title: California: On the Edge of American History
author:  Ronald Genini 
description: "In this week's book of the week, <i>California: On the Edge of American History</i>, Ronald Genini celebrates the history of this state with a sweeping overview of its past. Covering everything from its natural history, to pre-European settlement to the Oroville Dam spill last year, this approachable book highlights both the state's achievements and its occasional failures. If you love California or history, this is the book for you!" - The California State Library (November 20, 2017)<br /><br />"The comprehensive historical survey and analysis of the state of California will serve as a wonderful resource for our visiting patrons.We are glad to have been able to assist in providing images for your book ..." - The California Historical Society<br /><br />"Genini's comprehensive look at our past is ... unlike any other California history text. Long overdue, it should be assigned reading in every California High School and Community College history course, and deserves a place of honor on the shelves of every California public library.... This book is a breath of fresh air. Well done!" - Brian Dillon in <i>The California Territorial Quarterly</i>, Winter 2017-18<br /><br /><span>"Genini writes in a very light and easy tone - not exactly conversational, but still extremely readable. He's obviously done an incredible amount of research, since the chapters are full to bursting with interesting anecdotes, primary sources, and enough detail to make any history buff giddy.</span><span>Those details are delivered in a very dense package. Not 'dense' as in hard to understand, but 'dense' as in extraordinarily efficient at packing information down into the smallest possible word count. After all, Genini had to fit centuries of history into just 600 pages (only 500 if you don't count the footnotes and references). In a word, this book is chewy - in a good way." - Online Book Club, February 23, 2018</span>
zlib_text: 2566 A.D.!
  
  A TALE OF ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN
  
  By Jerome B. Bigge
  
  Chapter Twenty Three
  
        "Darlanis arrived last night, and has left this morning," I said to Maris as I handed her the declaration of "defense" that the Imperial Senate and Assembly had voted. Holding back for the moment the letter that Darlanis had written declaring that she would never agree to giving up one inch of Californian territory! 
  
        "I feel you do not `agree' with all this," she said to me. 
  
        "Darlanis believes that she is `another Lincoln'," I said. 
  
        "And do you `agree' with her?" Maris suddenly challenged me. 
  
        "We need to rise above our own history," I said to her then. 
  
        "I wish you were Empress of California," Maris said to me. I fear that for an instant I stood there utterly "dumbfounded"!!! "I feel in a way you understand us far more than Darlanis does." 
  
        "I think `others' want war between Dularn and California," I said after a brief moment's hesi