typical of the time. He defends the lynch mobs. Conversely, he complains of the racist Foreign Miners Tax as discouraging the immigration of Chinese miners. Go figure.

Better yet, don't try to figure it at all. Just take him for what he was . . . a man of his time. And, if you have an interest in California history and, especially, the Gold Rush, you'll probably enjoy having this book in your library.

The Way It Was
Nothing is better for historical reference to the mood and texture of a particular time than the public writing of that time. This is, I agree, politically incorrect and quite telling. If you want to know what was seen, heard and felt by the people in California in 1846, (a year before the Mormon Pioneers got to Utah,) and 1852, then give this a read. Go and rent, "Paint Your Wagon," and make a night of it.


The Squibob papers
Published in Unknown Binding by AMS Press ()
Author: George Horatio Derby
Amazon base price: $
Used price: $10.00
Average review score:
No reviews found.

Squibob: An Early California Humorist
Published in Hardcover by Richard Reynolds (1990)
Author: George Horatio Derby
Amazon base price: $11.17
List price: $15.95 (that's 30% off!)
Average review score:
No reviews found.

Related Subjects: Author Index

Reviews are from readers at Amazon.com. To add a review, follow the Amazon buy link above.