What do you think?
Goldfield: The Last Gold Rush On The Western Frontier
“The discovery of Goldfield, Nevada, in 1902, along with the earlier discovery of Tonopah in 1900, marked the revival of mining in Nevada. Mining production, which had escalated after the discovery of the Comstock Lode in 1859, dropped to almost nothing with the decline of the Comstock in the 1870s. Without continued mining production, the state entered what proved to be a twenty-year depression period that ultimately led some observers to suggest that Nevada be deprived of its statehood. Nevada was saved from further abuse by the new discoveries in the southern part of the state.
The Tonopah boom was moderate, as was the early development at Goldfield. Then in the winter of 1904 a rich gold strike at Goldfield set off a boom reminiscent of the earlier days of the Comstock rush. Within a short time Goldfield was the largest city in Nevada. The boom, however, did not last and Goldfield, confronted with a major labor dispute, was headed for oblivion.
It is the basic story of discovery, boom, and bust that Professor Zanjani recounts. Hers, however, is not the ordinary history of a boom mining camp. It is a social documentary of Goldfield as it moved from discovery, through its boom period and into decline. Based on a massive research effort, Goldfield is more than just a recitation of facts. Zanjani gives the reader a detailed look into the lives of the people of Goldfield as they worked, played, ate, slept, and died during the various phases of the camp’s history. I know of no other mining boom camp that has been covered in this fashion. It is a unique story, well-told by a literary craftsman. It is, in the opinion of this writer, a classic of its kind.”
—Russell R. Elliott, in Prefatory Note to Goldfield
The Tonopah boom was moderate, as was the early development at Goldfield. Then in the winter of 1904 a rich gold strike at Goldfield set off a boom reminiscent of the earlier days of the Comstock rush. Within a short time Goldfield was the largest city in Nevada. The boom, however, did not last and Goldfield, confronted with a major labor dispute, was headed for oblivion.
It is the basic story of discovery, boom, and bust that Professor Zanjani recounts. Hers, however, is not the ordinary history of a boom mining camp. It is a social documentary of Goldfield as it moved from discovery, through its boom period and into decline. Based on a massive research effort, Goldfield is more than just a recitation of facts. Zanjani gives the reader a detailed look into the lives of the people of Goldfield as they worked, played, ate, slept, and died during the various phases of the camp’s history. I know of no other mining boom camp that has been covered in this fashion. It is a unique story, well-told by a literary craftsman. It is, in the opinion of this writer, a classic of its kind.”
—Russell R. Elliott, in Prefatory Note to Goldfield
300 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1992
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
February 3, 2017
If you like dull, dry fact-driven history, skip this book. Sally Zanjani has a way of finding the stories behind the facts, of sorting out the key players and presenting them as fully-realized individuals you're sure you've met once you read about them here.
My husband and I travel full-time, and I hunt for books about the areas we visit so we can learn about them -- history, nature, travelogues are all fair game. We read less general history about a place than we do about specific events in history (like John Wesley Powell's trip down the Colorado River), mostly because so many are boring and with a plethora of titles, it's often hard to pick a good, representative book about a place.
"Goldfield" came to us quite by accident. Shopping a gem and mineral sale in Pahrump, Nevada, the local museum had a booth. This book, among a few others, was marked half price because of a coffee spill that marred its edge and back cover. Sold!
What we got was several weeks of entertaining reading about Goldfield, Nevada, a tiny ramshackle town we've driven through several times from here to there and back. Without having read this book, we never would have known it has such a colorful, and meaningful, past.
The book focuses on the boom years of 1902-1909 when gold prospectors, stock speculators, assayers, and all the riffraff (bringing gambling, saloons, and prostitution) that show up when money is flowing freely populated the town. But unlike other mining camps, Goldfield became a community as well, with families, schools, and churches who put down deep enough roots the town still stands today.
Though the book suffers here and there from an overly-wrought chapter crammed with data and minutia (of interest no doubt to hard-core Nevada or mining historians), most of the book tells us the stories of those who made and usually lost their fortunes in this town, of their friendships and rivalries (and sometimes both at the same time).
If you're looking for insight into what has made Nevada the capitol (especially before casinos spread across the country) of legalized gambling and prostitution, this book helps. Most of all, it's a wonderfully detailed description of what it was like to live in the last great gold rush in the Western US -- the movers and shakers, including the lawmen who kept order (and often profited from those who violated the laws). It includes fascinating information about splashy tabloid-type murder, political shenanigans, and general mayhem.
You'll think no time at all has separated present day USA from 1907 Goldfield, Nevada.
My husband and I travel full-time, and I hunt for books about the areas we visit so we can learn about them -- history, nature, travelogues are all fair game. We read less general history about a place than we do about specific events in history (like John Wesley Powell's trip down the Colorado River), mostly because so many are boring and with a plethora of titles, it's often hard to pick a good, representative book about a place.
"Goldfield" came to us quite by accident. Shopping a gem and mineral sale in Pahrump, Nevada, the local museum had a booth. This book, among a few others, was marked half price because of a coffee spill that marred its edge and back cover. Sold!
What we got was several weeks of entertaining reading about Goldfield, Nevada, a tiny ramshackle town we've driven through several times from here to there and back. Without having read this book, we never would have known it has such a colorful, and meaningful, past.
The book focuses on the boom years of 1902-1909 when gold prospectors, stock speculators, assayers, and all the riffraff (bringing gambling, saloons, and prostitution) that show up when money is flowing freely populated the town. But unlike other mining camps, Goldfield became a community as well, with families, schools, and churches who put down deep enough roots the town still stands today.
Though the book suffers here and there from an overly-wrought chapter crammed with data and minutia (of interest no doubt to hard-core Nevada or mining historians), most of the book tells us the stories of those who made and usually lost their fortunes in this town, of their friendships and rivalries (and sometimes both at the same time).
If you're looking for insight into what has made Nevada the capitol (especially before casinos spread across the country) of legalized gambling and prostitution, this book helps. Most of all, it's a wonderfully detailed description of what it was like to live in the last great gold rush in the Western US -- the movers and shakers, including the lawmen who kept order (and often profited from those who violated the laws). It includes fascinating information about splashy tabloid-type murder, political shenanigans, and general mayhem.
You'll think no time at all has separated present day USA from 1907 Goldfield, Nevada.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review