I really enjoyed this lost little bit of US history. I also feel that it is as relevant a story as there is during this time. Very well researched and laid out. I never felt lost or confused even with a large cast of characters.

Mr. Starobin weaves a narrative tale of the discovery of gold in the Alaskan wilderness. As word gets out, soon the idyllic landscape is crowded with not only people who are bent to become rich overnight but also political bosses and robber barons. The last two are typically of the gilded age.
Alex McKenzie is one of the biggest political bosses to arrive on the scene. As 'big Alex' controls the political machine in both Dakotas and with his deep pockets has the ability to bribe his way through his influence with those in the seats of power which includes the President of the United States.
The story falls flat in several places and seems to not capture the readers attention.
Overall a good story one that is not even mentioned in the annuals of history.

A Most Wicked Conspiracy proves that where there is gold, there will be thieves. The book, a nonfiction exploration of one of the biggest scandals of the Gilded Age, follows Alexander McKenzie's attempts to seize the most gold-rich lands of Alaska.

Fun things this book includes
- a secret second family
- lots and lots of bribery
- rampant xenophobia

While an interesting book, the writing is definitely dry. It's a solid 3.5/5, and would definitely be good for anyone particularly interested in the Gilded Age.

(Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.)

Starobin has produced a semi-solid historical work about Alaska gold mining and the men that worked to enrich themselves, often duplicitously. I had a lot of trouble getting into this book. Often the formulaic format and structure left me wanting. The information was interesting, but many of the attempted mirrorings didn't work for me. I would recommend this work to others because I do think something can be gained from reading the book. While this type of book is usually right up my reading preference alley, I struggled, but I know that doesn't mean others will do the same.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the DARC of this work in exchange for my honest review.

So not a bad historical nonfiction, just ultimately not gripping enough. Sometimes Starobin goes a bit paint by numbers with things. Only a few times does the subject matters in question come fully alive. We jump from the 1900s to the Alaska statehood and he tries to drive parallels between Alaska then and now that I really didn't see the linkages.

"A Most Wicked Conspiracy" follows Alexander John McKenzie, a lawman and politician that settled in (now) North Dakota. The book jumps around a bit, but focuses on McKenzie after he goes to what is now Alaska (Nome) in the 1900s. He sets up his own little fiefdom in Nome which allowed him to steal gold mines from the owners and have himself appointed as the owner and operators of said mine. McKenzie and his cohorts were definitely sleazy and even involves President McKinley (yeah when I was reading I found myself going wait is this Alexander or the President?) involved with this scheme. Starobin tries to set the stage a bit with going into the claim jumping that seemed the way to go in the area. You can get why people were upset though with what McKenzie did.

The setting of Alaska during the 1900s was interesting and Starobin definitely has done his research. You feel at times you are at one of the gold mines. That said, the political intrigues and the back and forths and even McKenzie's history and marriages started to go a bit stale for me after a while.

The ending leaves you a bit in the wind since there's no great reckoning (in my eyes) for some of the major players in this one.

It’s not often that I fly through a non fiction book but I definitely did with this one. I read most of it in one sitting because the story was just so fascinating that I had to find out what happened. It’s a story that makes total sense, men are greedy and some will do whatever it takes to get what they want, but it’s also got a slightly ridiculous element to it. It’s probably just the setting of small town Alaska that makes it all feel even more wild. But it was an amazing read either way.

The story it set up really well, you get to know the foundations of the town of Nome and how it came to be a gold mining town, you also get to know a lot of the main players before diving into the real story and the man at the center of everything, Alex McKenzie. The book gives you all the background information you need about him before getting into the real story, a story that’s all about McKenzie using his money and power to get more money and power. It’s a straightfoward premise, but the twists and turns and all the political back and forth makes it a fascinating read. And that’s before you get to the end where the trials and all that fun stuff take place.

This book was a wild ride from start to finish and I loved every second of it. I learned a bunch, and have a new favourite non fiction author. I’d definitely recommend this to anyone that’s interested in American history, in the gold rush or just wants to read a really well researched and written non fiction book. It’s an easy 5 stars for me.

Anyone who says history is boring should read this book! I lived in Alaska for 30 years so am familiar with many of the characters and their actions/ reactions in this outstanding book of history told by an obvious fan of the era. But I had not read or heard of this particular man who used the law and the courts as his personal tools to steal from any and everyone. It's fascinating now to know that these crimes were committed openly, everyone knew but felt unable to do anything about them. Paul Starobin has done an excellent job of bringing history to life, wildly entertaining life. A must read for lovers of Alaska history.

I really enjoyed this twisty-turny who's-gonna-win presentation of the Alaskan gold rush. It's a very human, narrative accounting of the facts, so if you like your history to have life to it then look no further. The reader, while getting a very thorough retelling of the events themselves, meets so many fascinating unique characters along the way. I think that's what I most enjoyed about this book. Every person who plays a role in the affair is not just accounted for with a boring biography but you get a real sense of who they are as a person and why they would act the way they do. That's my favorite thing about history: it's made up of real people with real motivations and flaws.

Of course the most interesting to me was the man at the center of it all. McKenzie was so interesting to me the whole way through, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't root for him a little bit (even though I knew how it all ended coming into the book). This is a great tale of corruption in government, back in a time when it was pretty much out there for the world to see. There's so much to learn from the Gilded Age in these current times. I would absolutely recommend this one to any reader but those interested in history and/or politics will enjoy it that much more.


Note: I received a free Kindle edition of this book via NetGalley in exchange for the honest review above. I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher Perseus Books, and the author Paul Starobin for the opportunity to do so.

In the sunset of the days of the last real political bosses, robber barons, handpicked judges, and laws designed to help only them, Alexander McKenzie tries to wrest control of Alaskan gold mines from rightful claimants.

Author Paul Starobin has created an exceptionally readable book that traces McKenzie's beginnings from poor and broke to wealthy kingmaker. It is superbly researched, and conveys not just the sentiment of the day - moguls say who will be sent to Congress, who will be President, and woe be unto you if you buck their requests for money and/or support - but also the aspirations of those seeking their golden fortune in Alaska after the California gold rush had settled.

McKenzie, already a rich man by the time the Alaskan gold rush begins, decides there is never too much wealth, and ropes in various people to assist with his takeover of the existing (and some not yet existing) gold claims in Alaska. Among them are Senators, judges, lawyers, former lawmen, and every day people who believe they are buying shares of McKenzie's new company. He agitates for and receives the judge of his choice to be placed in Nome - and coincidentally, this same judge will hear the suits of the claim holders against corrupt lawyers and McKenzie. This is the same judge who (illegally) places the claims into receivership - with McKenzie as the receiver, thus freed to start taking gold out of the ground even while the other suits grind through the system, deliberately slowed by McKenzie and his cronies.

It's a fascinating look at the politics of the times - one might even be inclined to say the politics of our times haven't changed all that much.

It's also a great look at some unrecognized heroes, standing against corruption on a massive scale. They include Senators, Federal judges in the 9th Circuit Court in California, lawyers not taken in by McKenzie, and, as always, journalists.

In the end, the punishment for these misdeeds - as is so terribly often the case in circumstances like these - is not befitting the bad actors. In that respect, there certainly have not been many changes from then to now.

Fans (as I am) of books about businesses and their leaders behaving badly (such as The Smartest Guys in the Room about the downfall of Enron), history buffs, and anyone ever tantalized by treasure should appreciate this book.

This is an eminently readable and enjoyable book. Five stars.

Contains photos and extensive notes.


Thanks to NetGalley and PublicAffairs for the advanced copy.

In our modern gilded age, it's good to look back and see that we have been here before. This tale of a wild gold mining town, and the political boss who launched a scheme to take it over reads like a crazy Hollywood plot but it's all real.