From rags to denim to riches, this very readable biography recounts the story of Levi Strauss, the man who invented the pants the gold miners wanted to wear.
You-are-there writing follows young Strauss, an immigrant pack peddler who walked miles each day carrying nearly 200 pounds of small wares, on his four-month voyage around South America’s Cape Horn to California. It was there that Strauss offered a canvas tent to a prospector who replied that he didn’t need a tent, but needed some good sturdy pants. This book provides a detailed look at a Gold Rush merchant who made a fortune out of little more than savvy, gusto, and a dream.
