2007 0-7734-5244-3 This is the first translation into English of French magistrate Louis Jacolliot’s 1876 travel narrative to California. In this work, Jacolliot presents this small California town as a utopian community where the villagers practice participatory democracy and benefit from educational, governmental and journalistic systems unlike their rigid and authoritarian counterparts in France. During a period of social and political upheaval in France, Jacolliot uses the travel narrative to convince his French readers of the merits of American politics and culture. This work should appeal to those interested in travel literature, California history, American studies, and French history. This book contains 4 black and white photographs.