Six Wars at a Time: The Life and Times of Gutzon Borglum, Sculptor of Mt. Rushmore

by Howard Shaff, Audrey Karl Shaff

Historians Howard Shaff and Audrey Karl Shaff spent seven years retracing the steps of Gutzon Borglum and writing his definitive biography. In 1977 the Shaffs visited Mount Rushmore and began their journey that took them from California to Connecticut, Idaho to Texas - as they tracked down Borglum's far-flung papers, talked to those who knew him, catalogued his art and interviewed virtually every surviving member of Borglum's team of workers on Mount Rushmore. Their taped interviews, now housed at the monument and the University of South Dakota, comprise the only comprehensive oral history of Mount Rushmore and the sculptor. The Shaffs have also emerged as the acknowledged experts on Borglum's art, serving as curators for the largest collection of his work, housed st the Rushmore-Borglum Story in Keystone, South Dakota. The Shaffs now live at the KbarS Lodge in Keystone where they continue to write and work together. They have seven children. Painter, sculptor, political crusader, city planner, aviation enthusiast, critic and sportsman. Gutzon Borglum threw himself into life as it was lived in the halcyon days of the turn-of-the-century. his life was filled with romance, adventure, accomplishment and intrigue. It touched every president from Teddy Roosevelt to FDR, the artists, statesmen, politicians and celebrities of his time in a story that led to its inevitable conclusion at Mount Rushmore.

Genres: Biography, History

379 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1985

Reviews

[Pat Delwiche · Rating 3 out of 5]

As promised, the book was about the life of Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor of Mt Rushmore, and not really at all about Mt Rushmore itself. How this remarkable work of art was actually accomplished is still a mystery to me, and for that I am disappointed. I did gain a better understanding of the political and financial wrangling required to accomplish this feat, and now I marvel at Borglum’s drive, persistence and visionary capacity. He was, apparently, a charming, endearing and persuasive man, with unlimited energy. An articulate and prolific writer, he maintained active communication with people ranging from his daughter to the U.S. president. In another century, he would have been compared to da Vinci or Dante, so ambitious was his thinking, so active his imagination. I still don’t know anything about the logistics of creating Mount Rushmore, but I do now have a better appreciation for the magnitude of imagining it into existence.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s really hard to read but you can easily see why many had a love hate relationship with this man and his this project

[Mimi Berkshire · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read. A little long but he was a man with a most creative and influential life. I’d never heard his name and read the book as preparation for visiting North and South DAKOTA. I will think of him when we visit the site.

[Dawn Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this at Mt. Rushmore and read it on the drive home to Texas. What in interesting guy! Sort of like Forrest Gump...he seemed to be present and peripherally involved in every important historical event in America during his lifetime.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting biography of Gutzon Borglum who worked on both Mt Rushmore and Stone Mountain.