Pio Pico comes to life in new book by CSUEB professor

• April 13, 2010 5:00am

"Thanks to this expertly researched and vividly written biography by a next-generation historian making a stunning debut, Pío Pico now emerges into full historical perspective as a pivotal and representative figure in the transition of California from Mexican province to American state.”—Kevin Starr, Professor of History, University of Southern California

Carlos Manuel Salomon, assistant professor of ethnic studies and director of the Latin American studies program at California State University, East Bay is the author of Pio Pico: The Last Governor of Mexican California to be published in May 2010 by the University of Oklahoma Press.

His book is recognized as the first biography of Pico, a two-time governor of Alta California and one of the wealthiest men in California at that time. The publisher writes, "Salomon traces Pico’s complicated political rise during the Mexican era, leading a revolt against the governor in 1831 that swept him into that office. During his second governorship in 1845 Pico fought in vain to save California from the invading forces of the United States."

--Kimberly Legocki