As a librarian, I often find myself drawn to books about the places I visit, and after experiencing Mount Rushmore in person, I couldn’t resist A Biography of a Mountain by Matthew Davis. This thoughtful and compelling book made me reconsider my trip in ways I hadn’t expected—deepening my understanding of the monument’s complicated legacy. Davis presents the little-known history of the Lakota peoples and the painful story of their sacred land with care and balance, never preaching but revealing truths many visitors might miss. It left me wrestling with the question: can you love a place while also acknowledging the injustice tied to it? A powerful and necessary read that deserves a place in most library collections.

What a gift to be offered a copy of A Biography of a Mountain by Matthew Davis. I received this ARC from Net Galley and St Martin's Press.

It is a fascinating tale about so much more than Mount Rushmore. but that iconic monument in the Black Hills of South Dakota makes for a amazing adventure. My wife and I visited Mount Rushmore for the first time last August -- on our way back to Chicago following a cross country trip to Portland. I remember being awed by the majesty of the monument, but something felt off in the whole experience. Thankfully, Matthew Davis helped to identify that dis-ease that was in my soul.

This is an exceptional book that will give insight into the process that lead up to the building of the monument, the men who built it, and the worldview that they attached to the "four boys". But, fortunately, it doesn't end there. Davis also gives us insight into the "Land Back" movement and how it relates to Mount Rushmore.

I know our history isn't perfect, and I appreciate opportunities to learn and grow from some of the mistakes we have made along the way. Thank you Matthew Davis for this eye-opening look at the Black Hills. I am sure that many will not share this view, but I am always grateful for the opportunity to see the world from another's perspective and I now have a whole new appreciation for the Mountain we call Mount Rushmore.

I chose this book because I will be visiting the Black Hills and Mt Rushmore for the first time later this year. It is a well researched book that gives a comprehensive view of what came before, during, and after the creation of the monument. My visit will definitely be enhanced with this knowledge.

I have just completed the first section of “A Biography of a Mountain” and, sadly, this will be one of just a handful of books that I shan’t be reading to its conclusion. I have a passion for learning about our American history. And I do not object to an author slipping in some of his/her opinions on our history. However, as talented a writer as Matthew Davis is, I just cannot continue to turn page after page of his political screed coming from one side of the political spectrum. Here are just a few of the many observations from the author: you can judge his evenhandedness —
“ unwilling to confront our national darkness”
“ not much cool about Mount Rushmore…it can feel stuffy and square, overly familiar”
“History is glaringly absent from the memorial today, while myth is abundant”
“Devoid of cars (the new parking lot) on a blustery spring day, felt cold and soulless”
“the museum devoted to coal mining, where my pimply guide, a self-proclaimed creationist”
There is a lot ( and I emphasize, a lot) more of this available to the reader. For many of you this may be a great book by a talented author who shares with you his naivety of his pro-America visit when he was young and contrasts it with his current mature understanding of our historical “ national darkness.

Rating: 3.5 stars.
A Biography of a Mountain: The Making and Meaning of Mount Rushmore is an ARC, which I received courtesy of NetGalley and St. Martin's Press (publisher). I was initially interested in reading this, as Mount Rushmore is practically in my backyard (just a state away from Wyoming), and I really didn't know any of the history behind this national monument.

Overall, it's likely this book will appeal to those who enjoy historical non-fiction. The approach is a bit different than most history books filled with facts and dates, Matthew Davis provides his personal experiences and anecdotes of many locals who are or have been involved with Mount Rushmore in one way or another. Davis has a unique way of storytelling, however, as much as he attempts to remain unbiased, there are times his writing "takes sides," even if that wasn't his intention. That is one reason, I gave it a lower rating than what I wanted to (I would have liked to given 4 stars).

Another reason for the less than stellar rating involved the writing and style. Sometimes his language was a bit "lofty" (I'm not sure if that's the best way to describe) where it seemed the word choices could have been a tad more plain and not feeling like he was trying to show off vocabulary. I'm not one who needs to look up a lot of words when reading and can determine contextual meaning; after a while, I tired of needing to get out the dictionary and just skipped past. Additionally, there were times the book felt like it was skipping around a bit too much, making the overall flow a bit choppy sometimes. Despite that, overall, the stories and anecdotes were interesting and compelling.

From a historical perspective, I was impressed with Davis' research, especially the biography of the sculptor Gutzon Borglum, along with the history of the land, the Black Hills where Mount Rushmore sits, and their spiritual significance to the Lakota Nation versus the "patriotic vision" behind the monument, plus the atrocities that took place at Wounded Knee and more recently at the Rapid City Indian Boarding School (and Pine Ridge). Much of these events probably will never make it into the history books, but need to be told--and Davis put his heart and soul into telling those stories.

The one thing that was missing from the book and would have been a wonderful addition, I believe, would have been to include some photographs. It would have helped with visualizing some of the events/places Davis did attempt to provide description through words.

Lastly, I would highly recommend offering this book at Mount Rushmore Bookstore, especially with the 100th anniversary coming up this year (2025).

I was very pleased to read Matthew Davis’s A BIOGRAPHY OF A MOUNTAIN: THE MAKING AND MEANING OF MOUNT RUSHMORE, primarily because it helped me to crystallize some concepts that had been running loose inside my head.

A good bit of the political conflict in America stems from the collision of two historical points of view. Both of these are familiar, but they are not often fully articulated. The first is what I am calling, for the sake of convenience, the “patriotic vision,” which focuses on the wisdom of the Founding Fathers, the greatness of the Constitution and the American form of government, and the success of free-market economics and military strength. The patriotic vision stresses the essential goodness of the American project, the decency and sacrifice of our pioneers, and the shared values of our people.

You may be rolling your eyes a bit at this point, and if so, you would not be alone. The patriotic vision is challenged by what I am calling the “critical voice,” which everyone has heard. “The land was stolen from the natives.” “The country was built on slavery.” “The Founding Fathers were self-interested white supremacists.” “There weren’t any women of people of color at the Constitutional Convention.” This is the message of the critical voice, and it is expressed, over and over again, with variations in fact but not in tone.

The patriotic vision has value because it is authentic, because it is inspirational, because it binds the nation together, because it distills our best achievements and desires into a positive, forward-looking philosophy. The critical voice has value because it is factually correct.

In 2017—specifically on July 4, 2017—I published a picture book, IF MY NAME WAS AMANDA, that was meant to be an expression of the patriotic vision at its best. Its heroine, a young mixed-race girl, travels America on an alphabet adventure, going from A (Atlanta) to Z (Zanesville), exploring the beauty and diversity of the United States of America. And there on the front cover, with the little girl holding an American flag, there in the background are Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln, as they appear on the slopes of Mount Rushmore.

I am not saying here that Matthew Davis is writing his book in opposition to my adorable little picture book for toddlers. He’s likely not ever heard of it. But what he is doing is giving the critical voice a hearing. Yes, Mount Rushmore is a great sculpture that depicts our great leaders, yes, it speaks to the greatness of our past and the ambitions of our future, yes, it is a sacred place for patriotism. Fine.

Most of the critical voice here is familiar: Washington and Jefferson were slaveholders; Washington’s very teeth were stolen from slaves. Lincoln signed the Homestead Act which was the machine that drove the mass theft of Indian land. Roosevelt was a white supremacist and expansionist of the American overseas empire. But Davis is not just echoing the familiar critique, but expanding it here specifically regarding the location of the sculpture in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and the personality of its sculptor.

I won’t recapitulate the entirety of the argument, particularly because Davis makes it in a very even-handed and fair manner. The Black Hills of South Dakota were sacred to the Lakota people (although they were latecomers into the territory, being pushed there by new settlers into the Northwest Territory and their martial ability to conquer their neighbors). There was a treaty that granted the Lakota ownership over the Black Hills, which was abrogated unfairly (as a convoluted legal case would ultimately determine). The sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, had been an enthusiastic supporter of the Ku Klux Klan whilst he was jockeying for the job of carving Confederate heroes into the face of Stone Mountain in Georgia. (There is a very interesting—which is a weasel word for “incomprehensible”--Borglum monumental bronze sculpture across the street from my office in Newark.) Davis does a masterful job of splicing the twin stories of loss and memory (although I would have liked a good bit more detail about the technical complexities of the actual sculpting process, which involved God’s green plenty of dynamite).

I appreciate Davis a great deal for writing the book the way he did. This is not in any way a “woke” book, or a work of iconoclasm. (The 2002 film Skins is much more iconoclastic, and much more focused on the here-and-now of life on the reservation; I caught it at the Atlanta Film Festival before it came out and was very impressed.) A BIOGRAPHY OF A MOUNTAIN is a deeply thought, deeply felt book that is of specific interest to anyone looking at the roots of our national division and the history of the Black Hills.

I read this book because I wanted to learn more about Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills before visiting the area. This book gave an excellent historical background of the area, and it is very well-researched. It was a very interesting read, especially the history of the Lakota Indian Tribe, which I knew very little about. I liked how the author wove in his own personal experiences and visits to the Mount Rushmore area to help break up the area's heavy history.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely loved this book! It was such a captivating read, and I had a fantastic time diving into its pages. I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for something enjoyable and easy to read!

This book is packed with information. I have had a couple family reunions in the Black Hills—one as a child in 1999, and one as an adult with a family of my own in 2024. I was struck by how different being at Mount Rushmore felt the second time. It felt so much more private when I was a kid! Last year, I was struck by the crowds, the maze of the parking lot, the gift-shoppy vibe of nearby Keystone. I thought it was just a matter of being older and seeing things through different eyes. Maybe not! A multi year renovation project was completed the year before my first visit—maybe it really has changed so much in the 25 years since! Now, we think of Rushmore as this huge patriotic symbol, but it wasn’t always. This book includes a lot of biographical information of Mount Rushmore’s creator, Gutzon Borgman, which I was fascinated by; but also the history of the region, the importance of the hills to the Lakota, and the popularization of the completed memorial and changing perspectives over the decades. I recommend it to anyone interested in the history of the Black Hills or American symbols. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

A Biography of a Mountain is the story of one of America's most iconic--and controversial--monuments. As a recent transplant to the glorious Western South Dakota, one of my first excursions was a trip to Rushmore to see the Presidents' Heads. Some say they are boring, stagnant, underwhelming; I find the monument breathtaking, and it never ceases to amaze me.

When I came across this "biography", I was immediately compelled to read it. Davis presents an engaging, informative, and sensitive history of the monument, its making, and its effect on the American psyche--for good or bad. The writing and facts are presented clearly, with anecdotes of Davis' own history with the mountain sprinkled in. Davis recounts the story of Mount Rushmore like a kindly professor having a one-on-one chat with a student over a cuppa joe.

I concede that this book is not for every reader, but for the armchair historian it fits just right. (It would also make a fantastic coffee table book in any South Dakotan waiting room.) Imagine how many of these they can sell at Rushmore this coming tourist season, especially it being the 100th anniversary of the monument's completion!

It's a niche subject, to be sure, but history buffs will pick up this detailed "biography" of Mt Rushmore.

A deeply researched history of Mount Rushmore. I’ve seen it many times, but this book gives so much history! I can’t wait to visit again with my new found knowledge.

A biography of a Mountain gives detailed information on the history of Mt. Rushmore through the words of Gerard Baker, the first Native American superintendent. Through him, we learn of the tragic history of the mountain, Little Big horn , and everything leading up to and sense. An enthralling, hard hitting look into one of the United State's most famous monuments and how not everything is as glorious as it seems.

Fascinating.

In the first chapter, Davis describes his trip to Mount Rushmore in 2000 as a younger man about to embark on adventures in Mongolia. I, myself, went on a cross country roadtrip a few years later in 2005 and ended up at Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial, staying in a motel in Keystone, and getting one of those hokey, sepia portraits done. Anyway...

Davis takes readers on a deep dive into the mountain's history, from sacred Lakota land and to its transformation during America’s westward expansion. He unpacks the mix of economic, political, and cultural forces that shaped its creation, making it clear that the monument’s story is more than just stone and sculpture.

Beyond the monument’s construction, Davis doesn’t shy away from the perspectives of Native American communities, particularly the Lakota, for whom the Black Hills remain deeply sacred. He takes care to explore the ongoing debates over land rights and the broader cultural significance of Mount Rushmore, offering a nuanced discussion that acknowledges both its place in American identity and the unresolved grievances of indigenous peoples.

In the end, Davis delivers a timely and thought-provoking look at one of America’s most famous landmarks. By weaving together the stories of artistry, politics, and indigenous resistance, he offers readers a richer, more complicated view of Mount Rushmore just in time for its 100th anniversary.

I found this book interesting and informative about how the monument came to be and history behind how it came to be
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher fir letting me review book