Children of the Gold Rush

Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: This was another great book by Jane Haigh and Claire Rudolf Murphy! It was great to hear about how tough children were in the goldrush! This book takes you into the world of many small children in a gold oriented society. It really showed how easy most of us have it now! This is a "must read" for any one who wants to learn about the goldrush, is a goldrush fan, or is just looking for a good book.

Rating:
Summary: Glimpses from the real Klondike
Review: With the huge number of books that are available on the Klondike Gold Rush, it's always a pleasure to see a new viewpoint being used. There are now several books dealing with the part played in the development of the North by women, but this is the first time that children have been the focus. I've heard this book referred to as a children's book (and in fact Amazon has it listed as reading level 9-12), but I consider it to be suitable fare for anyone with an interest in Northern history. The first aspect of the book that impressed me was the production - from cover to cover it is beautifully laid out, and graphics and photographs are used extensively throughout its 82 pages. While some are common images (the Chilkoot and gold camps), the majority are ones that I have seldom or never seen. The introduction to the book serves its purpose well - describing the conditions that families had to endure both en route to the North, and while living there. Cold, the hard work and the usual lack of schools were significant elements in most children's lives in the Yukon and Alaska, and often forged the types of personality traits important in later successes. Contrary to modern theories that growing up too quickly can be bad for a child's development, Murphy and Haigh argue that "Learning to work hard at a very young age may have been their best lesson of all." With stories in the book ranging from sad and introspective to comical, "Children of the Gold Rush" will make a worthwhile addition to the library of anyone who wants a more rounded perspective on the development of the Northern frontier.