As a native resident of our greatest state of California I was thrilled to receive this book for review. Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley. I have admired the Brown family for generations and applaud their efforts on behalf of our great state.
This is a definitive guide to the Brown family from a historical aspect to present day. I appreciated the well researched information and family history that brought the Brown's to California politics. It is a exciting read and one that I would highly recommend to all classrooms and for those interested in California history .

The Browns of California by Miriam Pawel from Bloomsbury Publishing is exemplary writing. The author's documented history is meticulous . The research includes family archives , diaries, photos and personal interviews. We learn the history of Jerry Brown's great-grandfather August Schuckman's journey from Prussia to California. We learn of the impact of August's grandson, great grandson and great granddaughter. This entire family mutually does work for California and it's people and continues to do so today. We learn of how hard they had to fight for California against the GOP and Reagan's poor decisions. We see their devotion to duty and patriotism as integral to who they are. We learn of the policies and bills they have championed for California over the years that were great assets to our state.

This is a fascinating read and a book to keep in your personal library. I will highly recommend this book and plan on buying hardback copies for gifts. A very outstanding book,.


This is my honest review and opinions are my own personal opinions.

.A fascinating so well written look at this family and the state of California I would recommend this to any california resident

The Browns of California: The Family Dynasty That Transformed a State and Shaped a Nation by Miriam Pawel from Bloomsbury Publishing is an amazing, knockout of a book. It is excellently written and excellently researched. Ms Pawel's research used family archives and diaries, photos and personal interviews. She takes you from Jerry Brown's great-grandfather August Schuckman's journey from Prussia to California during the gold rush working several jobs to buy his piece of the American dream. She covers both the history of the family and the state beautifully in an engaging way. The Browns have been an important part of California 's history and after reading this you will see what a different place California would be without the impact of August's grandson, great grandson and great granddaughter at the state's helm. This family seems to genuinely work for California and it's people.
Pat Brown brought California water and roads. He was a strong proponent of the state's education system and worked to keep tuition free at UC campuses (until the 80's despite Gov Reagan's strong fight earlier to charge tuition). Jerry championed and saw passage of the California Agriculture Labor Relations Act and had worked for education reform. There is so much more to learn in this impossible to put down book. It could easily make a great mini series.
Thank you NetGalley, Miriam Pawel and Bloomsbury Publishing for the opportunity to read an ARC. This is my honest review and opinions are my own.

Wow! This was such an interesting and well researched account of California's history and the connection that the Brown family shares with it.

THE BROWNS OF CALIFORNIA by Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Miriam Pawel is one of Publishers Weekly Top Ten History Books for Fall, for good reason. This absorbing read takes us through California’s glorious past from the Gold Rush to Silicon Valley, viewed through the scrim of the Brown dynasty at Cali’s helm for 25 years.

In this incisive narrative, we learn of four family generations ... from August Schuckman, a Prussian immigrant who settled on a northern California ranch in 1852 after traversing the Plains ... to great-grandson Jerry Brown, the youngest governor in modern times and the oldest three decades later. The author posits this axiom: as go the Browns, so goes California. Reading this fine historical portrait of an exceptional family provides invaluable insights into the California we know today. Highly recommended!

Thanks to Bloomsbury USA and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are fully mine.

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