Choice 评论
Many immigrants wrote journals that were either unreflective or far too limited in detail. Lord's journal offers a pleasant exception. Lord, an Illinois physician, set out for California in May 1849, traveling the Platte River route and the California-Oregon trail rather than the Hastings Cutoff. He followed the Lassen trail instead of the more familiar Donner route into Northern California. Lord remained in northern California, visiting the mines and other sites from October 1849 through February 1851, before returning to the Midwest via the Isthmus of Panama, Jamaica, and New Orleans. His dairy offers the reader both vivid and extensive description, and reflects middle-class attitudes and prejudices. The strange new country entranced him, although his sympathies rested clearly with Euramericans. He generally disliked Native Americans and Latinos, though on occasion he shows concern for both. Liles provides an excellent transcription, but she would have served readers more effectively had she included more extensive annotation. She identifies few people and offers only sparse discussion of events Lord mentioned. Several maps help to orient readers to the trails, and the introduction provides a delightful story about Liles's obsession with Lord and his writings. All levels. T. G. Alexander; Brigham Young University