J D Borthwick

Gold Rush: Three Years in California J D Borthwick

Publisher Marketing: "One of the classic first-person accounts of the California Gold Rush period." In 1848, two years before California became a state, and at a time when the population of the area was sparse, James W. Marshall discovered gold while constructing a saw mill along the American River in Coloma, northeast of present-day Sacramento. Over the following months, word spread across America and overseas and gold seekers soon began to arrive in Northern California by the thousands, hoping to find riches. John David Borthwick, a young artist from Scotland, was one of the adventurous men who came to California. He spent three years in the golden state, at first mining and then using his artistic talents to capture the life of the pioneers with pencil and paper as he explored the Sierra mining camps and the towns rising up to meet the expanding population. In 1857, after returning to Europe, he published, "Three Years in California," which remains one of the classic first-person accounts of the California Gold Rush period. Borthwick's book colorfully portrays so well the diverse cultures, the hardships, the successes, and failures, of a state coming into being. An excellent book on the early history of San Francisco, Sacramento, Placerville, and other towns in the Sierra foothills of California. Linda Pendleton, a California native, has written an Introduction to Borthwick's historical account. She is the author of nonfiction and fiction. She has written Introductions to other historical books about California. Contributor Bio:  Pendleton, Linda Linda Pendleton writes fiction and nonfiction. Shattered Lens: Catherine Winter, Private Investigator is first in the Catherine Winter Series. She coauthored the crime novel Roulette: The Search for the Sunrise Killer with her late husband, Don Pendleton; her suspense novel, The Unknown is about a mysterious government agency, UFOs, and the paranormal; and her historical, Corn Silk Days, Iowa, 1862, was recently published as was the thriller, Sound of Silence. Among her nonfiction books are To Dance With Angels and Whispers From the Soul, both written with Don Pendleton; A Walk Through Grief; Three Principles of Angelic Wisdom; and Angelic Whispers of Love. Linda is a former member of the Authors Guild; Sisters in Crime; EPIC Authors.