Customer Reviews

Quest for the Dutchman's Gold: The 100-Year Mystery: The Facts, Myths and Legends of the Lost Dutchman Mine and the Superstition M

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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I read this book when it was published under the title "Fool's Gold" (published 1983). I found his narrative gripping. I felt like I was there. I grew up in the Phoenix area, so It was even more of a intense feeling because I have been in the Supersititon mountains and can say that he is right. Those mountains are rugged, harsh, and you get a sense of it being a little creepy. The book is well written and well researched. I reccomend it strongly to anyone who is interested in the legends and tales of the West.

Like another reviewer, I read this book when it was entitled Fools Gold. The book gives a detailed, factual account of the Lost Dutchman's Mine Legend. The author describes his personal experiences working with those that have searched for the mine. He also includes quite a bit of original historical research on the history of the legend and on Jacob Waltz (the Dutchman). He intersperses these perspectives throughout the book. It is a very interesting book to read even if you are marginally interested in this topic.

The author does a good job of debunking the legend. If you have any doubts about whether the mine exists you probably won't after reading this book. The evidence clearly indicates that the Dutchman's Mine is fiction, not fact.

I wish some of the reproduced documents were of high quality just to have more to read! I really appreciated the conversational nature of this history book. I felt like I was sitting down for a cup of coffee while Robert Sikrosky told me about his one on one experience with the Lost Dutchman's Gold.

The book's title is a bit grandiose. This is casual storytelling based on old newspaper articles rather than a comprehensive history, though it is supplemented at times with historical documents Sikorsky has examined. It is, in any event, good storytelling and there is no particular reason to doubt the basic accuracy of the newspaper articles. It provides a entertaining look at the main versions of the legend and the personalities surrounding it.

Whether you will be convinced that there is nothing to the legend, as another reviewer has suggested, is a different question. I am not sure that the book even wants to give that impression. One could equally well conclude that there might have been something up there once -- perhaps before the Dutchman even claimed to find his "mine" -- but that it is almost surely long gone, leaving behind a fantasy fit for con men, crooks, and fools -- and (this is my own excuse) those for whom the fantasy makes it a bit more fun to hike in the Supersitions.