Faith of Fools: A Journal of the Klondike Gold Rush - Softcover

Shape, William

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0874221609 ISBN 13: 9780874221602

Publisher: Washington State University Press, 1998

Synopsis

Shape (1867-1960) was from a prosperous Wisconsin brewing family and had travelled and studied in Europe. He left his wife and children in New York to search for gold in Alaska, 1897-98, and left the rest of us an articulate and detailed account of his adventures, complete with photographs. It was discovered in a California flea market nearly a century later. No index or annotations. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Discovered in a California flea market nearly a hundred years after the Klondike gold rush, William Shape's original journal and photographs give a very human dimension to the journey undertaken by vast hordes of prospectors who headed north in the late 1890s. Venturing into one of the most remote and inhospitable areas of North America, Shape recorded daily the hardships and dangers, along with the beauty and satisfaction of his 1897-98 trip. His journal and candid snapshots vividly recreated the frenzy that drew thousands of would-be prospectors to the frozen north. Faith of Fools provides a rare opportunity to live history in the first person, traveling to the gold fields with those ordinary prospectors who made that long, laborious trip.

From Booklist:

With the "official" closing of the frontier in 1890, the Klondike gold rush of 1897^-98 had the aura of a last frantic grasp at a rapidly receding past. Like the previous rushes, the Klondike attracted a varied assortment of rogues and adventurers. A few struck it rich, but many more endured immense suffering, and some met violent ends. William Shape came from a middle-class Wisconsin family; he was well schooled and had traveled widely in Europe before he left his wife and two children to seek even greater wealth in the Klondike. His well-written journal captures the sights and smells of mining camps, the grind of overland treks, and the personal quirks of the people he encountered. But he writes with a curious detachment and seldom offers insights that could enrich his matter-of-fact observations. Still, the text and his accompanying photographs provide a very valuable record of one of our nation's last epic adventures. Jay Freeman

About this edition

• Publisher: Washington State University Press
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0874221609
• ISBN 13: 9780874221602
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 136