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The Journal of San Diego History
Spring 1984, Volume 30, Number 2
Contents of This Issue
Book Reviews
Raymond Starr, Book Reviews Editor
Overland to California in 1859: A Guide for Wagon Train
Travelers. Compiled and Edited by Louis M. Bloch, Jr. Cleveland: Bloch and
Company. 1983. Maps. Illustrations. Index. 64 Pages. $9.95 Hardback.
Overland to California is a children's book which addresses the problems of
choosing a route, organizing a company, supplies and provisions, camping, marching,
Indians, fording and other pertinent topics. It is based on primary sources originally
published in the 1850s and 1860s, and is nicely illustrated with black and
white drawings. There are maps, although they
may not be too helpful to young readers. The book would give young readers a
pretty good idea of the process of moving westward in 1859, with one
reservation. By using nineteenth century sources, the book conveys nineteenth
century attitudes. This is especially significant in assessing the image
projected of the Indians encountered on the trip westward.
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