A Biography of a Mountain: The Making and Meaning of Mount Rushmore

A comprehensive narrative history of Mt. Rushmore, written in light of recent political controversies, and a timely retrospective for the monument's 100th anniversary in 2025 "Well, most people want to come to a national park and leave with that warm, fuzzy feeling with an ice cream cone. Rushmore can't do that if you do it the right way. If you do it the right way people are going to be leaving pissed." Gerard Baker, the first Native American superintendent of Mt. Rushmore, shared those words with author Matthew Davis. From the tragic history of Wounded Knee and the horrors of Indian Boarding Schools, to the Land Back movement of today, Davis traces the Native American story of Mt. Rushmore alongside the narrative of the growing territory and state of South Dakota, and the economic and political forces that shaped the reasons for the Memorial's creation. A Biography of A Mountain combines history with reportage, bringing the complicated and nuanced story of Mt. Rushmore to life, from the land's origins as sacred tribal ground; to the expansion of the American West; to the larger-than-life personality of Gutzon Borglum, the artist who carved the presidential faces into the mountain; and up to the politicized present-day conflict over the site and its future. Exploring issues related to how we memorialize American history, Davis tells an imperative story for our time.

About the Author :
Matthew Davis is the author of When Things Get Dark: A Mongolian Winter's Tale. His work has appeared in the New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Los Angeles Review of Books and Guernica, among other places. He has been an Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fellow at New America, a Fellow at the Black Mountain Institute at UNLV, and a Fulbright Fellow to Syria and Jordan. He holds an MFA in nonfiction writing from the University of Iowa and an MA in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Davis lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife, a diplomat, and their two young kids.

Review :
"No one can dispute that Mount Rushmore resonates with profound meaning for millions of Americans. But what Matthew Davis so eloquently reveals in this penetrating story of its fuller history is how complicated and contradictory those meanings can be-and how necessary it is for them all to be considered." - filmmakers Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan, The National Parks: America's Best Idea "A thoughtful reflection on the dangers of sanitizing history and the use of landmarks to tell incomplete histories of violence and injustice. Matthew Davis's story of one mountain speaks volumes about culture, conflict and a need for consciousness raising." - Marcia Chatelain, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America "With deep reporting and great sensitivity, Matthew Davis unearths a striated history of one of America's most recognizable sights. A Biography of a Mountain tells the riveting story of complicated leaders, ideals twisted with greed and ambition, and of the land itself: timeless witness to humanity's creativity, cruelty, and folly." - Lauren Redniss, National Book Award finalist and author of Oak Flat: A Fight for Sacred Land in the American West "A Biography of a Mountain is a fascinating tour around and inside Mount Rushmore, the most-visited mountain in the United States: we travel through history, geology, geography, politics, psychodrama, art and film criticism, and even the physics of carving up granite (if you feel so inclined). But more than that, it is a meditation on the illusory permanence of memorials, and the cultural earthquakes surrounding challenges to their long-held 'meanings.' I've been to Rushmore a few times, but after reading this, I doubt I'll ever look at 'The Boys' quite the same again." - Joe Jackson, author of Black Elk: The Life of an American Visionary "The story of Mt. Rushmore is the story of America, and it is a tale Matt Davis tells exceedingly well. With dollops of pathos and wonder, he brings the landscape and characters to life. A Biography of a Mountain is a work of monumental importance, especially now, when the nation is wrestling with questions of democracy and freedom--ideals etched in stone in the Black Hills of South Dakota and mined so deftly in these pages." - Eric Weiner, bestselling author of Geography of Bliss and Ben & Me "A meaningful read that wrestles with the complexity of American history and its presentation." - Kirkus "The story of Mount Rushmore isn't a simple one...Davis not only tells this complex story in a way that readers can follow, but also delves deeply into the motives of Borglum, the son of Danish immigrants whose vision for Mount Rushmore shaped not just the mountain, but American history itself. Absolutely fascinating." - Booklist