Exhaustive... or exhausting? Irving Stone's recount of the settling of the Utah, Colorado, California and Nevada from 1840-1890 has a cast of thousands and a million details, which makes for a laborious read. It's fascinating to learn more about the Big Four (Stanford, Huntington, Crocker, Hopkins) who controlled the railroads and banks of the 19th -century gold and silver rushes. And there's plenty of cameos from others whose names grace prominent Western institutions (Fremont, Brigham Young, V...

This was quite a reading project. I'm sure I didn't retain 10% of the factual history of this book but I did find it fascinating. Living in the west myself, I was surprised at how little I knew about household names (they have streets, buildings and towns named after them) such as Crocker, Stanford and Huntington. Interesting to see what kind of men they were. I particularly enjoyed reading about the transcontinental railroad and the Chinese who were brought over by boat to build it. The Bank of...

I have read two Stone novels in the past and have enjoyed them both thoroughly. I expected to enjoy Men to Match My Mountains just as much, and I did, however, it took a while to get into it. As a historian, I found that Stone's manner of writing history was rather jarring at first. I had to get used to his extreme attention to detail and narrative form. It is clear that Stone could have used a good editor for this collection; then again, an editor may have taken away its unique charm. Within th...

This is a good book to learn about the settling of the West. I believe it gives a balanced perspective. While its hard for me to remember all the facts put forth in the book (its been awhile) I think it would be a must read for anyone who wants to learn about the American West.

At the conclusion of Irving Stone's survey of those who "settled" the western parts of these United States, covering many well-known and not so well-known explorers and settlers, he wraps up with these words. . . This has been the story of the opening of a land and the building of a civilization. It has been told in terms of the people who opened that land and built that civilization, each life story an integral part of the mosaic. The Far West was the hero. The land had a common cast of charact...

A really fascinating exploration of the history of the west. The story focuses on the development of California, Nevada, Utah and Colorado. Three of the four states were established essentially as byproducts of the exploration, discovery and exploitation of precious minerals (mostly gold and silver), and then the exploitation of those who found the gold and silver. His stories are replete with sad vignettes of those who came so close to success only to fail, and those who succeeded against great...

I recently re-read this wonderful history of the settling of California, Nevada, Colorado and Utah by American settlers during the 1800s. Stone tells a great story and you get it without footnotes or asides, even as he gives ample credit to source material at the end. It is a wonderful introduction to historical material from the period and should inspire more reading on characters or events of the time.Each of the three times that I've read it, I've come away with different impressions. The fir...

I am not sure of the sources used by Stone in the writing of this history. There are no footnotes and I am never sure of the accuracy. Therefore, as an amatuer historian, I was somewhat disappointed. This is written in a style which most readers would find pleasant and it reads like a novel. The author covers some of the outrageous events of the period. You have a litany of characters including Suter, Fremont, Ralston, Sharon, Sutro, Brighan Young ,Stanford and may more. Perhaps this style of wr...

Fascinating, colorful account of the settling of the West (1840-1900). It includes stories of the California gold rush, the transcontinental railroad, the Mormons in Utah, Colorado's Comstock Lode, the building of San Fransisco and its colorful characters. I really enjoyed this account!

A very exhaustive history of the the opening of the Far West of the Unites States - the region of California, Nevada, Colorado and Utah. Chronology wise, the author starts with the US takeover of a part of the present day California region - which was under the Spanish Mexico rule - and extends the story up to the period of grant of statehood to all the Far West states. A very entertaining story teller, Irving Stone has painted a vivid picture of the great adventurous pioneers who opened up thes...

My parents introduced this book to me when I was in high school. Since then it continues to be one my favorite books. I admire the bravery, resolve and courage of the early explorers and settlers of the far west. The book shares their stories in a well written tome that's become a classic.

A very unassuming book until you get a little ways in and then BOOM! Some of the craziest events in history I've ever read! Settling the west, Mining for gold, fortunes made and lost, the scandals of the railroads, duels, pioneers, cannibalism, cities burned to the ground, crazy economic situations etc. This book truly gives meaning to the term "wild Wild West." Folks back then were tough as hell. I gained a lot of respect for them because of this book. It will seriously blow your mind!

Famed novelist and historian Irving Stone tackles the final years of Westward Expansion with the settling of the “Far West”—or more specifically the states of California, Nevada, Colorado, and Utah. He brings the reader on a journey of epic proportions in the manner of a travelogue, chronicling the different pioneers, settlers, homesteaders, Native tribes, gold miners, cowboys, explorers, and barons met along the way, where he begins his saga in the year 1840.Stone uses the prose and style that

This is turning out to be a slow read. The book is interesting but I am also struck by how ethnocentric the book is, telling the story of history from a white North American perspective. Native Americans, Californios and Mexicans are only shadow characters in this history. That said, I sometimes found myself fascinated by the events as they unfolded. I learned a lot about the settlement of California, about rail monopolies, mining rushes and the role of real estate speculation in Los Angeles. It...

I don't remember who recommended this book to me. I know that it was years ago and they vividly described how the book contrasts the experiences of the various settlers of the Far West--pioneers, miners, homesteaders, enterprisers. I was fascinated. Since then, that contrast stayed with me. So much so that I based a story I wrote just off of the memory I had of its description. Then, when ordering a bunch of books, I remembered Men to Match My Mountains and eagerly added it to the list. Finally,...

I LOVE this book! You know I'm always wild about good history books, but this is a particular gem. The history of the west is filled with larger-than-life characters of the sort we'll never see again (that's not all bad, by the way--a little bit of John C. Fremont, William Sharon and even Brigham Young goes a long way). Irving Stone is a novelist but this book is pure history, one of two that he wrote. Even so, he brings a novelist telling to the tale. I really enjoyed the outsider's view of Mor...

Fascinating! I'm a Southern California native, with California native parents, I'm a Mormon with family and cultural ties to Utah, and I have been living in Denver for the past 7 years, so this history was especially interesting to me as I've been to or heard of most of the places Irving Stone writes about. I would recommend this for anyone who loves American history though, as the settling of the West was a unique experience.

My mom told me my grandpa loved this book and talked about it all the time so I'm trying it out. There's already been a chapter titled "An honest scoundrel thickend the plot" ...so it's sort of awesome already.

Men To Match My Mountains by Irving StoneThis book purports to be a history of “America’s Far West”, but is somewhat more limited in scope, covering essentially the white European “winning” period from 1840-1900. It is also limited to California, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado – which the book designates the “Far West”. I’m not sure why Arizona wasn’t included. The book immediately put me off by stating “Except for a handful of hunters and trappers in the Colorado Rockies, scattered Indian tribes, a...

An incredibly minutely researched book in the typical Irving Stone fashion. Most of the chapters are suspenseful and almost read like a script out of the old west, except that the stories are true. Occasionally some very trivial details tended to be tedious, and I forgot the details a few pages later. But all in all, a riveting read that provides a better understanding of life in those states of the USA starting from the middle of the nineteenth century. It was interesting to read throughout tha...