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motormommy's review against another edition
4.0
Stared off a little slow, but once it got going I couldn’t put it down.
jeffmauch's review
5.0
The Western US and Alaskan Territory of the late 1800's was wild and rough. It was a place for people to find their fortunes, escape their pasts and above all, find gold or find a way to make their fortune in other ways. this book tells the tales of three men from both sides of the law based on their letters and memoirs. The gold rushes in California and Alaska are incredible historical points in US and world history. It amazing that men dropped everything, traveled thousands of miles to desolate places (even to Alaska as winter rolled in) and risked their very lives, just for a chance to find some gold. The way the author told these intertwined stories was masterful, though it reads more like Fiction than anything based on historical fact. The important thing is its based on truth and is an incredibly interesting read.
beckydham's review
3.0
The story itself is fascinating, but the tone/style kind of bugs. It felt like it cheapened something exciting.
scottapeshot's review against another edition
2.0
The story presented here had great potential and a large scope about a very interesting time in US history. Unfortunately the presentation was fairly witless and generally dull. Blum manages to drain the color from what was potentially an extremely vivid and varied bouquet of characters. The book was quite a disappointment and has convinced me to avoid other works by this author.
almartin's review against another edition
3.0
Low Life + Jack London. Not unenjoyable, but there's a just-so quality to the retelling that makes me worried about the degree of artistic license taken.
Still, though - Chilkoot Pass!
Still, though - Chilkoot Pass!
spiderfelt's review
slow-paced
2.0
I took issue with sloppy writing (character shot a whale just behind the gills, but whales do not have gills), racist terms to identify characters and the author's constant comments on the state of mind after an event 'he never thought about it again'.
ronald_schoedel's review
5.0
This is a good read for anyone interested in the Last Frontier of Alaska and the Yukon, and the characters who shaped its early, formative culture. I had heard of all of the main figures in this book prior to reading it, but was unaware of how connected they were in their histories and fates. It does not read like a dry historical account, which makes it a comfortable read (but not unintellectual). It's more of a 4.5 star than 5 (I wondered sometimes, how much some of the dialogue has been enhanced, but the author does describe in an appendix the various source materials he used, so probably most of the dialogue is reasonably authentic, even if some of it came off sounding a bit contrived.)
wynwicket's review
4.0
The history of the Alaskan Gold Rush as told through the eyes of three very different individuals: Charlie Siringo, a cowboy-turned-Pinkerton-detective investigating the theft of hundreds of gold bars from an Alaskan mine; Soapy Smith, a conman/gang-leader/generally reprehensible fellow pursuing power (and gold, naturally) across the States into Alaska; and George Carmack an American Naval man gone AWOL, who marries into the native Tagish people and avidly pursues his own dreams of gold.
I admit, I knew very little about prospecting and the Gold Rush prior to the reading this, but the book is well-researched, clearly-written, and I love a good adventure! Also, Alaska sounds absolutely beautiful. A good read.
I admit, I knew very little about prospecting and the Gold Rush prior to the reading this, but the book is well-researched, clearly-written, and I love a good adventure! Also, Alaska sounds absolutely beautiful. A good read.