California: A History Audiobook

" Engaging and very informative concise history of California. "

" Great read, like riding a race horse through time. Entertaining, fast paced, and interesting "

" A solid one-volume brief history of California. The latter chapters seem thrown together, but otherwise this is a fast, smart read. "

" This is Starr's most recent book on California history. I found it to be quite an easy read and much more enjoyable than the musty texts required in my college days. Starr writes for a wide audience, which I think is a good thing, and his only major flaw is that he sometimes seems to take short-cuts in researching his material. Still, a very good introduction to the history of our state. "

" part two of two of my california education. look at meeeee i'm cali-smart! "

" Obviously it's a 1 volume history of California, and while I found it thoroughly interesting, I did find it tended to glaze over sections of history that I personally found deeply interesting, a good book for sure, essential reading for those starting out researching into the history of the region, but poor for those looking for intense detail. "

" A bit too air brushed for me. "

" This is a straight up history book, but the amount of information about California is mind boggling. You have to pay attention to stay with this one, but it is well written and very interesting. "

" Wow! Kevin Starr covers 250+ years of history here in just 350 pages and I don't feel like I missed a thing. The only reason this gets 4 stars instead of 5 is because it reads more like a textbook, when I think some personal anecdotes would have made this even more engrossing. "

" A little dry. Filled with lists of people - artists, politicians, etc. I need a more interesting history of CA to read. "

" a readable and thorough history of Cali. I'm alway looking for readable and thorough histories. "

" Excellent introduction to California and its history. Brief, but that's the intention of the author. Plenty of opportunity for further inquiry if one desires. Worth reading to understand where/who all the locations, names, and streets that are all about us came from. "

" Well written hsitory of California. Surprising in some places to new comers to the history. "

" Fast-paced, enjoyable overview of California's history. I enjoyed the book a lot, although the only downside I find is that because it was such a fast read, I don't remember many details! Not that that is a bad thing necessarily, a relaxing overview to my state's history, this book did a good job. "

" Great overview of basic California history for a non-history person! "

" Quick and easy read on the history of California. This is a book I can easily read again and I look forward to referencing it while teaching my son California history next year. "

" Pretty pretty good so far. Enough said boyeee! "

" Ever wondered about the history of the sunshine state? Starr examines the well known and not so well known elements of California. Including terrorist bombings in san francisco of the late 1800's early 1900's. Great book. "

" Mr. Starr was California state librarian, so it's not surprising that this light history sometimes reads like a bibliography. "

" Interesting fun history of California. Assigned as a text book but lots of fun info on the Imperial Valley "

" Wonderful stories of the history of California. I was contemplating a move to the Bay Area at the time... "

" A concise 400 page book covering everything from the Spanish discovery of CA to the Governator. The book is neatly arranged by primarily by date, but also subcategorized into subtopic events. "

" this was a fascinating history of the development/design, building, and legacy of The Bridge; i will never look at it the same way again! quite a page-turner for a little (< 200 p.) history book. "

" We just visited San Francisco and it included an obligatory visit to the Golden Gate Bridge. I was intrigued with the history of this area and this iconic bridge. Starr's history was just what I wanted: a short history of the bridge (less than 200 pages) that was interesting and informative. "

" Really accessible historical reading about one of my favorite sites "

" This is a good introduction to the Golden Gate bridge. Mr. Starr spends more time talking about the surrounding events that caused the bridge to be built than the actual construction. However, it is a very enjoyable book, and a great introduction to the bridge. "

" I was hoping to learn more information about the building of the Golden Gate bridge, but the author seemed to caught up in writing florid prose about how the bridge is an American icon, and I felt like a lot of the book trod in circles. It was not the book I was expecting. "

" Seemed like someone told him he had to write 200 pages and he just used the bridge as a loose theme around which he wandered aimlessly. Oh well, it wasn't much of a time investment. "