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George Hearst
Silver King of the Gilded Age
Published by: University of Oklahoma Press
Imprint: University of Oklahoma Press
274 Pages | 6 x 9 | 10 b&w illus.
$55.00
$26.95
$24.95
Rising from a Missouri boyhood and meager prospecting success to owning the most productive copper, silver, and gold mines in the world and being elected a United States senator, George Hearst (1820–91) spent decades veering between the heights of prosperity and the depths of financial ruin. In George Hearst: Silver King of the Gilded Age, Matthew Bernstein captures Hearst’s ascent, casting light on his actions during the Civil War, his tempestuous marriage to his cousin Phoebe, his role as disciplinarian and doting father to future media magnate William Randolph Hearst, and his devious methods of building the greatest mining empire in the West.
Whether driving a pack of mules laden with silver from the Comstock Lode to San Francisco, bribing jurors in Pioche and Deadwood, or unearthing bonanzas in Utah and Montana Territories, Hearst’s cunning, energy, and industry were always evident, along with occasional glimmers of the villainy ascribed to him in the television series Deadwood.
In this first full-length biography, George Hearst emerges in all his human dimensions and historical significance—an ambitious, complex, flawed, and quintessentially American character.
Whether driving a pack of mules laden with silver from the Comstock Lode to San Francisco, bribing jurors in Pioche and Deadwood, or unearthing bonanzas in Utah and Montana Territories, Hearst’s cunning, energy, and industry were always evident, along with occasional glimmers of the villainy ascribed to him in the television series Deadwood.
In this first full-length biography, George Hearst emerges in all his human dimensions and historical significance—an ambitious, complex, flawed, and quintessentially American character.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Prologue: A Sick Man in Mexico (1889)
Part I. Prodigal Son
1. Franklin County (1820–1850)
2. The Gold Rush (1850–1859)
3. The Washoe Excitement (1859–1860)
4. Civil War (1860–1862)
Part II. The Gambler
5. Dead Sure (1862–1866)
6. The Gilded Age (1867–1871)
7. The Great Diamond Hoax (1872)
8. Panic! (1872–1874)
9. Death Valley (1875–1877)
10. The Black Hills (1877–1878)
11. California Assassins (1879)
Part III. The Art of the Possible
12. Hearst for Governor (1880–1882)
13. Phoebe’s Prophecy (1882–1886)
14. Five Barrels of Bad Whiskey (1886)
15. Geronimo (1886–1887)
16. Sunset (1887–1888)
17. Nightfall (1889–1891)
Epilogue: Resurrection
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgments
Prologue: A Sick Man in Mexico (1889)
Part I. Prodigal Son
1. Franklin County (1820–1850)
2. The Gold Rush (1850–1859)
3. The Washoe Excitement (1859–1860)
4. Civil War (1860–1862)
Part II. The Gambler
5. Dead Sure (1862–1866)
6. The Gilded Age (1867–1871)
7. The Great Diamond Hoax (1872)
8. Panic! (1872–1874)
9. Death Valley (1875–1877)
10. The Black Hills (1877–1878)
11. California Assassins (1879)
Part III. The Art of the Possible
12. Hearst for Governor (1880–1882)
13. Phoebe’s Prophecy (1882–1886)
14. Five Barrels of Bad Whiskey (1886)
15. Geronimo (1886–1887)
16. Sunset (1887–1888)
17. Nightfall (1889–1891)
Epilogue: Resurrection
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Matthew Bernstein is an adjunct professor of English at Los Angeles City College. He also teaches at Matrix for Success Academy and is a frequent magazine contributor.
“Matthew Bernstein's lively biography of George Hearst will ignite the interest of multitudes of readers. This is narrative western biography at its best.” — Richard W. Etulain, author of Thunder in the West: The Life and Legends of Billy the Kid
“In George Hearst, Silver King of the Gilded Age, Matthew Bernstein provides a folksy romp through the mining, cattle, political, and newspaper worlds of nineteenth-century America. This well-researched biography is guaranteed to inform and entertain.”— Nancy J. Taniguchi, author of Dirty Deeds: Land, Violence, and the 1856 San Francisco Vigilance Committee
“…a first-rate biography…Bernstein does his research and writes well…” – Historynet.com
"As author Matthew Bernstein writes so eloquently, 'Hearst was the most famous miner in American history' ... And with Bernstein’s biography, Hearst will be remembered again as one of America’s greatest 19th-century entrepreneurs..."—True West
“A great telling of a rags to riches story.” — A Book with Legs Podcast
"...Mr. Bernstein, a professor of English at Los Angeles City College, keeps it sprightly and engaging. Hearst’s tireless questing has a fascination to it..."
—The Wall Street Journal
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