The 49ers and the California gold rush - There is nothing like the power of gold. When hard-working carpenter James Marshall spotted "something shiny" in the American River on January 24, 1848, he felt the power. Soon, so did the rest of the country. Within weeks, thousands rushed to the land of glittering dreams. young, old, white, Mexican, or Indian, gold fever gripped them all. The quest for instant wealth created just as many problems as it solved. Classic photographs and stories reveal the exciting tales of triumph, turmoil, strife, new-found wealth and failure.

Pioneers and the Promised Land - For hundreds of thousands of men, women and children who fled westward in search of a "new world," the West was the land of opportunity and adventure - the promised land. The mid - 1800's saw a restless nation in search of many things; gold, freedom, rights, property and a new beginning. But the price of progress was high. Felled by disease, disillusionment, or disaster, many never found what they went looking for. Pioneers and the Promised Land takes you inside the lives of five Americans who exempfified the triumphs and tragedies of the time. Their courageous stories will illuminate the people who brought new life to the Old West.