The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta: The Celebrated California Bandit

The first novel to feature a Mexican American hero: an adventure tale about Mexicans rising up against U.S. rule in California, based on the real-life bandit who inspired the creation of Zorro, the Lone Ranger, and Batman

With a new foreword by Diana Gabaldon, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Outlander series

An action-packed blend of folk tale, romance, epic, and myth, The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta tells the story of the Gold Rush-era bandit Joaquín Murieta, whose efforts to find fortune and happiness are thwarted by white settlers who murder his family and drive him off his land. In retaliation, Murieta organizes a band of more than 2,000 outlaws—including the sadistic "Three-Fingered Jack"—who take revenge by murdering, stealing gold and horses, and robbing banks, all with the ultimate goal of reconquering California.

Written by a half-Cherokee named John Rollin Ridge, or Yellow Bird, and inspired by the true story of an American folk hero, The Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta is the first Native American novel, the first novel published in California, and the first to feature a Mexican American hero. The story of the infamous bandit—which became one of California's founding myths and has lived on in countless stories, poems, plays, and films—speaks to the ways in which questions of race, ethics, national security, and racialized police violence have been a part of our country's history since its founding.