Yanks In the Redwoods

Yanks in the Redwoods presents life on the frontier of northern California through individual stories and documentary details of families going about their personal and business activities. Each glimpse of their experience leaves us curious for more; yet added together the evidence belies the myth Americans hold dear, the myth of the noble pioneers, the white settlers as solitary heroes/heroines who on their own tamed a wilderness. These hardy folk were remarkably self-reliant and they did lay the foundations of towns and cities that grew beyond their wildest imaginings; but they did it by pulling together, not by going it alone. The book also highlights the impact of big business in the second half of the 19th century as it destroyed precisely the economic independence and community life which the settlers worked so hard to build.