California Conquered: The Annexation of a Mexican Province, 1846-1850 [Paperback]

Neal Harlow (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Harlow supersedes everyone else who has written about the invasion and occupation [of California] by the US because he summarizes the literature of the field, treats the story in great detail, keeps the narrative straight, and deftly weaves a large number of quotations into the text to allow the characters to speak for themselves. The book is, therefore, a mine of information about the end of the Mexican and the beginning of the American era." -- Choice

"Long in the making, [California Conquered] is a work of love, intelligence, talent, and dedication. It will be a standard by which other studies on the subject and on related topics will be weighed for many years, probably generations." -- John Porter Bloom, Western Historical Review

About the Author

Neal Harlow was on the staffs of the Bancroft Library, the California State Library, and the library of UCLA; he was Head Librarian at the University of British Columbia for a decade and was Dean of the Graduate School of Library Service, Rutgers University, from 1961 to 1969.

Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press (April 14, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520066057
• ISBN-13: 978-0520066052
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,239,832 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Most Accurate Account of California's Conquest, April 12, 2001

By 

Antonio A. Feliz (Los Feliz Village, Los Angeles, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: California Conquered: The Annexation of a Mexican Province, 1846-1850 (Paperback)

I am a direct paternal descendant of Jose Vicente Feliz, the first comisionado of El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Angeles. In other words, my fifth great-grandfather was the first mayor of Los Angeles during the Spanish period. For over five generations, our family has passed down the stories of how the conquest of our ancestral lands were conquered by the Army of The West. This account by Harlow most accurately conforms to the family oral histories, which I have heard through the years from my Feliz, Peralta, Yorba, Cota & Lugo relatives. For example, it has long been understood by our family that it was Josef Tomas Feliz (a grandson of Jose Vicente Feliz) who hosted the signing of the treaty of El Campo de Cahuenga between the conquering military and the local city dignataries. Harlow notes that this took place in "the Feliz adobe," while others have omitted that fact. Also, according to our family histories, my second great-grandfather --Manuel Celestino Feliz--was a judge of the Californio period and, this book is detailed enough to report on the conditions of the take-over that placed "the locals" in charge of "their own judicial system" during the crucial years prior to statehood. Moreover, while most other accounts deny that the Mormon Batallion had anything to do with the policing of the locals. Mormon historians, in fact, claim that the Mormon Batallion "did not fire their guns" during their part in the Army of the West. Conversely, Harlow writes that "the Mormons" served during "the occupation" period as a "police" force. Indeed, from the perspective of an Angelino whose family has maintained an oral history of those activities, I can recommend this work as the most accurate of the histories I've read on the period of the conquest of my home state of California.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just outstandin g, December 15, 2007

By 

Ernesto Manzo "Dragoon" (Pleasanton, ca United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: California Conquered: The Annexation of a Mexican Province, 1846-1850 (Paperback)

Without question the best book I have read on the tranistion period of Califonria's history. The writer brings forth the tension of the relationships between the Californian military commander and the govenor Pio Pico, between Kearny, Fremont and Stockton. It clearly shows the positives and flaws of all the characters that came into play. Very easy to read.