The Yukon Gold Rush

The California Gold Rush is well known and much studied but the Alaskan Gold Rush is far less talked about. In his new book The Floor of Heaven, bestselling author Howard Blum tells the story of the 1897 Klondike Gold Rush. He recounts the history through a series of real-life characters ranging from Charlie Siringo, cowboy turned successful businessman turned Pinkerton detective, Jefferson "Soapy" Smith who epitomized the frontier "confidence man" and George Carmack, the prospector who precipitated the great Alaska gold rush, married a Native American, and pursued his prospecting dreams to the Klondike.

The California Gold Rush is well known and much studied but the Alaskan Gold Rush is far less talked about. In his new book The Floor of Heaven, bestselling author Howard Blum tells the story of the 1897 Klondike Gold Rush. He recounts the history through a series of real-life characters ranging from Charlie Siringo, cowboy turned successful businessman turned Pinkerton detective, Jefferson "Soapy" Smith who epitomized the frontier "confidence man" and George Carmack, the prospector who precipitated the great Alaska gold rush, married a Native American, and pursued his prospecting dreams to the Klondike.

Guest:

Howard Blum, author of The Floor of Heaven: A True Tale of the Last Frontier and the Yukon Gold Rush