{"product_id":"the-age-of-gold-the-california-gold-rush-and-the-new-american-dream-9780385720885","title":"The Age of Gold: The California Gold Rush and the New American Dream","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom the two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, bestselling historian, and author of \u003ci\u003eOur First Civil War\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e--the epic story of the California Gold Rush, \"a fine, robust telling of one of the greatest adventure stories in history\" (David McCullough, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of \u003ci\u003eJohn Adams\u003c\/i\u003e).\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The California Gold Rush inspired a new American dream--the \"dream of instant wealth, won by audacity and good luck.\" The discovery of gold on the American River in 1848 triggered the most astonishing mass movement of peoples since the Crusades. It drew fortune-seekers from the ends of the earth, accelerated America's imperial expansion, and exacerbated the tensions that exploded in the Civil War. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eH.W. Brands tells his epic story from multiple perspectives: of adventurers John and Jessie Fremont, entrepreneur Leland Stanford, and the wry observer Samuel Clemens--side by side with prospectors, soldiers, and scoundrels. He imparts a visceral sense of the distances they traveled, the suffering they endured, and the fortunes they made and lost. Impressive in its scholarship and overflowing with life, \u003ci\u003eThe Age of Gold\u003c\/i\u003e is history in the grand traditions of Stephen Ambrose and David McCullough.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eH. W. BRANDS holds the Jack S. Blanton Sr. Chair in History at the University of Texas at Austin. A \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author, he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in biography for \u003ci\u003eThe First American\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eTraitor to His Class\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Anchor Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50652135325970,"sku":"9780385720885","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_f6aebca4-0de8-4a47-8075-d436b6412e1b.jpg?v=1733318608","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-age-of-gold-the-california-gold-rush-and-the-new-american-dream-9780385720885","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}