They Saw the Elephant: Women in the California Gold Rush [Hardcover]

Joann Levy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1993

"The phrase ’seeing the elephant’ symbolized for ’49 gold rushers the exotic, the mythical, the once-in-a-lifetime adventure, unequaled anywhere else but in the journey to the promised land of fortune: California. Most western myths . . . generally depict an exclusively male gold rush. Levy’s book debunks that myth. Here a variety of women travel, work, and write their way across the pages of western migrant history."-Choice

"One of the best and most comprehensive accounts of gold rush life to date"ˆ–San Francisco Chronicle

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the literature of the Gold Rush, women have been generally neglected. Freelance writer Levy here corrects that oversight with a colorful account of intrepid female argonauts--with and without men. She draws on letters, journals and reminiscences for a fresh view of western history. The women traveled overland, by ship round the Horn (one family survived three burning ships); they crossed the Isthmus of Panama by mule, and Nicaragua by steamship and mule. In California they ran boardinghouses, provided meals and laundry service for miners, and organized schools and churches. The cast of characters includes actresses and prostitutes, a stagecoach driver and ordinary women seeking to make a new home. Levy does for the Gold Rush what Lillian Schlissel did for the Plains emigrants in Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey . The book is a welcome addition to regional history as well as to women's studies. Illustrated.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

YA-- In this exciting and inspiring account of the women who helped settle California, Levy explores the leadership roles of those who contributed to the founding of businesses, towns, and mining camps. Photographs, letters, and diary accounts contribute to the realism of these adventures.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 265 pages
• Publisher: Archon Books (February 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0208022732
• ISBN-13: 978-0208022738
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,811,209 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars They Saw The Elephant, September 21, 2000

By 

Mary Moses "as Jane Denison, author of 'The ... (Paso Robles, California USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: They Saw the Elephant: Women in the California Gold Rush (Hardcover)

As a writer of both fiction and non-fiction, I found tremendous value in "They Saw The Elephant." For the general reader of non-fiction, this book reads like a novel! The stories of these valiant women grab the reader and never let go. You feel that you are with them, as they face the unknown perils and triumphs of the Gold Rush in California of the mid-19th Century. The words of these wonderful women have the special ring of Truth to them. I cannot overstate my admiration for the author and her work in presenting this important book.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most amazing books I've ever read., June 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: They Saw the Elephant: Women in the California Gold Rush (Paperback)

Well written, well researched, mesmerizing! There are not enough words to praise this book. It covers every aspect and type of life a woman could lead when she came West. It takes information from diaries and eyewitness accounts. It will make you realize that human feelings don't change. We can all relate to what these women felt. It doesn't read like a history book, it reads like a magnificent saga. I couldn't put it down.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I couldn't put it down!, May 23, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: They Saw the Elephant: Women in the California Gold Rush (Hardcover)

Reading ³They Saw the Elephant² changed the way I think about historical narratives. JoAnn Levy¹s ³westering women² come alive through their own words and through her skillful weaving of their stories. They weren't just hookers and schoolmarms; they ran boarding houses and laundries, they mined for gold, and there was even one who drove a stagecoach for Wells, Fargo, & Co.! Excellently researched and a great read!