Frederick Billings A Life |
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Author:
| Winks, Robin W. |
ISBN: | 978-0-19-506814-6 |
Publication Date: | Oct 1991 |
Publisher: | Oxford University Press, Incorporated
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Book Format: | Hardback |
List Price: | AUD $36.95 |
Book Description:
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Although less well known than the great "robber barons," Frederick Billings was one of the extraordinary men of the 19th century, combining a shrewd business sense with a love of nature. Born in Vermont in 1823, Billings was one of the early "Forty-Niners," making his fortune during the gold rush, becoming the first person to practice law in California, and then the state's first Attorney General. He was also a leading conservationist and a wealthy railroad entrepreneur. In this...
More DescriptionAlthough less well known than the great "robber barons," Frederick Billings was one of the extraordinary men of the 19th century, combining a shrewd business sense with a love of nature. Born in Vermont in 1823, Billings was one of the early "Forty-Niners," making his fortune during the gold rush, becoming the first person to practice law in California, and then the state's first Attorney General. He was also a leading conservationist and a wealthy railroad entrepreneur. In this definitive biography, Robin Winks, an eminent historian twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, and a recipient of the Conservationist of the Year award from the National Park Service, provides the first full-length study of Fredrick Billings. Winks captures the many sides of this complex figure, revealing Billings the business man who financed the Northern Pacific Railroad, and Billings the conservationist who initiated the first reforestation of Vermont and helped establish Yosemite National Park. Deftly narrated by a leading scholar, the story of Frederick Billings touches on many of the key events in 19th-century American life, revealing concerns for profit, family, and the land which remain crucial today.