The Vision of Elijah Berl

"The Vision of Elijah Berl" by Frank Lewis Nason is a story set in early 20th-century California, about a man named Elijah Berl with big dreams of turning the dry land into rich farmland mainly for growing oranges. The book is about wanting to achieve great things, whether a higher power is helping, and the not-so-easy relationships between Elijah, his wife Amy, and another engineer named Ralph Winston. The beginning shows the beautiful California lands, both what they are and what they could be because of gold and farming. Elijah is a determined man who really wants to change the land for agriculture, but he has problems in his relationships, especially with Amy, who worries that she will lose him to his big plans. Also, his new partnership with Winston creates difficult questions about right and wrong, which will test what they believe as they start their business, causing problems later in the story. The book is about what it means to be happy and what people give up to become great.