Customer Reviews

Some Dreams Die: Utah's Ghost Towns and Lost Treasures

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is the Classic Ghost Town guide for Utah. Although Thompson leaves many questions unanswered, and probably takes a few liberties in weaving his yarns of lost riches, the stories of the characters and places which comprise the rich history of long forgotten ghost towns, mining camps and outposts in Utah's mountains and deserts makes for fascinating reading.

When my father was alive we went out West of the Great Salt Lake and we drove all the roads up through Lucin clear till Promontory Point. It is a wonderful experience to go out to an area that looks desolate but is so rich in history and culture. This book was our main resource while we were out there. It is a most perfect tour guide. From it we got a pretty good idea from where these towns were and what to do. We would look and see the picture of this prospering town of 10,000 and then we would look out on the desert and just 100 years later there was nothing there except mabye an old foundation or part of a building or an amazingly well built bridge. It does kind of play tricks on you. You start almost seeing the towns and the people. They become real to you like a "Ghost Town." To give you an idea, if you've ever been to Wendover, just south of Lucin, it has about 6000 people last time I checked. This will give you an idea of how big some of these towns actually were.This was a great memory of my father and I and I will always cherish it as we went through all these old towns together. I'm giving this four stars as a revenge because I can't justify paying this much money for paper and it sticks in my stomach like a knife that I can't buy this book. There are certain books that you read and you are not the same after you've read them. This book was definately that for me.

Very few mistakes on history and location. I have read this book several times and been to maybe 75% of the areas and storys. very good

Whether or not you live in Utah, this book is an outstanding collection of random weirdness. It's fascinating and at times unbelievable. Sadly, its author died in a tragic car accident about a decade ago, but this book will forever remain a testament to his adventurous and inquisitive life.
(And sadly, he will never be able to write companion books for Arizona and New Mexico. Oh, what the world has lost!)
This book is FULL of fascinating stuff: ghost towns, lost mines, treasure lore, and crazy history. It's well organized into sections of the state, has maps, has a ton of entries and a ton of information, and even has a good index (though it doesn't have list any sources or references).
The stories inside are facinating, ranging from the legend of the Golden Jesus--a three-foot-tall golden crucifix stolen by Hopis from the Spanish in the 1880s--the Lost Josephine Mine of the Henry Mountains, strange mining stories of the San Juan River, and many, many more.
If the book has any faults, it's that the author takes evident liberties in telling the stories of these towns and mines treasures. He comes across as more of a campfire yarn-spinner than a historian, and though this makes the book very entertaining, it also makes the book questionable as a source for reference material.
Buy it anyway, though. It's a lot of fun.

I first ran across reference to this book at desertislands.org while I was looking up information regarding the Great Basin and Western Utah, specifically the old mining camps/ghost towns in those areas. After reading some of the excerpts from "Some Dreams Die" that were posted on that website, and living in the general vicinity of the overland stage route and pony express trail in Utah, I decided that I really wanted this book. Surprise! I got the book for Christmas and I read through it in two days. Excellent reading material! I plan on re-reading this book several times, as well as travelling to several of the lost townsites or mine camps listed in this book this spring/summer.

The author may have "taken some liberties" or "spun some yarns" while writing, or he may have just written the stories the way he was told them by old-timers that he interviewed. Personally, I believe the latter. Either way, to think that George Thompson - adventurer and desert rat - actually went to each and every one of the areas listed is amazing. Many of the areas that he lists are located in very inhospitable areas like extreme desert or high mountains, and the "roads" to those areas are almost impassable trails, followed by a strenuous hike.

If you buy this book, be prepared to be swept away into a long-lost world which is slowly being erased from the face of the earth. Utah or the Bureau of Land Management (or a combination of both) are slowly and surely trying to erase history by bulldozing what's left of old ghost towns and mine camps to make the areas "safe". It's a shame. Much of the westward growth of the United States was fueled by mining, and this book will introduce you to persons who helped the U.S. grow. You'll experience the hopes and dreams of pioneers and miners as they attempted to scratch out an existence in the harsh western deserts and high mountains, either by farming, ranching, or mining. You'll have your curiosity piqued regarding legendary "lost treasures and caches", and you'll wonder if you could be the "lucky" one to find a long-lost cache or mine where you could "strike it rich".

I cannot vouch for the 100% veracity of everything written in "Some Dreams Die", but from what I know of the area and what I've read from other sources, I'd say that George Thompson wasn't far off the mark. This book is a treasure, and it's hard to come by.

Enjoy!

This book is the Classic Ghost Town guide for Utah. Although Thompson leaves many questions unanswered, and probably takes a few liberties in weaving his yarns of lost riches, the stories of the characters and places which comprise the rich history of long forgotten ghost towns, mining camps and outposts in Utah's mountains and deserts makes for fascinating reading.

I enjoyed this book immensely. It is full of interesting information on the history of Utah and its lost treasures. A must read for the novice ghost towner like me.

My husband loves reading all about ghost towns. Since we live in the S.W., he has many. New Mexico, Arizona,the Northwest, and one from Nevada, yuck to that one!!!
However, he raves over his new Utah book. He says he can't hardly put it down. He's only been to Utah once and found it fascinating. The history and stories may not, if possible, be 100% true, but he is enjoying reading it. He says it is well worth every penny! You won't be disappointed.

It does not matter that the author took some creative license while making this book. This book helps Utah history come alive and personalizes each hidden ghost town information gem. If it didn't happen the way he says it did, well, it should have...
Book is old enough that it does not have GPS coordinates so you are on your own to find the spots mentioned. But, for me, it made for some great winter reading when snow made exploring difficult.

This book is a classic for Utah treasure hunters, history buffs and adventure-seekers. It's well-written, well-organized, and includes more stories about more places than any other book out there. I just wish that it could be updated with current road designations, more precise directions and GPS coordinates. Be warned; some of the places mentioned are on private, fenced property and are inaccessible. Long out of print, some occasionally become available.