I received a free Kindle copy of Forty-NinerForty-Niner by Ken LizzioKen Lizzio courtesy of Net Galley and W.W. Norton & Company, the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would post a review to Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and my history book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google Plus pages.

I requested this book as I have read a great deal about the history of the american west and the description presented a different approach from others that I have read about the gold rush.  This is the first book by Ken Lizzio that I have read.

This book is well researched and engaging. It is a different approach in that it primarly based on the journals of Joseph Bruff as he traveled to the gold fields and what he discovered once he was there and the return home. The book moves along at a risk pace revealing many facets of the gold rush that have been either glossed over or not covered by other books written about the same time period in our country's history.

I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the history of the american west and the California golf rush of 1849 in particular.