A Hole in the Ground With a Liar at the Top

[grladams at teleport.com]

Book review seemed of interest to this circle --
It's interesting how we can know what's Pynchonian. That would be a good
thread. What's Pynchonian, what's not. 

Hole in the Ground with a Liar at the Top: Fraud and Deceit in the Golden
Age of American Mining 
Contributor(s): Plazak, Dan (Author)  
 


Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.    
Publisher Marketing:
Coal, silver, gold...there is something about the allure of finding hidden
treasure that puts a glint in people's eyes--"a glint that is sometimes
binding. An American saying, often attributed to Mark Twain, defines a mine
as "a hole in the ground with a liar at the top." Delve into the curious
mind of the con-artist with author Dan Plazak as he investigates the
history of mining frauds in the United States from the Civil War to World
War I. Take, for example, the case of Nathaniel Hawthorne's literary son
Julian, who turned his artistic impulses into creativity of a more
nefarious sort after concluding that "I want more money than the sort of
literature I have produced can provide." At the prompting of a Harvard
friend, Hawthorne soon turned from writing novels and journalism to writing
letters intended to encourage investment in Canadian mining
ventures--"ventures of little or no value except to the letter writer. By
gathering such familiar stories as that of Nevada's infamous Comstock Lode
with a succession of lesser-known scandals, Plazak provides a well-written
volume that's a treat for anyone who believes there really is a sucker born
every minute. 
 
 ISBN: 0874808405    EAN: 9780874808407  
 
Publisher: University of Utah Press 
 
US SRP: $ 26.95 US  -  (Discount: REG)  
 
Binding: Hardcover  
 
Pub Date: October 2005  
 


Additional Information 
BISAC Categories: 
- History | United States | State & Local - West
- Technology & Engineering | Mining
- Technology & Engineering | History  
 
LC Subjects:  
- 19th century  - 20th century  
- Fraud  - History  
- Mines and mineral resources  - Swindlers and swindling  
- United States  - Valuation  

 
Dewey: 553.09730903   
 
 
Features: Annotated, Bibliography, Dust Cover, Illustrated, Index, Maps,
Price on Product   
 
Physical Info: 1.32" H x 9.28" L x 6.4" W (1.72 lbs) 374 pages  
 
 
 

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