Late last year (doesn’t that sound odd?), I received my December copy of Roundup Magazine, the publication of Western Writers of America. In it, writer Rod Miller favorably reviews my book Sourdoughs, Claim Jumpers, and Dry Gulchers:
Matthew Mayo offers up 50 bite-size chunks of dramatized history in this enjoyable read. While based on actual incidents, the author “used poetic license by adding dialogue and supporting characters” when necessary. He used his license well and the stories race along, conveying the excitement of the hunt for riches.
Mayo’s tales cover the mining frontier from the furnace of the Mojave to the icebox of the Yukon, and misfortunes and misadventures ranging from Indian attacks to avalanches, cave-ins to cannibalism. You’ll meet famous figures such as Soapy Smith and Nellie Cashman, as well as obscure and unfamiliar folks, all of whim played roles in mining in North America.
Coronado’s 1541 search for the Seven Cities of Cibola breaks a chronological trail that carries the reader to Fairbanks, Alaska, in 1905. The text is illustrated with more than two dozen paintings and photographs to complement the narrative. While not always illustrating the stories they accompany, the images do add atmosphere while showing the ins and outs of prospecting and mining.
—Rod Miller, Roundup Magazine