Mud, Blood, and Gold

San Francisco in 1849

San Francisco. 1849. It was a time and place like no other in American history. As word of the discovery of gold spread, people from all over the world descended on San Francisco—ground zero for the avalanche of humanity and goods pouring into the fabled El Dorado.

There have been many books on the Gold Rush, but Mud, Blood, and Gold is the first to focus solely on San Francisco as it was at the peak of the gold frenzy. With a 'you are there' immediacy author Rand Richards vividly brings to life what San Francisco was like during the landmark year of 1849. Based on eyewitness accounts and previously overlooked official records, Richards chronicles the explosive growth of a wide-open town rife with violence, gambling, and prostitution, all of it fueled by unbridled greed.

For all the excitement and drama, however, and the quick fortunes made by some, Mud, Blood, and Gold ultimately proves a cautionary tale: the irrational behavior unleashed by the lust for riches proved to be the undoing of many. By the end of 1849—a year that had started with such promise and high hopes—San Francisco had become a rat-infested, squalid quagmire where those who had not made their "pile" found themselves engaged in a Darwinian struggle for survival. Illness, suicide, and other causes led to a grim death toll.