Gregory Crouch's Blog

This should link you to a high res copy of the 1875 Parkinson “Map of the Comstock Lode and the Washoe Mining Claims.” It’s a beauty.

I just discovered this excellent collection of Comstock Lode photographs shot by legendary landscape photographer Carlton Watkins in 1878. Watkins is most famous as the first person to photograph Yosemite—Mt. Watkins, which rises across Tenaya Canyon from Half Dome, is named for him. Watkins visited Virginia City and Gold Hill in 1878, at the height...

Thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with Dr. Todd Mei for his “Living Philosophy” podcast. He got me talking about history, writing, adventure, and the importance of time. Give it a listen by clicking the image below!

Here’s “Paradise Lost,” my review of Alastair Gee and Dani Anguiano’s FIRE IN PARADISE: An American Tragedy, in the Wall Street Journal, Tuesday, May 12, 2020, page A13.   FIRE IN PARADISE is the 24th book I’ve reviewed for the Wall Street Journal, and the 37th I’ve reviewed professionally. Here’s the full list.

Here’s “Himalayan Heroes,” my review of Scott Ellsworth’s new book THE WORLD BENEATH THEIR FEET: Mountaineering, Madness, and the Deadly Race to Summit the Himalayas in the Wall Street Journal, Friday, March 13, 2020, page A13.   THE WORLD BENEATH THEIR FEET is the 23rd book I’ve reviewed for the Wall Street Journal, and the...

Chris Silvester reviewed The Bonanza King for Spear’s Magazine on July 15, 2019. “Few people will have heard of John Mackay, and yet his story is every bit as fascinating as those of the first Astor or Vanderbilt.” “Crouch writes lucidly about the technicalities of mining operations, and his accounts of underground fires are vivid and...

My video interview with with Kerem Mermutlu of Palisade Radio about John Mackay and THE BONANZA KING.

Gregory Crouch, a West Point graduate and the author of “China’s Wings,” called World War II, “a spectacular combined effort... both domestically and internationally. We built this incredible alliance that fought for the future of civilization. And won.”

Here’s “No Strings Attached,” my review of Mark Synnott’s new book THE IMPOSSIBLE CLIMB: Alex Honnold, El Capitan, and the Climbing Life in the Wall Street Journal, April 26, 2019, page A13.     THE IMPOSSIBLE CLIMB is the 22nd book I’ve reviewed for the WSJ, and the 35th I’ve reviewed professionally. Here’s the full...

The discovery of gold in California touched off a madness that raged worldwide. Although the “yellow fever” didn’t impel John Mackay, hero of The Bonanza King, to the Golden State until the second half of 1851, these scenes would have been typical of how he lived through the rest of the 1850s, when he was...