Song of the Hammer and Drill (Paperback)

by Duane A. Smith (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
As one of the great mining regions of Colorado and the United States, the San Juan Mountains provide insight into the development of both the industry and the state. First published in 1982, Song of the Hammer and Drill, with the help of more than 100 historical photographs, traces the mining and urban history of the San Juans from 1860-1914 through the lives of the people who opened, settled, and developed the beautiful but rugged mineral-rich peaks of southwestern Colorado.

About the Author
A professor of history and Southwest studies at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, Duane A. Smith is author or co-author of more than a dozen books, including The Rise of the Silver Queen, Colorado: A History in Photographs, Henry M. Teller, The Ballad of Baby Doe, "No One Ailing Except a Physician," Colorado: Our Colorful State, and A Tale of Two Towns.

Product Details

• Paperback: 268 pages
• Publisher: University Press of Colorado (December 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870815318
• ISBN-13: 978-0870815317
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,014,391 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Informative history of mining in the San Juan Mountains, May 21, 2001

By	Charles M. Nobles (Tulsa, OK United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Good News! Everyone that has an interest in the history of what arguably is the most beautiful mountain range in the United States, the San Juan's in southwestern Colorado, will be delighted to know that the University Press of Colorado has issued an updated version of Duane Smith's 1982 masterpiece. The beauty of this book is that it combines impeccable scholarship from a preeminent Colorado historian with a reader friendly style that results in a wonderful book both for the general reader interested in the urban and mining history of the San Juan's and the more studious reader seeking the definitive history of the period. The San Juan's were, and may be again, one of the great mining regions of Colorado as well as the United States. One cannot discuss the history of the myriad towns in and around the San Juan's without knowing about the mining history, as they are so interrelated as to be one. This book records the development of the mountains from 1860 to World War I. The author stated his purpose in writing the book was to study the mines and people who worked in the mines and lived in the camps, some of which turned into present day towns that now depend on tourists rather than ore for their existence. It is truly an incredible story of the settlement of southwestern Colorado. It's all here. The story of the removal of the Ute Indians from their land so that the "gold fever" in the San Juan's could be treated; the opening of mines such as Camp Bird, Golden Fleece, Golden Chicken, Tomboy, Neglected, May Day and Yankee Girl as well as hundreds of others; the settlement of towns such as Ouray, Ophir, Telluride, Silverton, Durango, Animas City, Creede, Lake City, and Leadville and a host of others that are now little more than ghost towns. The story of the individual miners and their work and living conditions is worth the price of the book alone. In addition, you will meet Otto Mears, Horace Tabor, Dave Wood and a multitude of others that individually, and collectively, contributed to the heyday of the San Juan's as a mining region. In additional to a fact-filled book on virtually every facet of mining there are 99 photos and an index. This is the best book yet published on the mines and people that worked them in the San Juan Mountains from 1860-1914. Anyone remotely interested in the general history of Colorado or the specific history of the majestic San Juan's will find this book a delight. The University Press of Colorado is to be commended for making the book available in such a reader friendly format.