Bold, flamboyant, extravagant, devious, visionary, Agoston
Haraszthy (1812-1869) is one of the most fascinating--and
elusive--figures in the history of American agriculture. Apart from
his pioneer efforts to establish a world-class wine industry in
California, he holds other important distinctions: he was the first
Hungarian to permanently settle in the United States, author of
only the second Hungarian-language book about the United States,
founder of one of the earliest towns in Wisconsin, and owner and
operator of the first steamboat to engage in regularly scheduled
traffic on the upper Mississippi River.
Lured by the discovery of gold to cross the plains to California in
1849, Haraszthy became the first sheriff of San Diego, a member of
the California legislature, and the first assayer of the United
States Mint in San Francisco. Long fascinated with the possibility
of growing fine European grapes in America, he moved in 1856 to
northern California's Sonoma Valley, where he built the first stone
wineries in California, introduced more than 300 varieties of
European grapes, and planted (or helped his neighbors plant) more
than a thousand acres of choice wine vineyards. He made a
well-publicized wine tour of Europe in 1862, wrote the first
notable book on California wine growing, and built his Sonoma
estate into what was widely advertised as "the largest vineyard in
the world."
In this book, the first full-length biography of one of
nineteenth-century America's most interesting and influential
immigrants, the author examines Haraszthy's amazing life, dispels
many of the myths that have gathered around him, and makes a
careful assessment of his contributions to American immigration and
agricultural history.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
(5)
(4)
