Christopher Corbett

When gold rush fever gripped the globe in 1849, thousands of Chinese immigrants came through San Francisco on their way to seek their fortunes. In The Poker Bride, Christopher Corbett looks at this Chinese experience through a little-known legend from Idaho lore, the story of Polly, a young Chinese concubine, won by a white gambler in a poker game in Idaho.Corbett is the author of Orphans Preferred: The Twisted Truth and Lasting Legend of the Pony Express and Vacationland. He writes the popular "Back Page" column for Style magazine and teaches at UMBC.Recorded On: Wednesday, February 24, 2010