"These five essays are well written, lively in their images, and valuable as fresh (even politically correct) interpretations of the familiar, weary tale of Sutter, a man too long glorified at the expense of our knowing and appreciating some of his contemporaries."-California History California History "This admirably balanced, succinct, and polished book concedes only that Sutter was 'the last and ... Read moremost dramatic of a familiar type of frontier entrepreneur who helped develop North America.' Moreover, it was a type that fulfilled its ultimate destiny by failing: succumbing economically to the impact of settlement. Yet the book also suggests that with an airing of the full facts, Sutter is freed from the tedium of his one-dimensional legend and restored to full humanity as a vital and fascinating individual."-Times Literary Supplement Times Literary Supplement Show Less