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Historian Dale L. Walker chronicles the early days of the American Pacific Northwest in two engrossing accounts, now available in one volume: Pacific Destiny and Bear Flag Rising.
Pacific Destiny: The Three-Century Journey to the Oregon Country
Pacific Destiny chronicles the discovery, exploration, and settlement of America's Pacific Northwest. It is a story of cut-throat competition for control in an expanding America, first between Spain and England, then England and the United States. A story of explorers and tycoons, most notably John Jacob Astor, whose effort to establish a fur trading empire on the Columbia River ended with the massacre of his crew by the Vancouver Island Native Americans.
Bear Flag Rising: The Conquest of California, 1846
Bear Flag Rising traces the history of California from the Native Americans who first inhabited the land through the warfare that would finally leave the province in the hands of European settlers. The lives of the Californians in tranquil days before the advent of American trappers and the steady decline of the province under Mexico's neglectful rule are brought to life in this epic chronicle. Battles and skirmishes, such as the bitter fight at San Pascual are meticulously recreated in all their vicious glory. Through exacting research and masterful prose, Bear Flag Rising reveals the full story of how Mexico lost California and how this Pacific paradise went on to became "the greatest jewel in the crown of the American Empire."
“Unlike many investigators, Walker does not claim that he has found the truth about these and many other mysteries.
He presents the evidence (both pro and con), and lets his reader draw their own conclusion.”
—The Mail Star on Pacific Destiny
“Meticulously documents the wild and rugged land.”
—The Dallas Morning News on Bear Flag Rising
“An electrifying account of the quest for the Pacific Coast.”
—Booklist
October 31, 2017
