Okay, so technically it is not a book about Humboldt County.  But it is about very Humboldt-ish experiences: gold mining, pot growing, and living in a beautiful wild country. Set in neighboring Trinity County, William G. Meadows, a New River Miner by Gay Holland Berrien, very much belongs on the shelves of the Humboldt Historical Society bookstore.

       The book begins with a presentation about the often contentious relations between miners and agencies governing mining claims, pot grows and environmentally protected areas. It soon personalizes the tale, focusing on the life of William Meadows as well as the experiences of the author herself. 

      Meadows came to the small settlement of Denny in 1932, and in the following five decades we are shown his experiences with all aspects of a miner's life: pack trains, gold panning, hydraulic mining, and building homes and bridges. We also see the influx of other treasure seekers into the area with the marijuana growers and their different life styles. Soon the book expands into the lives and families of other area miners and the history of many individual mines. At the end, there is thorough coverage of the author's involvement in archaeological and historic research around the Denny area helping to reconstruct early mining life.

       This book is replete with photographs, maps, drawings and tales of the New River's most notorious and colorful characters. Barrien's book allows the readers to immerse themselves in an era and way of life that is very much a part of history at our end of the state.