Bay area writer, Frances Dinkelspiel, commented on my forthcoming book on her blog Ghost World. Check out her bestselling book, Towers of Gold, chronicling her great, great grandfather’s contribution to the development of California and the banking system. It’s not only timely, it’s an excellent read, and offers a vivid depiction of San Francisco and Los Angeles in the late 1800′s onward. Not withstanding, her book also paints a compelling picture of a Jewish immigrant family.

After reading it, I feel certain our relatives crossed  paths–as  both my great, great grandfathers from my mother’s side (The Powers, and Gallatin families), were quite prominent in California around the same time–the former as a lawyer and founder of the seaside village of Carmel-by-the-Sea (1902), and the latter involved in the rail system and state development (He built what is now the historic Governor’s mansion in Sacramento for his family).