September 17th, Faculty Club
12:00 noon

Led by Frances Dinkelspiel

The first Bancroft Round Table of our Fall 2009 series will take place on Thursday, September 17 at noon in the Lewis-Latimer Room of the Faculty Club. Frances Dinkelspiel, author of Towers of Gold: How One Jewish Immigrant Named Isaias Hellman Created California (St. Martin's Press, 2008) will speak about her book.

Isaias Hellman was the premier California financier of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, rising from humble immigrant beginnings to the presidency of Wells Fargo bank. His story captures a pivotal moment in American history: the rise of California from a frontier economy driven by the barter of hides and the exchange of gold to an economic steam engine driving the nation. Ms. Dinkelspiel's book also offers illuminating perspectives on families, as well as about the changing social role of Jews in developing California. The Hellman family has been a prodigious benefactor of the University of California, especially The Bancroft Library.

Bancroft Round Tables aim to highlight the myriad collections of our library and to demonstrate their relevance to a full understanding of our contemporary world. The campus community is welcome to join us at this informal talk which will be rich in California historical lore.