Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    California: A History
    California: A History
    California: A History
    Audiobook13 hours

    California: A History

    Written by Kevin Starr

    Narrated by Jonathan Davis

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    From the age of exploration to the age of Arnold, the Golden State’s premier historian distills the entire sweep of California’s history into one splendid volume.

    Kevin Starr covers it all: Spain’s conquest of the native peoples of California in the early sixteenth century and the chain of missions that helped that country exert control over the upper part of the territory; the discovery of gold in January 1848; the incredible wealth of the Big Four railroad tycoons; the devastating San Francisco earthquake of 1906; the emergence of Hollywood as the world’s entertainment capital and of Silicon Valley as the center of high-tech research and development; the role of labor, both organized and migrant, in key industries from agriculture to aerospace. In a rapid-fire epic of discovery, innovation, catastrophe, and triumph, Starr gathers together everything that is most important, most fascinating, and most revealing about our greatest state.

    "A California classic … California, it should be remembered, was very much the wild west, having to wait until 1850 before it could force its way into statehood. so what tamed it? Mr. Starr’s answer is a combination of great men, great ideas and great projects.”—The Economist
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateDec 3, 2010
    ISBN9781440799488
    California: A History
    Author

    Kevin Starr

    Kevin Starr is one of America's most celebrated historians. His many books include a magisterial seven-volume history of California (Americans and the California Dream). He served as California State Librarian and in 2006 was awarded the National Humanities Medal. He currently teaches at the University of Southern California.

    Related to California

    Titles in the series (1)

    View More
    View More

    Related audiobooks

    History For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Science Is Coming

      Apr 5, 2018

      An excerpt from David Reich's new book, Who We Are and How We Got Here: Ancient DNA and the New Science of the Human Past, recently touched off a media and cultural firestorm in the United States. Appearing as an op-ed in The New York Times, "How Gen

      2 min read

    • Article

      Giants Of The Deep

      Jul 31, 2018

      Giants Of The Deep
      7 min read

    • Article

      Golden State of Mind

      Apr 23, 2020

      Golden State of Mind
      8 min read

    • Article

      Remapping LA

      Feb 19, 2019

      Remapping LA
      14 min read

    • Article

      What California Dreams Are Made Of

      Apr 23, 2020

      What California Dreams Are Made Of
      5 min read

    • Article

      Why Were People So Keen To Join The Gold Rush?

      Apr 16, 2020

      Famine ravaged Ireland in the 1840s, which in the ensuing decades would cause half the population to leave or die. Meanwhile revolutions raged across continental Europe during the People’s Spring, with authorities responding ferociously, forcing many

      1 min read

    • Article

      The Global Millennium

      Apr 23, 2020

      Globalisation is a phenomenon that defines and challenges the modern world. Trade, technology, culture, conflict: today, all span continents and hemispheres. And the roots of this global connectedness stretch back much further than we might imagine.

      9 min read

    • Article

      Beyond Aloha

      Aug 24, 2021

      Beyond Aloha
      10 min read

    • Article

      Plundered: An Introductory Excerpt from McSweeney’s #65

      Jan 5, 2022

      Our goal in selecting texts from across this vast expanse and uniting them under this rubric is to reclaim and redistribute the name America, fraught provenance and all, and to assert the plurality contained within its singular as a constellation rat

      9 min read

    • Article

      All That Glitters

      Apr 16, 2020

      All That Glitters
      9 min read

    • Article

      The Past is Present

      Jun 27, 2023

      The Past is Present
      3 min read

    • Article

      Echoes of Empire

      Jul 23, 2019

      Echoes of Empire
      4 min read

    • Article

      How Has Migration Changed The World?

      Jul 16, 2020

      How Has Migration Changed The World?
      10 min read

    • Article

      Sharing The Rich History Of Doukhobors In BC

      Mar 15, 2024

      Of the many peoples forming British Columbia's cultural mosaic, few have received more media and political attention historically than the Doukhobors. Yet despite this attention, they continue to be misunderstood. Between 1908 and 1913, over 6,000 Do

      2 min read

    • Article

      Home Of The Alamo

      Dec 21, 2021

      Home Of The Alamo
      12 min read

    • Article

      Meet The Expert

      Feb 16, 2023

      SARAH CHURCHWELL is a professor of American literature and chair of public understanding of the humanities at the School of Advanced Study, University of London. She is the author of numerous books on US history, including Behold, America: A History

      2 min read

    • Article

      Slavery’s Painful Legacy

      Sep 29, 2022

      Slavery’s Painful Legacy
      6 min read

    • Article

      On the Imperialist ‘Charity’ of Rebuilding Caribbean Children’s Libraries with Eurocentric Books

      Jul 30, 2018

      1. On Sept. 5, 2017, Hurricane Irma hit landfall in the Caribbean island of Barbuda, wreaking indescribable havoc. Half of the population was left homeless as 95 percent of the buildings were destroyed. Two days later, I listened as Gaston Browne, th

      8 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for California

    4/5

    71 ratings4 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      Very interesting and well written quick overview of Californian history from one of the state's most respected historians. I thought this helped provide the basics of understanding California's unique position in the nation and world while also providing some very fun and quirky stories of the big personalities and twists of fate in our past. If nothing else, it's great to recognize famous street names and now understand the people they pay tribute to. This is a must read for Californians or anyone interested in gaining a deeper perspective on one of the best places in the world (imo).
    • 5/5
      California by Kevin Starr is the primer on California history. It covers every facet of the state in a clear and readable history. I love these kinds of histories because he doesn't cover just the political and geographic history but the social history as well. He covers art and literature that reflected the history of the state, something I really enjoy in a history. It doesn't gloss over anything either from race issues to the dillusionment of California. This is also a great book to focus in on aspects of California history that may be of interest. It covers all of California as well even to parts of the state that are typically glossed over. An excellent history.
    • 4/5
      A wonderful read. The book flows well and is not too academic like so many other histories. Kevin Starr captures and defines key periods in California history, while identifying and narrating the lifes and events of it's most important people. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. For me it was a page turner.
    • 5/5
      Excellent one volume history of California by the expert on California history.