Gold: The Marvellous History of General John Augustus Sutter

Cendrars's 1924 novel is a work of breathless pace, fantastic humor, and soaring invention. Gold is based on the true story of the bankrupt Swiss paper-maker who abandoned his family and made his way to America to seek his fortune. He acquired a huge tract of land out west over which he held sway and was on the point of becoming the richest man in the world"" when in 1848 the discovery of gold on his land and the ensuing Gold Rush brought disaster. ""Cendrars winds the history of Europe, the Spanish Empire and the US around his hero like a cloak of flames that throw a light on a terrifying history.""-The New York Times Book Review