Rooted in Barbarous Soil: People, Culture, and Community in Gold Rush California. Edited by Kevin Starr and Richard J. Orsi. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000. Pp. x, 364. $60.00, cloth; $24.95, paper.

Abstract

This is the third volume of the California History Sesquicentennial Series from the University of California Press. The present volume contains 12 essays on social history, and is handsomely illustrated with original photos and artwork, including 16 color plates of California art from the first decades of the American period. Each essay covers a particular topic, such as education, migration, urbanization, popular culture, the status of women, and more. The overarching theme of the book is that the Gold Rush caused a period of barbarism in California society and culture characterized by racism, violence, and drunkenness, but as the seeds of civilization slowly took root, a relatively “normal” society emerged. One irony of this theme is that it undergirds the postmodern sensibilities of several essays that attempt to uncover the hidden narratives of women, minorities, and sexual desire.