“Clendenen’s masterful skill as a vivid writer brings María Zacarías Bernal Berreyesa to life. Not only is the book well-researched and accurate, the work is deeply personal. There is an emphasis on the natural environment, then and now, which tethers us across generations.” - Judge Paul Bernal, Official Historian of the City of San Jose, California María Zacarías Bernal was born in 1791 at the presidio of San Francisco and was married at fourteen to leatherjacket soldier José de los Reyes Berreyesa. As a mother of thirteen, she lived on Rancho San Vicente, a cattle ranch in the foothills of San José, from 1834 through the California Gold Rush eras. Like most Californios, Zacarías spent years defending her claim, and ended up losing her land. But she lost far more than a ranch. She lost ten of eleven beloved men, seven of them violently; the first was murdered by one American “hero” on the orders of another. Because her land held the New Almaden quicksilver mine—increasingly valuable because mercury helped refine gold—her battle over boundaries went all the way to the United States Supreme Court. The case made national news for a year, despite the competing news of the US Civil War. President Abraham Lincoln even sent men to her land to take over the mine, though they were thwarted by sharpshooting miners. Zacarías’s tragic tale of murder, betrayal, and theft is told through the author’s shared experiences of place, most often on the still-wild Rancho San Vicente near her home. MINE ’s lyrical blend of in situ nature writing and biography is a journey across landscapes that unite two women born centuries and cultures apart. It brings untaught California history to light, and it restores a voice to María Zacarías, who deserves to be heard. “Clendenen has given Zacarias lyrical life through the pages of MINE, a recounting of a Californio woman who confronted and survived the heartbreaking challenges thrown to her. MINE is not merely a biography; it is a weaving of life, history, and nature found in Mexican-era California and allows the reader to "touch" the past. A brilliant effort...” – Reader Review