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The
Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta, the Celebrated California
Bandit, is a unique book in many ways. In 1854, it was the first
novel published in California, and it is also the first novel
written by a Native American. Yellow Bird was the son and grandson
of famous Cherokee chiefs, and he lived a vigorous and dangerous
life as an Indian. But he was also a well-educated and literate man,
known in the white man's world as John Rollins Ridge. Both a novelist
and poet, Yellow Bird made his living in California as a
newspaperman, ending his short life in Grass Valley as the editor of
the Grass Valley National newspaper, of which he was a part owner.
He was just forty when he died, but he had lived a fuller life than
most.
The
Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta was Yellow Bird's only
novel, but it left an enduring mark. It not only sparked a number of
knockoffs but also created the enduring myth of Joaquín Murieta.
Joaquín
comes to the California Gold Rush in 1849 and tries hard to lead a
honest life with his lovely Rosita, only to be victimized time and
again by lawless and ruthless whites. Finally, he is
pushed too far and becomes a Robin Hood of the old West, looting and
murdering the greedy and giving money to the poor. He leads
them on a merry chase, but in the end, meets his end, but with honor
and pride. A classic western.
In
short, this book was the genesis of the "dime novel"
industry of the late nineteenth-century that persists even today as
the paperback Westerns found in every bookstore, newsstand, and even
supermarket. It was truly a first in that regard.
But
it is worth reading for more than those reasons -- it is a colorful
and romantic story that fires the imagination of the reader,
portraying in no uncertain terms what life was like in those times.
Learn more about Joaquín
Murieta
Read about
the Author
Read Editor's Comments
Read
Chapter one of
Joaquín
Murieta
Click on the cover below to
read Chapter One as a HTML file.
Click on the Adobe logo to
download a free copy of the Acrobat PDF Reader from Adobe Systems
Click on the cover below to
download Chapter One as a PDF file.
Ordering
Order Joaquin Murieta locally
If
you wish, you can order this book from your local bookstore in North America and the
UK, although it is
unlikely they will have it on the shelf. Just tell
them that it is a Print on Demand book distributed by both Ingram Books and Baker & Taylor
and then give them the ISBN 1-59108-000-2.
Order Joaquin Murieta on-line
You can also purchase the
printed book as well as the eBook versions on-line from
many on-line book sellers.
For your
convenience, we made a
list of links which you can use. In addition, this book is
carried by a number of other retailers on-line, so you
should be able to find it at your favorite website.
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Order Joaquín
Murieta as a printed book
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Order Joaquín
Murieta as a Microsoft Reader eBook
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Order Joaquín
Murieta as an Adobe Acrobat eBook
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Order Joaquín
Murieta as a Palm eBook
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© Copyright 2003, 2006 Poitin Inc. All rights reserved.
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