"The
World Rushed In" by J. S. Holliday.
The definitive
book on the California gold rush.
"They Saw the Elephant: Women in the California Gold Rush"
by JoAnn Levy.
The surprising
story of women in frontier California
"Samfow: The San Joaquin Chinese Legacy" by Sylvia
Sun Minnick.
Covering
much more than just the gold rush period, a good primer on
the Chinese in the region.
"The Great Platte River Road" by Merrill Mattes
Definitive
work on the first half of the Oregon-California Trail. Exhaustive.
"The Plains Across" by John Unruh
Widely-praised,
definitive work on the overland journey.
"The Overland Migrations" by the National Park
Service
Brief
and readable, with helpful maps and illustrations
"The California Trail; Yesterday and Today" by
William Hill
Concise
and interesting. Many excellent pictures.
"California's
Gold Rush Country" by Leslie A. Kelly
The definitive
photo documentary on the remaining sites from the gold rush
era.
