Money Mountain: The Story of Cripple Creek Gold

By Marshall Sprague

Book Overview

"No novel could contain more dramatic events than the history of Cripple Creek."--Wyoming Library Roundup

"This is the fascinating story of the great Cripple Creek gold mines. But it is not told with fantasy: here are the plain facts of one of the most unbelievable incidents of our history, of a place in the Colorado mountains where a man threw his hat into the air, dug where it fell, and struck a rich vein of ore. . . . It is a fascinating story and the author has told it well."--Paul Engle, Chicago Tribune

"Money Mountain mines as rich a vein of human interest, of solid accomplishment combined with picturesque skullduggery, as one is likely to find in all the annals of the western frontier. . . . Virtually every page bears evidence of patient researching through old newspaper files, court records, pioneer reminiscences and other obscure sources likely to throw light on events in and about the town during the fifteen years 1892-1907] when it was riding high. . . . Highly rewarding reading to anyone curious to know what manner of life was lived in the wide-open mining towns of the West."--Oscar Lewis, New York Herald Tribune Books

"A roaring story of a roaring town. . . . It's an authentic contribution to the matter of the American West and dandy reading."--Saturday Review

"Cripple Creek has found its historian. Money Mountain is sure to stand for years as a valid picture of that bizarre camp."--New York Times Book Review

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0803291035
• ISBN13: 9780803291034
• Release Date: August 1979
• Publisher: Bison Books
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Fantastic account of the hey days of Cripple Creek, CO

I have read a lot of American history with the Old West being my favorite subject. I have always said that Stephen Ambrose's books about the Old West are some of my favorites that I have read over and over. I just finished reading Money Mountain by Marshall Sprague. It is now my favorite history book of the Old West. He writes so well it was hard to put down. Of course, the subject matter is unbelievable mining history. Some prior historical knowledge of the Cripple Creek Mining District in the late 1800s is very helpful to have before you read this book.

Review of Money Mountain

I was looking for a complete history of Cripple Creek from it's beginning, and I found it in this easy to read and follow book. Great details encompassing many different pioneers and stories of the area.

Historical Page Turner

I don't know where I got this book, but at whim I just picked it off my bookshelf. I was not particularly interested in Colorado, or gold mining, but this well-researched history of the Cripple Creek district was so well written, that I just couldn't put it down. This book was written 50 years ago, but Marshall Sprague's style is so crisp, so fresh, it reads like it was written yesterday. He has a real knack for chapter-ending punchlines. There is only one "problem" with the book. It seems so contemporary, that when I read such statistics as the price of gold, and they were off by hundreds of dollars, I had to remind myself that the book was indeed a half century old. The author died in 1994. I am sorry I cannot tell him how his writing shines. I plan to read other titles of his.