One Thursday in 2008 the price of gold went above a thousand dollars an ounce for the first time in history. All over the world, at least in countries with gold-bearing soil, people with no experience of prospecting began shopping for shovels and pickaxes, gold pans, tents, generators and all manner of equipment they had no idea how to use. And off they went mining.
Steve Boggan followed them, packing his bags and flying to San Francisco to join the 21st century’s gold rush in a quest to understand the allure of the metal and maybe find a bit for himself, too. He also takes us back in time to the original San Fransiscan gold rush, two centuries ago, and gets a crash course in the science and economics of gold. Written with Boggan’s characteristic wit and self-effacing charm, Gold Rush is a hugely entertaining travelogue and a unique insight into the history and future of the world’s most seductive metal.
One Thursday in 2008 the price of gold went above a thousand dollars an ounce for the first time in history. All over the world, at least in countries with gold-bearing soil, people with no experience of prospecting began shopping for shovels and pickaxes, gold pans, tents, generators and all manner of equipment they had no idea how to use. And off they went mining.
Steve Boggan followed them, packing his bags and flying to San Francisco to join the 21st century’s gold rush in a quest to understand the allure of the metal and maybe find a bit for himself, too. He also takes us back in time to the original San Fransiscan gold rush, two centuries ago, and gets a crash course in the science and economics of gold. Written with Boggan’s characteristic wit and self-effacing charm, Gold Rush is a hugely entertaining travelogue and a unique insight into the history and future of the world’s most seductive metal.