Towers of Gold: How One Jewish Immigrant Named Isaias Hellman Created California Book

This is a tough one to rate. The information and subject matter borders between 4-5 stars, while the writing is around 1-2. Dinkelspiel writes like the reporter she is, the book is like a series of feature pieces strung together in chronological order. This technique actually works by and large, but there are way to many mini-sections that come out of nowhere and don't connect at all to what follows. If you read Ron Chernow or Walter Benjamin you'll probably find Dinkelspiel frustrating. This is a 325 pg book that really rates at least 700 pgs. The upside is she did an excellent job of assembling her sources. This is the best non-academic account of mid to late 19th century California I've read. Strongly recommended as an entry level California history book, and frankly, there is no state in the Union that needs to understand that it does in fact have a history more than California.