A review by patmcmanamon
California Gold by John Jakes

3.0

I grabbed this book because I was interested in the history of California in the 19th and early 20th Century -- even though I didn't like a few other books I had read by the same author. This one was interesting and compelling -- for about 45 percent of the pages. At a certain point it rambles, gets wordy and the story goes from believable to pretty far out there. That being said, I did learn a great deal about the early history of California. And I'm embarrassed to admit that I never knew LA originally was developed as an oil town. Who knew? Evidently a lot of people other than me. This isn't the best book I ever read, but it has enough information for a middle rating.