...being the marvelous history of General Augustus Sutter
Which being the history of a remarkable man and time in history, told by Cendrars becomes poetry and art. A slender, although marvelous read, from the point of view of a man who can't seem to reconcile the swings of fortune God (and man) have assigned him.
Cendrars is kinder to him than history is, although how much information he had access to is uncertain. The historical accounts currently do not describe him as kindly in his dealings with natives.
You can read the bare bones of his life here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Sutter