California Dreaming: Boosterism, Memory, and Rural Suburbs in the Golden State

At the turn of the 20th century, the California dream was a suburban ideal where life on the farm was exceptional. Agrarian virtue existed alongside good roads, social clubs, cultural institutions, and business commerce. The California suburban dream was the ultimate symbol of progress and modernity. "California Dreaming: Boosterism, Memory, and Rural Suburbs in the Golden State" analyzes the growth, promotion, and agricultural colonization that fed this dream during the early 1900s. Through this analysis, Paul J.P. Sandul introduces a newly identified rural suburban type: the agriburb, a rural suburb deliberately planned, developed, and promoted for profit. Sandul reconceptualizes California's growth during this time period, establishing the agriburb as a suburban phenomenon that occurred long before the booms of the 1920s and 1950s.

Author: Paul J. P. Sandul
Publisher: West Virginia University Press
Published: 10/01/2014
Pages: 305
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.15lbs
Size: 8.90h x 6.00w x 0.90d
ISBN13: 9781938228865
ISBN10: 1938228863
BISAC Categories:
- History | United States | State & Local | West (AK, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT
- History | United States | 20th Century
- Political Science | Propaganda

About the Author
Paul J. P. Sandul is an Assistant Professor of History at Stephen F. Austin State University where he co-directs the public history program. Sandul is heavily involved in public history projects and local heritage organizations and oral history, which often provide opportunities for students, and serves on advisory committees and boards for both professional and local historical societies and journals.