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The Rush: America's Fevered Quest for Fortune, 1848-1853 Hardcover – August 12, 2014

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Edward Dolnick (Author)
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4.1 out of 5 stars 29 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1St Edition edition (August 12, 2014)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0316175684
  • ISBN-13: 978-0316175685
  • Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.2 x 9.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #815,372 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsUnputdownable
By John Barry on August 24, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition
An astonishing read. Unputdownable is such a cliche, but it's accurate in this case. It's a minor tragedy that the book has appeared after most folk have taken their vacations. It's the perfect beach-read: an amazing story unfolded with great narrative skill. Perhaps the perfect Xmas present ?

Dolnick situates the Gold Rush of 1849 against the background of that unrelenting era --- for most Americans the chances of escaping a lifetime of, at best, drudgery were close to zero --- to recount an epic yarn which, like all epics, has resonances far wider than itself. "California is like the rest of America, only more so; the gold rush is the American story, only more so," he writes.

There is no want of histories of the Gold Rush. Those I've read were, to be honest, rather boring --- scholarly, no doubt, but greyer than their subject. . Dolnick's account is a welcome change. To my knowledge, he is the first author to take full advantage of the treasure trove of first-person accounts --- diaries, letters, memoirs --- now lodged in the Library of Congress and a handful more archives. The voices he resurrects for us are heartbreaking. And he encases them in a narrative of astonishing pace and power. He persuades us that the Gold Rush is The American Epic, and page by page he tells us why. I was so moved that, at several places, I had briefly to stop reading.
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5.0 out of 5 starsExciting From Beginning to End
By Erik_In_Vegas on October 17, 2014
Format: Hardcover
I really enjoyed reading this book! I read it straight through over two days in about 17 hours. It moves fast, without any dull areas, and is hard to put down.

I read 'Age of Gold' (a few years back) and enjoyed both very much. This book is different in that it really propels the story along in a very entertaining way. I felt my pulse increasing and caught a mild case of gold fever within the first chapter. I'd recommend this book to anyone in need of a good (simulated) adventure. It somehow makes you feel like you're living right inside the story.

I'll be reading this author's other book (Clockwork Universe) next because his writing style truly brings history to life.
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4.0 out of 5 starsA readable account, kind of an updated "The World Rushed In"
By Craig H. Jones on November 23, 2014
Format: Hardcover
While subtitled "A new history of the Gold Rush," this might more accurately be termed a modern rewriting of classic Gold Rush literature--it isn't in the vein of several revisionist histories addressing the social norms of the day, the genocide of California Indians, or the economics of the Gold Rush (all of which are well addressed in the series of books Orsi coedited from UC Press in late 1990s). This very much follows in the vein of The World Rushed In, integrating numerous diaries and letters to convey the arc of travels to and in California along the two primary routes used by American argonauts, the overland California Trail and the sea route across the Isthmus of Panama to the end of the main period of placer mining, taken here as 1853. If you've read extensively of this literature before, you may find little new here (cholera: check, graves on the trail: check, malaria and sea sickness: check and check, didn't get much gold: check), but for those only somewhat familiar or unfamiliar with this event, this is a fine introduction to a period of American history usually lost to modern schoolchildren as history classes emphasize the march to the Civil War and the Industrial Revolution over the 1850s.
A key for any author attempting a volume like this is to key on the diarists and letter writers who can provide the most compelling stories, and Dolnick chooses well. He uses the well-known diaries of Israel (aka Isaac) Lord and Joseph Bruff and complements them with the writings of Alonzo Delano, Jennie Megquir and Luzena Wilson. Arguably the greatest pleasure in reading this book is to follow the two women within what was overwhelmingly a male flood; this probably is what most distinguishes this book from others of its ilk.Read more ›
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2.0 out of 5 starsNothing new here.
By Sprockets on August 8, 2015
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
This book is slow to start and slow to get through. Lacks any real new material on the gold rush except what the author read in journals. I was expecting real details of the mines, geology, and impact on the country. Not in this book. I spent 15 years only 50 miles from Route 49 through the gold country. There was nothing new here that you can't read in local newspapers.
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4.0 out of 5 starsEnjoyable & informative
By Agnes Dyson on February 9, 2015
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
The greatest strength of this book is the voices of a handful of people who left accounts of their journey, either overland or through Panama. The author makes excellent use of quotes including two remarkable women who thrived in the chaotic environment of 1849 California. You end up reading a lot about the journeys, not just the California part. I found both equally as interesting. Academic reviewers criticize this book for not breaking new ground but as someone who didn't know much about the gold rush, I found it enjoyable and informative.
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4.0 out of 5 starsThe Gold Fever
By oshdad on October 19, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
A very good telling of the hopes and dreams of those seeking their fortune by heading west to discover gold. Based on actual diaries and letters. This book really puts you at the scene, living the day to day struggles.
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5.0 out of 5 starsA Must Read!
By rick on November 8, 2015
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
If you are interested in the era, the California gold rush and its impact, you will want to read this book. The author does a great job of bringing the many phases of the rush to life through the words and experiences of actual participants, their motivations for joining it, their varied means of travel and experiences on the way as well as what became of them and what they thought of California once there. I have read many gold rush books and The Rush ranks among the very best.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsexcellent

Would recommend it to anyone looking for truly authentic stories regarding the challenges and potential rewards. Read more

Published 9 months ago by Kathe Brooks
5.0 out of 5 starsI have been to California and struck literary gold!

Great book. Wonderful story teller. Reads like a novel but you can't make this stuff up. I am a big fan of Dolnick's book on the Colorado river. Equally good. Enjoyable reads both

Published 10 months ago by Thomas S. Knox
4.0 out of 5 starsA good story, written in terms of accounts of various ...

A good story, written in terms of accounts of various of the 49ers themselves, but I felt something I can't quite define was missing.

Published 10 months ago by Jon K Shidler
4.0 out of 5 starsand a joy to read

Well written, and a joy to read. Loved the use of excerpts from the diaries to provide a first-person view of the gold rush. Read more

Published 13 months ago by DH
5.0 out of 5 starsSimply Superb

I recently finished THE RUSH and am depressed that I will never have the joy of reading it for the first time again. Simply superb. Read more

Published 16 months ago by Matthew D Landis
5.0 out of 5 starsThere's gold in them hills!!

This was a well paced book which focused largely on the initial "rush" to the gold fields in California. Read more

Published 17 months ago by Gregory Hope
4.0 out of 5 starsFour Stars

Difficult writing style but wonderful story filled with info regarding the people caught up in the gold Rush!

Published 17 months ago by lmerena
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat stuff.

Everything you want to learn about the Gold Rush is here, summarized and detailed in a smoothly readable book. Great stuff.

Published 18 months ago by Bryant Martin
3.0 out of 5 starsFeature Article Posing as Book?

Uneven coverage of an important era. Dolnick fell upon some journals, mixed in some newspaper articles and out of the oven popped a work worth reading, but limited in scope and... Read more

Published 18 months ago by Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsTragic to some, worth it for others!

This book was my husband's present from our son. We both read and enjoyed it. Because of the hardships my husband was glad when the book came to an end. Read more

Published 18 months ago by Connie Robetoy

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