Death Valley to Yosemite: Frontier Mining Camps & Ghost Towns--The Men, The Women, Their Mines and Stories (Paperback)

by L. Burr Belden (Author), Mary DeDecker (Author), Varied (Author), Wynne Benti (Illustrator), Inc. Spotted Dog Press (Photographer, Editor) "IN 1838, MARY RICHARDSON was one of the first women of European descent to go west, not as a miner, but as a missionary, riding..." (more)
Key Phrases: Death Valley, Cerro Gordo, Los Angeles (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"We'll be busy for the next 10 years with this book. Excellent for anyone heading to DV." -- Mike and Lucy Reyes, Los Angeles

A great book. Editor Benti has done a precise job on the details." -- Steve Harmon, Los Angeles

Beautiful reproduction, high quality soft cover with maps, photos, safety around old mines. . .completely indexed." -- Jane Fisher, Sierra Reader

Product Description
ÒA prospector picks up a likely looking piece of float and then spends half a day squinting around to find correctly its true source. Another becomes intrigued with an abandoned Indian camp only to find a rich silver-lead vein. Green-stained rocks around a mountain spring lead to the discovery of copper ore. A party of travelers gets lost when clouds drop so low they obliterate a mountain trail. Dawn reveals scores of gold-bearing rocks bordering their blankets.Ó

This is the classic book about fabulous mining booms, of men and women who braved some of the most remote, wild and desolate country east of the Sierra Nevada to find gold and other precious minerals. Many of the colorful characters who contributed to the legendary reputation of mining camps with names like ÒDogtownÓ and ÒSkidooÓ were personally interviewed by both Belden and DeDecker.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Spotted Dog Press (CA); 1 edition (December 31, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0964753081
• ISBN-13: 978-0964753082
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #165,477 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #22 in	Books > Travel > United States > States > California > Yosemite
  #23 in	Books > History > United States > State & Local > Nevada
  #40 in	Books > Professional & Technical > Engineering > Civil > Mining

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Facts, Poor form, March 21, 2000

By	David McGraw (California) - See all my reviews

This book is great in presenting many fascinating and sometimes humorous facts about the old mining days of California and Nevada. The lengths both writers went to to confirm their stories is to be admired. However, is quite frustrating to read for the book flows awkwardly. Misplaced commas, typos, and a constant jumping from past to present in the same paragraph can slow down the reader's understanding. Some chapters have titles about certain characters, but do not offer a complete story or even center on that person. I would go on, but the rarity of the content makes the book worthwhile on its own.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great collaberation for the California ghost town hunter., January 9, 2002

By	Thomas Schmidt (Los Angeles, Ca USA) - See all my reviews

This book puts together two of the most comprehensive writings on southern California ghost towns under one cover. Both L. Burr Belden and Mary DeDecker retell the stories that many of which were told to them by first hand citizens of mining towns of the late 19th century and early 20th century. The book is historically informative and holds the interest of this reader. I highly recommend the work, but due to its early publication,(both authors originally released their books in the 60's.) I do not recommend it as a guide to the modern day ghost town visitor. Nonetheless a great and interesting read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read !, January 29, 2003

By A Customer

As an officianado of Death Valley and the surrounding area, I found this book a really great read, and in fact I couldn't put it down! Lots of fascinating true history and tales packed into a nice package. Highly recommended!