Death Valley & the Amargosa: A Land of Illusion by Richard E. Lingenfelter is thorough, lively, and absorbing. A self-proclaimed "history of Death Valley," the book devotes only a few chapters to the geology, indigenous people, and the National Monument/Park era. Mostly, it's a history of failed mining. From the 1870s to about 1920, claims blossomed all over the region, chasing trace amounts of gold, silver, copper, lead, and other precious metals. However, the difficulty of refining ore in a land with almost no water or plants, combined with the (inevitable) over-confidence of the mining companies, led to more resources going into the infrastructure of building mining towns than they actually earned from the land. At 470 pages--along with 160 more pages of notes--Death Valley & the Amargosa is exhaustive and at times repetitive, but Lingenfelter is so taken with the subject that it's easy to follow his enthusiasm. The many pictures of mines, newsreels, stock certificates, maps, characters, and desert scenes also help move the reader along.
Still, I don't know how the book would read to someone who isn't passionate about Death Valley: it assumes a lot of local familiarity. I was able to understand most of it. I've been there five times so far--with specific plans to return. In my hikes I've come across several old mines, cabins, and forgotten machinery. This book helps locate each boom-and-bust town and operation, and it's a great resource. As someone enamored with Death Valley, I loved returning to that part of California. When I'd finish reading a chapter each night, before falling asleep, I'd have very clear pictures of the Inyo and Panamint and Amargosa mountains, out there above the salt flats, and the wheeling desert stars.
