CALIFORNIA DREAMS
The Making and Remaking of the University of California
Available September 29, 2026 ORDER HERE
Miriam Pawel’s epic history of one of the world’s elite public universities, its sweeping social impact, and hopeful lessons about endurance in troubled times.
Distinguished by its founding mission as an engine of upward mobility, the University of California-a constitutionally independent public trust-is a great American experiment that has persevered through fraught battles over access, funding, and leadership.
The University has been at the nexus of nearly every public policy debate and social movement since the Civil War, from women’s rights to student protests, from academic freedom to affirmative action, shaping policies that reverberate throughout the United States.
California Dreams narrates UC’s rise and resilience through the lens of those whose lives it has transformed-in particular, five pioneering graduates whose diverse paths underscore why the University remains, in the words of Berkeley graduate Joan Didion, “California’s best idea of itself.”
At a time of staggering inequality and uncertainty, as higher education faces unprecedented threats, that role has never been more crucial. Drawing on extensive research in ten archives and dozens of interviews, California Dreams weaves together the linked history of the school and state in all its drama, significance, and humanity; the result is a magisterial narrative of both a remarkable public institution of higher education, and also California itself.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
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9/29/26 Book launch at Vroman’s, Pasadena, 7 PM. In conversation with Bill Deverell
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10/1/26 – Bookshop Santa Cruz , 7 PM, co-sponsored by UC Santa Cruz Humanities Institute. In conversation with Craig Reinarman
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10/5/26 – California State Library, Sacramento, 6 PM. In conversation with Jerry Brown
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10/6/26 – Commonwealth Club, San Francisco
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10/7/26 – Local Economy, Oakland, in conversation with Frances Dinkelspiel
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10/13/26- Warwick’s, La Jolla, 7:30 PM. In conversation with Maria Anguiano
- 10/15/26 – Godmothers, Summerland, 7 PM. In conversation with José Alamillo
- 10/1726 – Village Well, Culver City, 6 PM. In conversation with David Ulin
- 11/1/2026 – Chaucer’s, Santa Barbara, 4 PM. In conversation with Dick Flacks
OTHER BOOKS BY MIRIAM PAWEL:
The Browns Of California is a panoramic history of California and its impact on the nation, from the Gold Rush to Silicon Valley-told through the lens of the family dynasty that led the state for nearly a quarter century. Winner of the California Book Award Gold Medal and finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in History.
The Crusades of Cesar Chavez
Recommended in starred reviews and hailed by experts in the field, “The Crusades of Cesar Chavez” is the first comprehensive biography of the most significant Latino leader in recent American history. Rigorously researched and riveting in its dramatic arc, this is a searching, empathetic portrayal of a leader whose legacy and lessons have never been more relevant than today.
The Union of Their Dreams
The dramatic narrative of the farm worker movement, from its improbable early success and heady days through its tragic decline. Told through the eyes of eight participants, this collective biography is a must read for anyone interested in understanding social change.