Last Bonanza Kings: The Bourns Of San Francisco [Hardcover]

Ferol Egan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1998

A major new biography of the Bourn family--one of San Francisco's most influential families.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“[Ferol] Egan, an acclaimed California historian, makes use of the extensive Bourn family papers in this rich and lively history of the Bourn family and its influence on the development of San Francisco. Students of California history and the role of the Bourn family in the Bay Area’s growth will find this book informative reading.” -- Choice

“No reader interested in California’s colorful past can afford to ignore this major new family biography.” -- Woodland Democrat

“Last Bonanza Kings is a wonderful local history even for people who don’t like history. Author/historian Egan tells a good story, a skill too often overlooked when it comes to writing history. [He] even manages to make the basics of mining interesting to a general reader.” -- Davis Enterprise

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the Publisher

Award-winning author, Ferol Egan, has written six books. In 1986, Egan gained access to the correspondence and papers of the Bourn family. In this book, he brings well-deserved attention to an overlooked dynasty in California history.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 312 pages
• Publisher: University of Nevada Press (September 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874173191
• ISBN-13: 978-0874173192
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,522,144 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Editing would help., September 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Last Bonanza Kings: The Bourns Of San Francisco (Hardcover)

In his biography of William Bourn I and William Bourn II the author consistantly drifts from the topic.

A prime example is even though William Bourn is in Monte Carlo during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Egan adds to his description of the events in San Francisco the following sentence: "Even after the devestation of an earthquake that would have measured somewhere about 8.25 on the Richter Scale-to be developed in later years by Charles F. Richter of the Claifornia Institute of Technology..."

Unfortunately this quote is not exceptional. If the author stayed with his topic the information Eagan unearthed on this important California family would require half the pages.

Ferol Egan's "Last Bonanza Kings" is a book sorely in need of an editor.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Terrible, April 9, 2008

By 

Tim W. Anderson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Last Bonanza Kings: The Bourns Of San Francisco (Hardcover)

This was a poorly written historical novel. It wandered all over the place and left out critical material. I would suggest removing it from your inventory!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not Meaty Enough, December 9, 2006

By 

So. Calif book reader "readalot" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Last Bonanza Kings: The Bourns Of San Francisco (Hardcover)

I thought I had left a review but in looking back I haven't, so I will. I was REAL disappointed with this book. I spent a lot of money on it because I was excited to learn about the Bourn's, but the book left me with very little knowledge. Possibly there was no reason to write a book about them, but there just wasn't anything to sink my literary teeth into.