THE STORY OF THE MINE: As Illustrated...

THE STORY OF THE MINE: As Illustrated by the Great Comstock Lode of Nevada by Charles Howard Shinn (University of Nevada Press: $12.95; 277 pp., illustrated; paperback original). One of the greatest bonanzas in American history, the Comstock Lode produced hundreds of millions of dollars in gold and silver and propelled Nevada to statehood. Originally published in 1896, Charles Shinn’s lively account of the rise and collapse of the mines ends on a hopeful note: “The ancient strength of the Comstock is perhaps about return!” But that strength never returned: The mineral wealth had been taken from the site and spent. The ruins of the nearby boom town of Virginia City, one of the most famous ghost towns in the western United States, bear mute witness to the fleeting splendor Shinn describes.