“There has not been much new in the property rights literature for some time, and Kanazawa’s book, based on analysis of newspapers, nineteenth-century court cases, and early mining camp rules and company records, is a wonderful addition. It will have broad appeal among legal scholars, historians and students of the American West, political scientists studying local common pool resource management, and economists interested in the development and modification of property institutions and the role of transaction costs in influencing outcomes.”

Gary D. Libecap, University of California, Santa Barbara

“It’s hard to overstate the importance of the Gold Rush to property rights theorists, economists, and historians, and The Golden Rules tackles this important subject seamlessly, providing what will be the definitive analysis of this episode in American history.”

Henry E. Smith, Harvard Law School

“Kanazawa has been doing yeoman service in the study of water rights for a long time, especially in the context of nineteenth-century California. It is only fitting that he should bring his scholarship together in this well-written book. . . . Scholars interested in gold or water rights will find much to like in his detailed analysis.”

EH.net

“Kanazawa has written a thoroughly researched, highly focused study of the beginnings of the prior appropriation doctrine in California water law. He situates his examination within the considerable economic history literature on the Gold Rush, and expands our knowledge of the era with a detailed examination of miners' codes, trial and appellate court rulings, and water company records.”

Law Library Journal

“ The value of Kanazawa’s interpretation lies in its unique interpretation of contemporary events.  Where economic historians emphasize water scarcity as the primary driver of law, Kanazawa argues that a sort of dialectical process of court-based legal rules emerged and shaped legislation. . . . This is an invaluable addition to the literature on water rights and the economics of law. . . . Highly recommended.”

Choice

"Wallace Stegner once observed that 'the Gold Rush was universal mass trespass, and soon invented laws to legitimize itself.' Kanazawa validates that poignant assessment but with a rich detail heretofore missing."

Pacific Historical Review