A vivid historical homage to dauntless adventurism.
A collection of colorful tales about the Alaskan gold rush at the end of the 19th century.
A Russian adventurer first discovered gold in the Alaskan territory in 1849, but a deluge of hopeful “Argonauts,” as they were called, came flooding into the territory nearly half a century later. The country was still reeling from the economic depression of 1893, and the promise of quick riches ignited the newcomers’ enthusiasm. As many as 100,000 people made the arduous journey via various routes to search a swath of land that stretched over 2,000 miles. Eventually, a railroad was built to replace the Chilkoot and White Pass trails, and its construction was a perilous task, as well. Author and journalist Jordan (Reflections of a Reluctant Alaskan, 2011, etc.) offers a kaleidoscopic mélange of different perspectives in his memorable biographical vignettes of those who sought fortune. Most of them had no previous mining experience, but a few were very lucky. One, Belinda Mulrooney, came to the United States in 1872 from Ireland as a child and, after finding gold, ended up as a successful hotelier. Others, like Austrian Antone Standers, made a fortune but still died penniless; he was bled dry by a money-hungry paramour. Although Jordan effectively makes the pursuit of wealth the backbone of the narrative, he also reveals that some people had other motivations; the Rev. Samuel Hall established a Presbyterian church, for example, and Sheldon Jackson started a series of religious schools. As a newspaperman, the author seems particularly interested in how the gold rush was covered by reporters, so he discusses a bevy of writers and journalists, such as Eugene Allen, the founder of the Klondike Nugget, and novelist Jack London. Overall, this is a delightfully eclectic and nonlinear chronicle written in a clear, anecdotal style that belies its journalistic rigor. Even though the mad stampede to affluence lasted less than a decade, the author ably limns its rich legacy and its spirit of American boldness.
A vivid historical homage to dauntless adventurism.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-0-9721166-5-7
Page Count: 380
Publisher: Samson Press
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
APPRECIATIONS
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
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