THE TRAILS OF '98

by ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 11, 1962

The ""trails of '98"" led to the goldfields of the Yukon and the Klondike; this anthology of the goldrush consists of excerpts from the Dawson paper, The Klondike Nugget, poems by Robert Service, factual accounts by two mining experts, William Ogilvie and T.A. Rickard, and selections from the works of Rex Beach and Jack London. The book opens with Service's The Spell of the Yukon and ends with his farewell to the goldfields, L'Envoi, with other poems in between, including The Shooting of Dan McGrew. In the years since the rush, however, the Yukon has lost some of its spell and McGrew's girl-friend, ""the lady whose name was Lou"" a good deal of her allure; London's short stories here quoted also seem strained and dated. The factual material in the book, however, is still vivid: Beach's tales of his personal experiences; London's account of running rapids on the way to the Yukon; Rickard's Dogs of the Yukon, The Shooting of Soapy Smith, etc; and the contemporary accounts from The Klondike Nugget, which even today smell of gold and the North. A book for those with nostalgia for sixty years past, rather than for modern readers, this anthology should also appeal to students of the search for gold in America, and for residents and historians of America's 50th State, Alaska.

Pub Date: May 11, 1962

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Duell, Sloan & Pearce

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1962

Categories: NONFICTION