Review by Choice Review
Miller's book is a readable, no-frills biography without much critical analysis of Alvarado or his contemporaries, self-styled Californios, who distinguished themselves from other Mexicans although they were themselves only second-generation Californians. As described by Miller, Alvarado was a man of great political ambition. He was the province's youngest governor and dreamed of an independent California. His personal life, however, did not measure up to his ambition. He was apparently often inebriated--even to the point that he did not attend his own wedding, sending a proxy instead. Miller also infers that Alvarado may have been conspiring with a French official to deliver California to France as a protectorate. Although he led a comfortable life, Alvarado was land poor for most of his life. As governor, he made large land grants to friends and relatives, yet he does not seem to have filled his own pockets. Like other prominent Californios, Alvarado's children intermarried with non-Mexicans. Although the biography does not add much to knowledge of Alvarado or California, it is well written and enjoyable. Footnotes; good index and bibliography. General readers; undergraduates. R. Acu~na; California State University, Northridge
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
