Passing Strange: A Gilded Age Tale of Love and Deception Across the Color Line

Historians, and history itself, have not treated Clarence King kindly. King was at one time one of the most famous and admired people in the United States but, if you are like me, you likely have never heard of the man. Born into a wealthy family in 1842, King became famous as the geologist responsible for surveying and mapping diverse regions of the western United States. Always the self-promoter, he published a book about... Read Full Review

When Clarence King died in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1901, he was eulogized by friends like John Hay, private secretary to Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of State under McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt, and historian and memoirist Henry Adams. He was remembered as the first director of the United States Geological Survey, the man who exposed a diamond hoax that threatened the economy of the United States, a devoted son and confirmed... Read Full Review

American history is much more complex and richer than traditional history books have portrayed. "Passing Strange" untangles some of the history of America's "gilded age" through an amazing story of Clarence King and Ada Copeland. The book does not claim to be anything but a history book - and its a very lively and engaging one. It is neither a love story nor a novel (although at times it reads as both), but a multi-faceted... Read Full Review