When Gold Rush fever gripped the globe in 1849, thousands of Chinese came through San Francisco to seek fortune. In "The Poker Bride," Christopher Corbett uses a legend of one extraordinary woman as a lens into this experience. Before 1849, the Chinese in the United States were little more than curiosities. But as word spread of gold in California, San Francisco's labyrinthine Chinatown sprang up, a city-within-a-city full of exotic foods and strange smells where Chinese women were smuggled into the country. At this time ...
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When Gold Rush fever gripped the globe in 1849, thousands of Chinese came through San Francisco to seek fortune. In "The Poker Bride," Christopher Corbett uses a legend of one extraordinary woman as a lens into this experience. Before 1849, the Chinese in the United States were little more than curiosities. But as word spread of gold in California, San Francisco's labyrinthine Chinatown sprang up, a city-within-a-city full of exotic foods and strange smells where Chinese women were smuggled into the country. At this time Polly, a young Chinese concubine, was brought by her owner to a remote mining camp in the highlands of Idaho, where he lost her in a poker game. Polly and her new owner then settled at an isolated ranch on the banks of the Salmon River. As the Gold Rush receded, it took with it the Chinese miners, but left behind Polly, who would make headlines when -- as an old woman -- she emerged from the Idaho hills nearly half a century later to tell her astounding story. "The Poker Bride" reconstructs a tale of the real American West: a place where the first Chinese flooded the country and left their mark long after the craze for gold had vanished.
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Add this copy of The Poker Bride: the First Chinese in the Wild West to cart. $1.97, fair condition, Sold by Orion Tech rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Arlington, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Grove Press.
Add this copy of The Poker Bride: the First Chinese in the Wild West to cart. $2.20, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by Atlantic Monthly Press.
Add this copy of The Poker Bride: the First Chinese in the Wild West to cart. $2.20, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by Atlantic Monthly Press.
Add this copy of The Poker Bride: the First Chinese in the Wild West to cart. $2.20, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by Atlantic Monthly Press.
Add this copy of The Poker Bride: the First Chinese in the Wild West to cart. $2.50, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Brownstown, MI, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Grove Press.
Add this copy of The Poker Bride: the First Chinese in the Wild West to cart. $2.50, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Grove Press.
Add this copy of The Poker Bride: the First Chinese in the Wild West to cart. $2.50, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Grove Press.
Add this copy of The Poker Bride: the First Chinese in the Wild West to cart. $3.00, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Emerald rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by Atlantic Monthly Press.
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Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of The Poker Bride: the First Chinese in the Wild West to cart. $3.00, very good condition, Sold by HPB-Diamond rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by Atlantic Monthly Press.
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Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of The Poker Bride: the First Chinese in the Wild West to cart. $3.00, very good condition, Sold by HPB Inc. rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2010 by Atlantic Monthly Press.
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Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
The sub-title is the apt description of this book. The Poker Bride herself is the vehicle used to recount the history of the Chinese in the west. The preponderance of the first Chinese were gold seekers. Though the book does not seem to address the probability that traders and businessmen were quite likely the first to spend any length of time in the West. It was through them that the miners came and who obtained jobs for the Chinese males. A short time later it was the 'businessmen' who brought in the 'hundred men wives' to service the Chinese males. This book also describes this trade. It is during the last third of the book that there is any real treatment of "The Poker Bride". I found this an enjoyable read about an interesting facet of America that few hear about.
