American Alchemy by Brian Roberts

Book Review by: Ellen Stecker

American Alchemy was a tough book to read. I like to read about personal stories and get personal connections out of books. This book talked about the California Gold Rush and the Middle Class. When I read the title and saw the thickness of the book, I dreaded reading it. The introduction took a long time to get through, and it didn’t make much sense to me. Some writing is just really bland. I did find out that the author took eight years to write this book. Honestly, I wondered why someone would spend so much time writing about something so random. It didn’t seem of importance, but I decided I needed to change my attitude so I could learn.

As I read more, I understood the author was writing about something not many people have tried to make a connection with. I can respect Brian Roberts for all the research he did in order to explore a rare connection. Brian Roberts looks at the miners who were attracted to try their luck at mining Gold. What are the characteristics of a Gold Rush miner? What person do you think of? I thought of dirty, poor, middle-age to old men. However, Roberts uses records of 49’ers experiences to show the standard view of a Gold rush miner doesn’t match with the history recorded by people who experienced it. I like the primary document history where I can learn from what the person wrote during their experience. There weren’t many direct quotes, but to see Roberts took his conclusions from actual experiences gave him more interest and credibility. It ends up that a lot of men who went to the gold rush actually left a life behind. It’s not just single, low class men who went to the gold rush. If you look at status, middle-class men had a wife and children and a successful job to support their family.

The middle-class men were attracted to California. California was a place of classless society and a business opportunity to get money. At the beginning of the Gold Rush, California still seemed like a peaceful paradise where dreams could come true. However, once the news spread and people from all over came to find gold, there wasn’t much success. There was a few who found gold and struck rich, but a lot found nothing. The competition and mixture of people caused the classless society to be lost. The society turned into one of violence. Meanwhile, at home, the women were expected to keep the home and family running. It was nice to read the stories of women who took initiative to learn and run their husband’s business. Women crossed the sexual division of labor and joined the middle class status. Many women increased their income and were more successful than men in the Gold Rush time.

After I understood the rare connection Brian Roberts tries to make, I enjoyed reading more. The California Gold Rush is an important event in history. I am glad I was able to learn about it from a different angle. Roberts does well at showing how history answered differently to the standard view of middle class men’s experience of the Gold Rush.