This is a very interesting book about the California gold rush.  The book includes the history of California before the gold rush and the discovery of gold by James Marshall which kicked off the gold rush.  The book is a great timeline of California’s growth not only in population but in diversity.  It covers the miner’s life, methods for panning for gold and the hardships that some of the people faced.  As fast as the mining boom took off, it ended, creating more and different industries for the state.  Most of the pages offer sidebars with interesting facts and websites to explore with more information.  There is a nice stop and think section in the back of the book that helps the student really evaluate what they have learned from the book.