THE TOWN THAT DIED LAUGHING

by Oscar Lewis ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 2, 1954

From the files of the Reese River Reveille, the local newspaper of Austin, Nevada, a town of 8000 in the 1860's but only 200 today, this record also revives the uninhibited, indigenous character of the early west. Austin, in its booming and busting first years acquired a bank, a school, a hotel as well as the saloons and tenderloin houses which were opened up along with the first mines, and the crudities of mining life gave way to the refinements of civilization. The social activity and entertainment of the town; its politics and businesses; the only occasional incidents of lawlessness and crime; the coming of the railroad- and a little culture; the miners, Indians, Chinese---all this emerges from these annals and provides another lode for a by now well-established prospector in this field. Early Americana, of a specialized sort.

Pub Date: March 2, 1954

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1954

Categories: NONFICTION