Documenting the people, events, and milestones that forged the nation's most populous state, this dynamic examination provides a full history of California's founding. From the stories of great men such as John Sutter, John Bidwell, Samuel Brannan, Thomas O. Larkin, the Revered Walter Colton, and John Charles Fremont to the terrible tragedy of the Donner Party and the rapid gold fever that transformed a sleepy trickle of immigration into the torrent of the Gold Rush, this record follows the Mexicans, Californios, and Americans as they vied for control of the territory destined to become the Union's 31st state.