Lightning Ridge

From time to time as the author was writing his (excellent) biographies and narrative histories, his publisher would try an convince him to share stories of his own life. In an earlier books Idriess has shared shorter sections of his life (The Desert Column, Men of the Jungle, even Over the Range, where he travelled with mounted police), but for the first time he explains his childhood - shifting around for the work his father does, his time at school, and leaving school to enter the work force.
It is at Broken Hill that Idriess commences work in the field of minerals - taking a job testing ores for silver purity. He even takes night classes to formalise a qualification. It is not long though, before he decides to move on.
This book reminds me a lot of Frank Clune's Try Anything Once, which follows the same path - early life, run away from home and work a series of rural / farming / stock jobs, and move on.
As Idriess works his way towards Lightning Ridge, in rural New South Wales, where black opals had been discovered, and many men keen to make their fortune were heading to toil. Really it was quite simple. Collect up sufficient cash to buy some equipment, and food for your stay, secure a claim and start digging.
I won't spoil the results of the authors time at Lightning Ridge, but is easy enough to guess that like most of the miners, he doesn't strike it rich. He does however, record some interesting stories from the men of the ridge, before he heads off to make some more money only to return again for another go at it.
Opals are not everyone's cup of tea - I don't like them personally, but they have a value, and are not overly technical to obtain. They don't require complex chemicals or processes to extract - it is really a case of dig a hole and find a seam, carefully dig out the opals and grind off the rubbish, leaving the opal. These are sold on to a buyer who sells them on up the line.

As always, Idriess writes in a relatively simple way, using simple language for the everyday reader. He writes a story that maintains interest, builds momentum and leaves the reader satisfied.

A satisfying 4 stars.