A Beautiful Mine: Women Prospectors of the Old West

They mined copper, silver and gold from California to Alaska. Some died rich, some died poor, and more than a few died mysteriously. Screenwriter and author Enss, who specializes in stories of Western women, describes the adventures of 11 women miners, from the famous Baby Doe Taylor to the philanthropic Nellie Cashman, who operated a mine as well as boarding house for those in need. Gertrude Peckwith was one of the mysterious women whose successful mining led to conspiracy theories about her death, and Lillian Malcolm certainly added dash to her panning as she went from the stage to the mines. Enss makes sure the stories of those who became rich, such as Ferminia Sarras who became Nevada's copper queen, are balanced by those whose abject failure and poor choices matched the vast majority of the men who caught Gold Fever. Annotation c2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)