Preview the ChaptersPreface: The Gold Rush - A Saga 500 Million Years In the Making
Reviews"The Golden Corridor," compiled and edited by Jody and Ric Hornor (19th Century Books, $21.95, 202 pages), is a captivating study of 19th century people who helped shape the times. Gold miners, pioneers, emigrants and American Indians commingled for different reasons to form what would become a melting pot of ideas and ethnicities, from San Francisco to Lake Tahoe. The authors draw largely on journals and letters of the day. Adding depth are vintage black-and-white photos. Allen O. Pierleoni, __________________ The Golden Corridor is an anthology of writings from journals, books, and letters written by California's early settlers. Nineteenth century black-and-white photographs illustrate this amazing collection of firsthand testimony, allowing the reader to see the same breathtaking sights these hardy pioneers saw. Sidebars offer amusing quick vignettes from the era! Enthusiastically recommended reading for anyone driven by personal curiosity or professional research needs to gain insight as to what nineteenth century life in California was truly like. Jim Cox, Midwest Book Reviews __________________
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Reader ReviewsI Just finished The Golden Corridor, and I LOVED IT! I was in the camps, in the streams, in the snow, on the train, on the dusty trails--I was everywhere this collection of period writings and the incredible photos took us. A BIG BRAVO and a Masterful job to you and all those who collaborated with you. I love local history, and I just moved from Nevada County (15 years) to Alta/Dutch Flat, Placer County. (I'm originally from Philadelphia, so it feels like I have been roaming around historic sites and devouring artifacts & reproductions, photos, writings, especially Quaker, all my life!) I quickly discovered the Museum in Dutch Flat (what a treasure!) and found your book there. I have had a glorious time roaming through your pages accompanied by the maps I have collected (current or period) of the area.
Since I am a map fanatic, the only thing I could recommend, if a second
printing is in the works in the future, add maps to your book. I would
probably suggest both period with helpful current maps to further inform
the old map reader. LLH I picked up The Golden Corridor, drawn by the
photo's on the front cover, and the extensive photo's within the text of
the book. When I began reading, I was delighted to find that the text is
comprised of actual letters that the authors had compiled from the
original settlers who made the trek into the gold country. And the text
isn't just random. The Hornors organized the letters into chronological
chapters that made reading this book anything but dry and tedious. Written
in the vernacular of the day, the writers come alive in the most colorful
history of the gold rush days I've ever read. An added benefit is the
amazing collection of original photo's that have been restored, and are
featured throughout the book. Gretta Harris |
Newspaper ReviewsI love books about history, especially local history. And, what makes them even better, is when they have lots of authentic, historical pictures. This book has both and the pictures are not the grainy scratched photos often found in history books. These have been carefully restored by Ric Hornor and Placerville’s Steve Crandell. The full title to this book is “The Golden Corridor: 19th Century Northern California from San Francisco to Lake Tahoe by the people who lived and made Northern California’s history.” And, that is a perfect description of what is contained between its covers. Jody and Ric Hornor did a wonderful job of putting this book together. They don’t claim to be the authors: they are the researchers, compilers and editors. The real authors are the people who wrote the letters, journals and books that they used as the text and the photographers who took the nearly 200 photographs that they have included in this book. In other words, this is 19th century history of Northern California written and photographed by those who made and lived it. As a result, when reading it you will actually feel the joy, anguish and determination of the brave people who settled this land of ours. “The Golden Corridor” is beautifully organized, starting with a look at the origin of gold in Northern California. This is followed by chapters on the European explorers, the actual discovery of gold, the Donner Party and then the towns and cities of 19th century Northern California, including San Francisco, Folsom, Placerville, Auburn, Grass Valley and more. To make reading the book even more enjoyable, the compilers have added visual clues for additional information. A picture of a quill pen identifies text from personal letters; stories about crime are identified by a hangman’s noose; quotes from diaries and journals have a picture of President Taft’s personal journal beside them and call outs, text that is highlighted for emphasis, appear with a magnifying glass. If you are at all interested in the history of our part of California, this is the one book you need to have. You will spend hours reading the writings of those who were here and delight in the restored pictures of that era. Doug Noble, __________________ Auburn Journal __________________ The Golden Corridor and The Golden Hub use in Folsom History Bee -- Sacramento Bee features |
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Links Folsom History Museum w Living in & History of El Dorado County |
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© 2009 Electric Canvas / 19th Century Books w 1001 Art Road, Pilot Hill, CA 95664 w 916.933.4490 w Contact |
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