Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I always approach books like this with some caution. A book on the history of California from 1990-2003 is a pretty expansive subject to cover with any reasonable depth, and too often, books like this can be dense and tedious to get through. Thankfully, this was rarely the case with Coast of Dreams, which I found to be very readable, and (gasp) at times quite entertaining.
Of course at over 600 pages, it is certainly a lot to digest. And Starr can certainly discuss virtually any subject about California with a lot of detail, and he does here. And it his enthusiasm and love for the state, warts and all, that really drives this book.
Starr is completely unafraid to expose the bad side of California. Some of the chapters on crime and gang warfare that were particularly acute in the early 90's were harrowing and difficult to read. Starr has a good grasp of the unique brand of California politics, that sometimes yields rather unusual and unique results, such as the power deregulation crisis and Schwarzeneggar becoming Governor.
On the other hand, Starr clearly enjoys writing about the unqiue elements that draws so many people to the state. Whether writing about the trendy areas of San Francisco or Los Angeles, or for the seemingly mundane opportunities that draw so many illegal immigrants, Starr shows the state has historically been for dreamers large and small. Whether California can continue to sustain all these dreams is an underlying theme of the book.
As someone who came to California from the Midwest, I found the considerable time invested reading Coast of Dreams was well worth the new found connection I have to the state of California.
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From O.J. to Arnold Schwarzenegger, earthquakes to rolling blackouts, silicon valley to riots in the street, California state historian Kevin Starr has assembled the history of the Golden Gate State since 1990 to create a vivid snapshot of a state constantly on the edge of tomorrow. Coast of Dreams captures an extraordinary place, from its rich and exceptionally diverse palette of people, cultures and values; to its economy that is larger than most nations and mirrors the economic state of the country; to a political landscape so roiled that a Governor can be recalled scant months after his re-election and replaced by a Hollywood action star.This is a book that is sweeping in scope, intimate in detail and altogether fascinated with the splendor of California.
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