Customer Reviews

A Room for the Summer: Adventure, Misadventure, and Seduction in the Mines of the Coeur D'Alene

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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Fritz Wolff has written a humorous memoir of his time spent in Idaho during the glory days of hardrock mining. His prose and story telling are similar to Norman McLean's "A River Runs Through It". A very enjoyable read.

I loved this book. I can't say that mining was a particular interest of mine until the people and process were brought to life by Mr Wolff.
Fritz Wolff certainly knows his stuff when it comes to hardrock mining. He lived it as a young man. But what made this book for me, was his self-deprecating sense of humor and his sensitivity in describing the characters he encountered. I strongly reccommend it.

There have been attempts over the past 3 decades to humanize the mining business. Fritz's tale, seen through the eyes of a college kid 60 years later, is one of the finest. I know or knew several of the people he describes in his narrative; they'll vouch for his authenticity. Thank-you, Fritz. You have ennobled my friends.

This is a story that doesn't fit into any typical genre. Its a story about life with a personal memoir and some rich history as the back drop. The author writes in a style that is fresh and engaging. He uses vocabulary and dialogue that, unfortunately, no one encounters any more. This a rich story and a must read.

I was attracted to this book, first by the striking painting on the cover, then by what was inside it. In fact, although I had other things to do I stayed up most of the night reading and finished it the following day. The miners and their families described by Mr. Wolff creates in essence what Garrison Keeler called his "storm family". People in a real mining camp that took the greenhorn from Seattle under their wing and taught him the ropes about hardrock mining, and a lot of other stuff an 18 year old kid needs to know. He uses nouns and verbs in a straight arrow kind of prose that is sparse, but entertaining. It's a people kind of book, and places some unforgettable characters on the map of western history. I hope the author tackles another yarn.

I lived for 15 years in the Silver Valley. My husband worked for both the Sunshine Mine and Bunker Hill Mine. His father worked and retired from the Sunshine. Our family enjoyed many years of living in this mining community, enjoying the natural beauty of the Coeurd'Alene river and camping, fishing and hunting in the area. Fritz Wolff's account of his life in that area and his memories of the mining community/industry were a pleasure to read. He wrote of places and people and things familiar to myself and members of my family. I hope many will want to read this book just because it's an interesting read.

I have only one complaint about this book. It says that the hardrock mining industry is all but forgotten. Someone apparently forgot to tell my neighbors who on most days put on their hard hats with headlamps and go down a half mile or so to carve gold ore out of the mountain.

No, the world out here (Nevada) isn't quite like that pictured in the book. Then again, it's closer to the book than is life in most cities. He visits Carol who provides him with a "commercial embrace," for $15 for a half hour. I understand (I've of course no personal experience) that the rate is now $200 for a half hour.

Other details have changed, but the people are much as he describes, good people, the salt of the earth. An excellent tale of times past when we were all a lot younger.

Having worked as an exploration geologist in the Coeur d'Alene area and throughout the western United States, I found this book to be an excellent and very entertaining read. The author's descriptions of being underground in the Bunker Hill mine, and living in Wallace and Kellogg were very accurate and brought back many memories of these places. And, because I was not too far from his age when he first "experienced" Wallace and Kellogg, I could very easily relate to many of his adventures and misadventuers. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in underground mining in general and/or the Coeur d'Alene mining district. Economic/exploration geologists and mining engineers will particularly appreciate this book and its humor.

I was raised in the community in this book and know the places and faces very well. This is a very fun and comfortable read. The author will warm your heart immediately with the recollections of his youth and how this summer was a turning point for him. He looks back with a twinkle in his eye. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.