How Long to Read Octopus's Garden

How Long Does it Take to Read Octopus's Garden?

It takes the average reader 6 hours and 25 minutes to read Octopus's Garden by Benjamin T. Jenkins

Assuming a reading speed of 250 words per minute. Learn more

Description

As Southern California recovered from the collapse of the cattle industry in the 1860s, the arrival of railroads—attacked by newspapers as the greedy “octopus”—and the expansion of citrus agriculture transformed the struggling region into a vast, idealized, and prosperous garden. New groves of the latest citrus varieties and new towns like Riverside quickly grew directly along the tracks of transcontinental railroads. The influx of capital, industrial technology, and workers, especially people of color, energized Southern California and tied it more closely to the economy and culture of the United States than ever before. Benjamin Jenkins’s Octopus’s Garden argues that citrus agriculture and railroads together shaped the economy, landscape, labor systems, and popular image of Southern California. Orange and lemon growing boomed in the 1870s and 1880s while railroads linked the region to markets across North America and ended centuries of geographic isolation for the West Coast. Railroads competed over the shipment of citrus fruits from multiple counties engulfed by the orange empire, resulting in an extensive rail network that generated lucrative returns for grove owners and railroad businessmen in Southern California from the 1890s to the 1950s. While investment from white Americans, particularly wealthy New Englanders, formed the financial backbone of the Octopus’s Garden, citrus and railroads would not have thrived in Southern California without the labor of people of color. Many workers of color took advantage of the commercial developments offered by railroads and citrus to economically advance their families and communities; however, these people also suffered greatly under the constant realities of bodily harm, low wages, and political and social exclusion. Promoters of the railroads and citrus cooperatives touted California as paradise for white Americans and minimized the roles of non-white laborers by stereotyping them in advertisements and publications. These practices fostered conceptions of California’s racial hierarchy by praising privileged whites and maligning the workers who made them prosper. The Octopus’s Garden continues to shape Southern Californians’ understanding of their past. In bringing together multiple storylines, Jenkins provides a complex and fresh perspective on the impact of citrus agriculturalists and railroad companies in Southern Californian history.

How long is Octopus's Garden?

Octopus's Garden by Benjamin T. Jenkins is 376 pages long, and a total of 96,256 words.

This makes it 127% the length of the average book. It also has 118% more words than the average book.

How Long Does it Take to Read Octopus's Garden Aloud?

The average oral reading speed is 183 words per minute. This means it takes 8 hours and 45 minutes to read Octopus's Garden aloud.

What Reading Level is Octopus's Garden?

Octopus's Garden is suitable for students ages 12 and up.

Note that there may be other factors that effect this rating besides length that are not factored in on this page. This may include things like complex language or sensitive topics not suitable for students of certain ages.

When deciding what to show young students always use your best judgement and consult a professional.

Where Can I Buy Octopus's Garden?

Octopus's Garden by Benjamin T. Jenkins is sold by several retailers and bookshops. However, Read Time works with Amazon to provide an easier way to purchase books.

To buy Octopus's Garden by Benjamin T. Jenkins on Amazon click the button below.