In 1848, a carpenter spotted a shiny rock in California. What followed changed the course of American history forever

James Marshall’s discovery of gold in California in 1848 triggered a massive Gold Rush that changed the state and influenced the course of US history, including the tensions that led to the Civil War. In his new book The Rush, historian Nathaniel Philbrick explores the era through the lives of figures including Chinese railroad workers and Black businesswoman Mary Ellen Pleasant, while drawing a connection between Gold Rush ambition and the rise of Silicon Valley.