Blake Allmendinger's A History of California Literature surveys the paradoxical image of the Golden State as a site of dreams and disenchantment, formidable beginnings and ruinous ends. This history encompasses the prismatic nature of California by exploring a variety of historical periods, literary genres, and cultural movements affecting the state's development, from the colonial era to the twenty-first century. Written by a host of leading historians and literary critics, this book offers readers insight into the tensions and contradictions that have shaped the literary landscape of California and also American literature generally.

This History explores the historical periods, literary genres, and cultural movements of California.

About the Author
Blake Allmendinger is Professor of American Literature at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he specializes in literature of the American West. He is the author of The Cowboy: Representations of Labor in an American Work Culture; Ten Most Wanted: The New Western Literature; Imagining the African American West; and The Melon Capital of the World: A Memoir. He is also co-editor of Over the Edge: Remapping the American West, and has received fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies and the National Endowment for the Humanities.


Book Information
ISBN 9781107052093
Author Blake Allmendinger
Format Hardback
Page Count 441
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 770g
Dimensions(mm) 235mm * 159mm * 29mm