Event Detail

Michael Hiltzik discusses Golden State: The Making of California

Thursday, February 27, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Vroman's Bookstore

For more information call: 626-449-5320

Or click here: https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2025-02-27/michael-hiltzik-discusses-golden-state-making-california

California has long reigned as the land of plenty, a place where the sun always shines and opportunity beckons. Even prior to its statehood in 1850, it captured the world’s imagination. We think of bearded prospectors lured by the promise of gold; we imagine its early embrace of immigrant labor during the railroad boom as prologue to its diverse social fabric today. But what lies underneath the myth is far more complicated. Thanks to extensive research by Michael Hiltzik, one of our longstanding voices on California, Golden State uncovers the unvarnished truth about the state we think we know well. From Spanish incursions into what became known as Alta California to the rise of Big Tech, the history of California is one of stark contradictions. In rich, previously overlooked detail, we see its earliest statesmen wreak havoc among native peoples while racing to draft their own constitution even ahead of statehood.