The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

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Summary: Great story about the power and dangers of gold
Review: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is a great story from mysterious author, B. Traven, that was later turned into a movie that was as good as the novel. Treasure begins by introducing Dobbs, a WWI veteran now trying to make a living in Mexico doing oddjobs. After countless failed attempts at keeping a job, Dobbs decides to team up with another wayward American, Curtin, and go mining for gold in the mountains of the Sierra Madre. The two men team up with a grizzled old prospector, Howard, and begin mining. This is an excellent novel about the power gold can have over someone. It has the ability to turn a normal man into a greedy, murderous, violent creature who will do anything for money, gold, and power. Highly recommended.

What makes this novel so appealing is B. Traven's writing style. He is very straightforward in telling the story of three men hoping to hit it big. Also, Traven tells several stories about the history of gold in Mexico through the grizzled old prospector, Howard. These asides help to support the idea of the effect of gold and its power over anyone who comes across it. And if you enjoy this book, I highly recommend seeing the John Huston movie starring Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, and Tim Holt. For a great read that brings the reader into a completely different world, check out The Treasure of the Sierra Madre!

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Summary: Greedy unfriendly bums take a Mexican Holiday
Review: After reading this book, I was amazed at the drift and contrasting focus of this book. At first, I could not figure out whether the first passages are meant to introduce us to our heroic protagonist so as to have him remain a hero. Did he mean for the main character, Dobbs, to be a hero? While in South America, a victim of oil company greed, Dobbs is somewhat likeable and is an everyman as a bum. Then Traven carries the story into the gold mines of Mexico and gradually allows him to deteriorate into a greed driven paranoid maniac. Was this a drift in the writer's original intention? We are left wondering whether he meant to take the character of Dobb, a vagabond American, and transform him from a relatively hopeful bum struggling to survive in Latin American into a greed possessed and self destructive monstrosity. The ugly male dialogue is full of nasty testosterone and competition. Males on the margin communicate very directly with each other, as evidenced by Traven's colorful insults. Whereas some critiques point out that his male to male stuggles are similar to Earnest Hemingway; others indicate he has developed the social consciousness and economic context surrounding his characters like Upton Sinclair. I would like to point out that his talent for embedding stories within stories is similar to the English writer, A.S. Byatt. His embedded stories are swift tangents, totally relevant to the movement of the main theme, and yet a distanced commentary. For example, one story is about a hard scrappy widow women gold miner who brings her gold to the capital fighting every kind of low class riff raft and thieves as she makes her way out of the jungle and into civilization. Yet, the upper class steal her fortune and cause her to disappear. A cautionary tale that greed is far beyond class lines and in fact may even be less openly evident in the wealthy, but surely just as deadly. The character of Howard, the man who has learned through trail and error to control his greed so as to keep his life was developed beautifully by Traven. He seems too mature and wise to be true and yet he remains true. The novel can be taken at various levels. A structural approach would see all the characters as victims of economic oppression, fighting each other like rats in a jar. Yet the individual character development would argue against this interpretation. Dobbs became evil, Howard remained sane. I found the book to be excellent. Tension filled, strong dialogue, unexpected character development, socially conscious, culturally reflective, rough, and elegant in its time honored message.

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Summary: Great Book!
Review: I am nineteen years old and just finished this book and I thought it was a classic tale of greed. It is one of my all time favorite reads. The other reviewers have done a good job so I wont rehash, I just want younger readers to give this book a chance. It is an old book but its themes are still relevant today. I would not have read this book but spent 3 weeks in Mexico last year and since have been reading a lot of stuff on the country. I also recomend "A TOURIST IN THE YUCATAN" a fun thriller /adventure.

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Summary: A little known masterpiece
Review: I decided to read this book because I was a fan of the movie. I had actually been unaware that it was a book, but when I saw a copy of it for sale, I decided to buy it. I just finished reading it, and it's a great book. A great cautionary tale about the evils of greed. It also gives a vivid description of what Mexico was like in the early 1930s, and what prospecting was like. They should be teaching this book in school.

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Summary: Introduction to a Genius
Review: I read this book when I was in the 7th grade. I did so primarily because I was a real Bogart fan way back then. I hadn't seen this particular movie at the time so the book was a whole new adventure for me. And an adventure it was. For years I was convinced that I, too, would eventually go gold mining in Mexico. I would spend hours trying to think about how I would sneak all my gold back into the country. Mind you, I don't believe I missed the point of the story even in my youth. It is a brilliantly told tale of how greed can destroy a man. Sounds simple enough but the beauty of the book lies in our being able to witness the gradual transformation of Fred C. Dobbs from a likeable, down-on-his-luck vagabond to a despicable, paranoid SOB who is obsessed with his gold. It wasn't until years later that I came to appreciate the politics of the book. As a social (not political) commentary it can stand alone. It worked fine for me that way until I had read his Jungle Books and others novels. Traven is an anarchist first and foremost and he articulates his case in all of his books; often in ways that may not seem readily apparent. Looking back at "Treasure" with this perspective, the images of anachism suddenly seem clear. We see three men down on their luck (read that to mean victims of industrialized society-two of the men were just cheated out of their pay after working, indirectly, for an oil company). They form a pact among themselves and go away from society to make their fortune. While away from society all is idyllic as the men work in harmony with each other, obeying the rules that they agreed on for themselves. A crisis arises when one briefly returns to society for supplies. When he returns, he is followed by others who corrupt the idyllic state. Soon after, there are some indications of changes in Dobbs character but the true changes occur when the decision to return to society is made.

Well, I'm no anarchist and you don't have to be either to enjoy this masterpiece. That, by the way, is true about all of Traven's works.

Rating:
Summary: Introduction to a Genius
Review: I read this book when I was in the 7th grade. I did so primarily because I was a real Bogart fan way back then. I hadn't seen this particular movie at the time so the book was a whole new adventure for me. And an adventure it was. For years I was convinced that I, too, would eventually go gold mining in Mexico. I would spend hours trying to think about how I would sneak all my gold back into the country. Mind you, I don't believe I missed the point of the story even in my youth. It is a brilliantly told tale of how greed can destroy a man. Sounds simple enough but the beauty of the book lies in our being able to witness the gradual transformation of Fred C. Dobbs from a likeable, down-on-his-luck vagabond to a despicable, paranoid SOB who is obsessed with his gold. It wasn't until years later that I came to appreciate the politics of the book. As a social (not political) commentary it can stand alone. It worked fine for me that way until I had read his Jungle Books and others novels. Traven is an anarchist first and foremost and he articulates his case in all of his books; often in ways that may not seem readily apparent. Looking back at "Treasure" with this perspective, the images of anachism suddenly seem clear. We see three men down on their luck (read that to mean victims of industrialized society-two of the men were just cheated out of their pay after working, indirectly, for an oil company). They form a pact among themselves and go away from society to make their fortune. While away from society all is idyllic as the men work in harmony with each other, obeying the rules that they agreed on for themselves. A crisis arises when one briefly returns to society for supplies. When he returns, he is followed by others who corrupt the idyllic state. Soon after, there are some indications of changes in Dobbs character but the true changes occur when the decision to return to society is made.

Well, I'm no anarchist and you don't have to be either to enjoy this masterpiece. That, by the way, is true about all of Traven's works.

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Summary: a very special piece of writing
Review: If you have seen and enjoyed the John Huston film of the same name, and believe it to be one of the greatest films ever produced, then it is mandatory to procure and read this book.

This review is written from the perspective of someone who has seen the film at least a half dozen times before reading the novel for the first time. The film is mostly faithful to the novel, so no nasty surprises await those weaned on the film. While less dramatic in some ways, the book provides a better explanation for the motivations of the characters. This necessarily leads to significant, though not unpleasant, changes in some of their fates compared to the film (or perhaps, better said, vice-versa). Some of the more interesting scenes also are expanded, such as the encounter with the bandits at the camp, and more background is provided about the bandits themselves and the efficient and clever way that they are ultimately dealt with by the local people.

Though a little slow going at first, once accustomed to Traven's writing style and well into the meat of the story, the feeling of the realization that a very special experience is in store for you simply builds and builds and continues doing so until the satisfying conclusion of the book is reached. This is a masterpiece, a gourmet treat for the soul, a book to relish during a lazy morning spent in a soft bed, or sitting by a cozy fireplace.

As in many screen adaptations, seemingly ancillary elements were culled for the film. However, those elements, namely the description of the factors which led to the oppression of the native peoples of Mexico, provides a pervasive, unifying theme throughout the novel. This lends an enriching, interesting counterpoint to the story of the central characters.

There is a tiny bit of information given about the mysterious B. Traven, just enough to make you want to learn more. A speculative look at his identity is presented in the extras which are included with the newly-released reissue of the film on DVD.

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Summary: Superb Tale of Greed and Betrayal
Review: This is a gripping story of danger, greed and betrayal. Fred Dobbs is a U.S. drifter scraping by on odd jobs down in Mexico during the 1930's. Dobbs meets another drifter named Curtin, and the two become enticed by tales of gold from an aging prospector (Howard) they encounter in a flop house. The three Americans soon head for the hills, at which point the story's protagonist switches from Dobbs to this gold-seeking trio. The men find gold on a mountain in the Sierra Madres, along with brutal heat, ceaseless labor, and unwanted threats from bandits and outsiders. As their find increases, Dobbs begins to show signs of "gold fever," a deadly suspicion that Howard has warned about. Additionally, getting their loot safely to the city to cash in may prove another worrisome challenge. Readers feel like we're right alongside the three as they dig for gold, make survival decisions, and grow suspicious of one another. We see the darker side of human nature, and learn about Mexico and its remarkable people.

Author B. Traven (1890?-1969) was a private man of leftist/anarchist views who lived in Mexico after apparently being born in Chicago and raised in Germany. Traven comprehended human nature, felt compassion for the poor, and took a couple swipes at capitalism, politicians, and the church. If you liked the classic 1948 film (starring Humphrey Bogart), you should find this superbly readable book even better.


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Summary: Haney's Book Review
Review: This was a exceptional novel written by a brilliant author. B. Traven captivated the readers mind in this exciting tale about a man with no sense of direction in life and finding two companions to travel along with while finding gold; and what greed can do to a persons psychological thinking. Traven sets the scene in Mexico in the early 1930's right about the time of the oil boom. Dobbs is an a American nobody looking for work in Mexico. He finds work but decides not to stay because he was getting cheated. He met the other main character Curtin while working. Dobbs was in his hotel one night and heard a story about a gold hunt from an old man. He told this story to Curtin and their quest began. They took the old man (Howard) with them because of the fact that he had great knowledge of prospecting. Traven does a magnificent job in describing the trials and tribulations the group of 3 had to go through and what they endured. I loved this book because it had so many captivating stages in the story. Some parts could drag on a little bit but when getting past that it was hard to stop reading. I first saw the movie a couple of years ago and was infatuated with the adventure. My father told me we had the book in our dusty book case. I tried reading it but I just couldn't get into it. Probably because I was to young to understand Traven's perspective. This past couple of months I decided to pick it up and I couldn't put it down. I highly recommend this daring book about adventure and discovery to anybody who loves adventures.

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Summary: A Vital Novel for All Time
Review: Traven deserves recognition as one of the great social novelists, right next to Stienbeck and Orwell-anyone who wonders why need only to read this, his most well-known work (thanks to the film by John Huston). Traven's story is a simple enough tale of how greed can corrupt men, but his intimate portrait of the social conditions which brings this about is what makes the book special. Set in Mexico between the two World Wars, it starts with a destitute American vagabond who's reduced to begging for his meals. He joins up with another American to work at oil camps, only to be exploited and cheated out of their pay. Eventually the duo team up with an old prospector and head to the hills to seek gold.

When they do find some gold, it gradually begins to corrupt them like some cursed treasure from myth. Even though the old prospector warns the two younger men at length of what gold can do to men's minds, paranoia and obsession slowly infiltrate the men's heads. While the men's encounter with bandits is one of film's most famous moments ("Badges? We ain't got no badges! We don't need no badges!"), many other predators lurk in the dusty Mexican landscape. Traven's familiarity with the area is one of the elements that makes the book so strong, as he is able to capture the textures and smells of the mountains and bring them to life. As the story plays out, Traven seems to reveal a strong belief in karma or cosmic justice of sorts and in the end, only the indigenous Huichol Indians emerge as wholly admirable people.