The Explorer King: Adventure, Science, and the Great Diamond Hoax—Clarence King in the Old West
Robert Wilson, . . Scribner, $26 (303pp) ISBN 978-0-7432-6025-1
Clarence King (1842–1901) was the Indiana Jones of the 19th century. His dangerous 1864 passage across the Sierra Nevadas in California was hailed as ushering in "a new era in American mountaineering," during which his discovery of metamorphosed fossils helped determine the age of the Sierra Nevada gold belt—time-saving information for prospectors. In 1872, his debunking of fantastic claims of a "diamond field" in northwestern Colorado made him a national hero. King also wrote several landmark studies of mining, geology and mountaineering.
Reviewed on: 11/28/2005
Genre: Nonfiction