These letters are at once filled with minutiae and epic in their scope.[L]overs of historical fiction [will] find themselves entranced by the story of two smart and educated brothers who overcame obstacle after obstacle, only to die, having sampled but not attained their (short) lives' dreams. There's something about epistolary books that really make readers feel like they're truly inside the letter writers' mind--because they are. And that makes the tragic, brutal endings all the more sympathetic and real."" -Reno News and Review, Jan. 24, 2013 ""We are fortunate that James and Stewart have brought [the Grosh brothers] back to us in their own colorful and emotional words. This valuable book is highly recommended."" -Nevada in the West, Winter, 2012 ""As a solid primary source of the California Gold Rush, The Gold Rush Letters is a historical treasury, highly recommended especially for public and college library American History shelves.

""-California Bookwatch / Midwest Book Review October, 2012 ""Unique and eye-opening"" -Reno-Gazette-Journal, November 4, 2012 "These letters are a treasure trove of commentary on California society and politics in the early years of the Gold Rush. They also contain fascinating accounts of early settlers and mining in what would become Nevada, and provide considerable insight into the social dynamics of mining-rush society. The fact that both brothers died tragically adds poignancy to this already gripping history." -C. Elizabeth Raymond, coeditor of Comstock Women: The Making of a Mining Community.