I recently finished reading Towers of Gold: How One Immigrant
Named Isaias Hellman Created California by Frances Dinkelspiel,
and I have to say I’m a bit jealous. Isaias Hellman is the
great-great grandfather of Ms. Dinkelspiel. It’s not just anyone
who can claim ancestory to a man who almost single-handedly
birthed the state of California. While I’ll admit that it took
many, many people to birth the great state of California….Isaias
Hellman’s contributions cannot be denied. The book is well
written. It kept my interest with stagecoach robberies, an
assassination attempt, bank runs, the 1906 earthquake, and is
the final product of eight years of research during which Ms.
Dinkelspiel poured over more than 50,000 archival documents.
Isaias Hellman isn’t just an American who should be taught about
in a course including California history, but he should be
included in courses that include early immigration, growth of
the west, growth of early cities and towns, Jewish contributions
to the making of America, and 19