What do you think?
Rate this book
George Hearst: Silver King of the Gilded Age
Rising from a Missouri boyhood and meager prospecting success to owning the most productive copper, silver, and gold mines in the world and being elected a United States senator, George Hearst (1820–91) spent decades veering between the heights of prosperity and the depths of financial ruin. In George Silver King of the Gilded Age, Matthew Bernstein captures Hearst’s ascent, casting light on his actions during the Civil War, his tempestuous marriage to his cousin Phoebe, his role as disciplinarian and doting father to future media magnate William Randolph Hearst, and his devious methods of building the greatest mining empire in the West.
Whether driving a pack of mules laden with silver from the Comstock Lode to San Francisco, bribing jurors in Pioche and Deadwood, or unearthing bonanzas in Utah and Montana Territories, Hearst’s cunning, energy, and industry were always evident, along with occasional glimmers of the villainy ascribed to him in the television series Deadwood .
In this first full-length biography, George Hearst emerges in all his human dimensions and historical significance—an ambitious, complex, flawed, and quintessentially American character.
Whether driving a pack of mules laden with silver from the Comstock Lode to San Francisco, bribing jurors in Pioche and Deadwood, or unearthing bonanzas in Utah and Montana Territories, Hearst’s cunning, energy, and industry were always evident, along with occasional glimmers of the villainy ascribed to him in the television series Deadwood .
In this first full-length biography, George Hearst emerges in all his human dimensions and historical significance—an ambitious, complex, flawed, and quintessentially American character.
- GenresHistory
270 pages, Paperback
Published August 3, 2021
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 19, 2024
My old business, where Mr. Hearst had a legendary "nose for ore." And his old ranch, which became his son's "Hearst Castle", is just a 20-minute drive from where I sit. George's son is the better-known name these days, but his mining ventures out West made the family fortune. Hearst married well and above his station (then), the much-younger Phoebe Apperson. I see in the bibliography she has a pretty recent biography, that I'll be looking into.
This one started well but hit a slow spell in the middle, and I set it aside for awhile. On resuming, the book had got its mojo back, and comes to a rousing ending. Recommended reading, especially for mining and Western history buffs. Hearst's home at San Simeon is still in use by family members and not open to the public, but his son's grand folly on the hill above certainly is, and is one of the jewels among California's state parks. You can also enjoy a walk out to San Simeon Point below, just north of the Hearst Memorial State Park, and enjoy the forest planted by George's foresters over a century ago. And a sublime view of the coast from the rocky headland at the end: https://www.flickr.com/photos/2905046...
Start by reading the WSJ review, which gives the book high marks, https://www.wsj.com/articles/george-h...
(Paywalled. As always, I'm happy to email a copy to non-subscribers)
Excerpt:
"Then came Washoe, part of Utah Territory at the time. Hearst had heard about silver deposits there, and bought a share of a mine. At first nobody believed that the ore he brought back to San Francisco was valuable, but finally the head of the San Francisco Mint agreed to give it a look—he offered Hearst and his associates $91,000 after costs, or about $3 million today, for what turned out to be one of the earliest extractions from the Comstock Lode. After that, the money never stopped.
Nor did Hearst. In the following decades he traveled throughout the West, sometimes coming up dry, more often not. Some 65 miles outside of Butte, Mont., in 1883, Hearst began digging at the Anaconda Mine, where “they struck a bed of pure copper. Continuing to delve, they found that the bed was thirty to forty feet wide and descended more than a thousand feet. In other words,” Mr. Bernstein writes, “it was the greatest copper strike on the planet.” [end excerpt]
2024 reread notes: No substantial changes. George Hearst (1820-1891) was a man of his time. Disregard the silly business about the gold coming in with "molten quartz" -- it was dissolved in very hot water. First-rate biography, with the caveats noted above.
This one started well but hit a slow spell in the middle, and I set it aside for awhile. On resuming, the book had got its mojo back, and comes to a rousing ending. Recommended reading, especially for mining and Western history buffs. Hearst's home at San Simeon is still in use by family members and not open to the public, but his son's grand folly on the hill above certainly is, and is one of the jewels among California's state parks. You can also enjoy a walk out to San Simeon Point below, just north of the Hearst Memorial State Park, and enjoy the forest planted by George's foresters over a century ago. And a sublime view of the coast from the rocky headland at the end: https://www.flickr.com/photos/2905046...
Start by reading the WSJ review, which gives the book high marks, https://www.wsj.com/articles/george-h...
(Paywalled. As always, I'm happy to email a copy to non-subscribers)
Excerpt:
"Then came Washoe, part of Utah Territory at the time. Hearst had heard about silver deposits there, and bought a share of a mine. At first nobody believed that the ore he brought back to San Francisco was valuable, but finally the head of the San Francisco Mint agreed to give it a look—he offered Hearst and his associates $91,000 after costs, or about $3 million today, for what turned out to be one of the earliest extractions from the Comstock Lode. After that, the money never stopped.
Nor did Hearst. In the following decades he traveled throughout the West, sometimes coming up dry, more often not. Some 65 miles outside of Butte, Mont., in 1883, Hearst began digging at the Anaconda Mine, where “they struck a bed of pure copper. Continuing to delve, they found that the bed was thirty to forty feet wide and descended more than a thousand feet. In other words,” Mr. Bernstein writes, “it was the greatest copper strike on the planet.” [end excerpt]
2024 reread notes: No substantial changes. George Hearst (1820-1891) was a man of his time. Disregard the silly business about the gold coming in with "molten quartz" -- it was dissolved in very hot water. First-rate biography, with the caveats noted above.
January 29, 2022
George Hearst biography
Great book about a fascinating man. I highly recommend this book about one of America’s greatest explorers ad prospectors. He was truly a character and father of another very influential characters - William Randolph Hearst.
Great book about a fascinating man. I highly recommend this book about one of America’s greatest explorers ad prospectors. He was truly a character and father of another very influential characters - William Randolph Hearst.
March 25, 2023
I thought this was an outstanding biography. I enjoyed the few times the author flashed his own sense of humor along the way. Biographies are, well, full of details, and at times it can be difficult to keep all the names straight. In an odd way, this book makes a very nice companion to a biography about Governor Jerry Brown, I think it was titled Tomorrow’s Man or something like that. I hope the author continues to write and publish.
January 27, 2026
Matthew Bernstein’s biography of Georg Hearst covers a frontier American western adventure filled with many known characters in the late 19th Century. George Hearst brought the spirit of the outdoors and ruggedness of the wild terrains for an amazing life. I am left struck my the audacity and masculinity of a man who provided so much to our American history. I will smoke many a cigar thinking of men like you.
August 17, 2023
The Silver King of the USA. The story of the boots on the ground miner that became one to the most powerful men in America. Father of William Randolph Hearst. This fellow created the base fortune that the Hearst family enjoyed.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews