Gregory Crouch's Blog, page 5

When Mining Camps were the Tech Incubators of the West

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Diagrams to explain the square-set timbering technique

While writing THE BONANZA KING, I became fascinated with the techniques and technology of Comstock mining. Here are some diagrams to help explain the square-set timbering technique invented in late 1860 by mining engineer Philipp Deidesheimer that made it possible to extract the Comstock Lode’s colossal ore bodies. (Clicking on the images should enlarge them...

Excerpt from THE BONANZA KING at Smithsonian

“The Mining Millionaire Americans Couldn’t Help but Love” My time with John Mackay is coming to an end, but your opportunity to get to know this amazing man and his legendary accomplishments is just beginning. I hope you enjoy your time with him on the old Comstock Lode as much as I have. Here’s an...

Final resting place of THE BONANZA KING

Of the man. Hopefully not the book. ;-) Yesterday, Scribner Associate Editor Sarah Goldberg made a pilgrimage out Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery to pay her respects to THE BONANZA KING, John William Mackay. The bluff old miner would appreciate how hard Sarah and Editor-in-Chief Colin Harrison worked on the book. Both deserve heaps of credit. Both...

Final resting place of The Bonanza King

Of the man. Hopefully not the book. ;-) Yesterday, Scribner Associate Editor Sarah Goldberg made a pilgrimage out Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery to pay her respects to THE BONANZA KING, John William Mackay. The bluff old miner would appreciate how hard Sarah and Editor-in-Chief Colin Harrison worked on the book. Both deserve heaps of credit. Both...

THE BONANZA KING in the house!

THE BONANZA KING is everything I hoped it would be

Booklist reviews THE BONANZA KING

" . . . a well-written and laudatory biography of a remarkable and admirable man." 

The Bonanza King

I'm thrilled to announce my new book, THE BONANZA KING, coming from Scribner's Books in June 2018. Continue reading →

“How to Read Nature” by Tristan Gooley, reviewed by Gregory Crouch

Here's "What's Written in the Wind," my review of How to Read Nature by Tristan Gooley for "The Wall Street Journal," December 16 & 17, 2017.

"[Mr. Gooley] leaves us with the shining insight that although it's expected that we find "wonder in a vast mountain landscape," and "a more serious challenge" to find it in a hill, "it is a great achievement to find it in a molehill."" Continue reading →

“It Takes a Tribe” by Will Dean and Tim Adams, reviewed for the WSJ by Gregory Crouch

Here’s “Things You Don't Tell Your Mudder,” my review of "It Takes a Tribe" by Will Dean and co-author Tim Adams in "The Wall Street Journal," Friday, October 13, 2017. Continue reading →