I Bought An Abandoned Ghost Town

Ghost Town Living Comes Out In 3 Days! Final Chance For Bonuses!

brent@cerrogordomines.com
Sat, Mar 16 at 10:31 AM

Hello there!

My book, Ghost Town Living, is coming out in just 3 days and I have a sneak peek for you below! If you order it now, most retailers are showing delivery on the first day, Tuesday. I cannot believe I’m writing that. It’s felt so far off for so long, but it is here! And I’m so excited to share it with you all.

Your support over the past few years is the reason this is happening and before anything else, I wanted to send a heartfelt THANK YOU once more.
​
If you order the book in the next 3 days, I’m still sending over some fun pre-order bonuses! These are a little ‘thank you’ for early support on the book. To claim any of these, mail your receipt to book@cerrogordomines.com before the end of the day on the 20th!

Order 1 Book! And get unreleased pages from the book as well as an unreleased full video of a few mine explorations that I never put out publicly.

Order 5 Books! And in addition to the above, I’ll send you a signed page from an early manuscript for you to keep!

Order 10 Books! And you get an invite +1 to attend one of my book launch parties at Cerro Gordo! Either April 13th or April 20th. These will be the most fun days I can think of up here in town. I’ll be giving a VIP tour to all the different buildings, cooking everyone lunch, refining a bit of silver, telling stories around the campfire, and more! Come celebrate the past 4 years with me up at Cerro Gordo!

The book is available at most retailers and there are still a few signed copies available. Check below!

​Amazon​

​Barnes & Noble​

​Painted Porch (Signed & Numbered Editions)​

​All formats​

​Audiobook​

As an early sneak peek to anyone reading this, I’m copying the Preface to the book below.

--

I am the age of most of the ghosts that live here.

The men and women came from all over the world.

Sailing ships from China.

Fleeing the famines in Ireland.

Farmhands and cowboys.

The tenements of New York City.

Small towns across the Midwest.

They came here to make their fortunes, in search of adventure . . .

. . . and most of them died. Died before age thirty-five.

They died of exposure. They died in famous mine collapses. They died of influenza and diseases they picked up in the brothel here. They breathed in lead dust in the Union Mine and got sucked into machinery. They died in gunfights over card games. They died of suicide and alcoholism and little cuts that got infected. Some are buried in the cemetery here, some are still trapped down in the mines.

They worked twelve-hour days and seven-day weeks for subsistence-level wages. They had dreams of enormous riches, of escaping the strife of their homeland, of a different kind of life. They died of heartbreak and homesickness and were buried below wooden headstones now lost to time. The sardine cans they subsisted on and discarded, the Prince Albert tins they tucked claim papers in—it’s this evidence that I find in washes and in gullies that testifies that any of them ever existed at all.

Not that this place was any kinder to the owners of the mines.

I am now the latest in the long line of owners, and nearly every single one of them was ruined. They made fortunes then lost them. They lost marriages and reputations. Their ambition curdles inside them, turning their hearts to stone. The only evidence that they ever existed is etched in the legal record of hundreds of now-forgotten court cases, newspaper scandals, and the occasional street sign. Obelisks mark their grave sites back in civilization. Only one chose to be buried here.

This town I am in, Cerro Gordo, is the rock of paradoxes.

To me, it is beautiful, but it is also dark. It is totally barren, yet it teems with the potential of life and natural wonders. It is a dreamscape that also holds the stuff of nightmares, a place built inherently on extraction that somehow manages to take a piece out of everyone who mines it. Something you think you own until it ends up owning you.

I am the luckiest man in the world. I am also a prisoner of this place.

I live at eight thousand feet, with one of the most breathtaking views in the continental United States. I see the highest peak and the lowest valley. Beneath me are mines so valuable they built the city of Los Angeles, mineral veins tapped for hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of silver, yet I am hopelessly in debt. I can sleep in my choice of a dozen ramshackle buildings, every one of them a piece of living history, a monument to the single-minded determination of the men who built them in this cruel, hard place . . . and yet nowhere can I reliably take a shower or brush my teeth.

It’s a whole town that’s mine, once home to some four thousand people and now has a population of me, myself, and I.

Dodge City. Tombstone. Deadwood. Virginia City. Bisbee.

Cerro Gordo started earlier and lasted longer, and yet, hardly anyone had ever heard of it. When it went up for sale in 2018, it cost me every single penny I had . . . but was still cheaper than a half-decent two bedroom house today in the city that probably wouldn’t exist without it, Los Angeles.

It was my life savings, and every single day it has cost more. It is the best money I have ever spent. The best thing I will ever do. On some days, it feels like the last thing I will ever do.

--

Here are the full blurbs for the book:

“[Underwood’s story] continues to be of endless fascination.”—The New York Times

“It is . . . a romantic way of life. But it hasn’t been without its share of difficulties, worries, and setbacks.”—VICE

“Who knows? Maybe Cerro Gordo has one last boom in it after all.”—CBS News

“Inspiring and meditative—the story of man vs nature and man vs himself . . . and what we’re capable of when we throw ourselves into something that we believe in.”—Ryan Holiday, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Obstacle is the Way

“Brent is the true soul of the town—the passion and love for this project is what brings it to life and why it has been able to impact so many people across the world.”—Sam Golbach of Sam and Colby

“From the very first page, Ghost Town Living captured my imagination. Underwood's odyssey is a stark departure from the familiar shores of achievement and modern comforts, plunging into a realm brimming with risk, raw adventure, and at times, sheer turmoil. This is a clarion call to delve into the depths of one's aspirations, to court the unknown, and to relentlessly chase the thrill of exploration.”—Molly Bloom, author of Molly’s Game

“Vivid and vibrant . . . a pleasure to read Underwood’s account of bringing history to life.”—Kirkus Reviews

--

Check out Ghost Town Living here:

​Amazon​

​Barnes & Noble​

​Painted Porch (Signed & Numbered Editions)​

​All formats​

​Audiobook​
I hope if you all are able, you consider ordering the book. It would mean so much to me.

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!

Ghost Town Living Is Out TODAY! What’s Inside...
brent@cerrogordomines.com
Tue, Mar 19 at 5 AM



Ghost Town Living is out TODAY!

Hello there!

Today is a day I’ve been working towards for almost two years: the release of my book Ghost Town Living: Mining for Purpose and Chasing Dreams at the Edge of Death Valley.

This book is the culmination of the past four years living in Cerro Gordo. It’s about the history uncovered, the obstacles overcome, the adventures taken, the beauty all around, and the lessons learned along the way.

It’s something I’ve poured my soul into and now I am very excited—and a little nervous—to put it in your hands.

I wrote the book to go deeper than what I share on YouTube. The past four years you’ve seen the highs, the lows, the people I’ve met, the things I’ve learned. But there’s only so much you can do in video format. The book allows me to go into more depth on the best parts of the YouTube channel...and a lot more.

I talk about my mentality when I first came across Cerro Gordo. How I knew it was the right one. What I wish I knew before going into it.

What it’s really like living at Cerro Gordo day after day, month after month, year after year.

I share experiences with a late mentor of mine. A guy I’ve never shown in any of my videos, but has been walking these desert hills for 40 years and taught me how to make it out here.

I go through the history of the water wars down in Owens Valley, how Los Angeles currently gets it’s water, and the long term consequences of short term thinking.

I go deeper into some of the crazy logistical feats that were pulled off up here - like when Mortimer Belshaw built the road. Or more recently when Heavy D came up to pour 80 yards of concrete. And that sense of agency that come with tackling bigger things

I talk about the devastation that was losing the American Hotel. How I really felt in the days, weeks, and months afterwards. And how an encounter with the old owner of the town gave me the strength to not just keep going, but use it as fuel for something bigger.

I talk about how I feel about the attention the channel has received and how that shifted my experience here.

I share my favorite historical stories from around town that I haven’t shared in videos before.

And of course, I talk about this beautiful nature all around me. The awe and gratitude that comes with it. And how I would have benefited from having that a little earlier.

It’s a book about seeking adventure and finding purpose. About leaning into life. And I am so excited to be sharing it with you all.

You can get the book on Amazon, Audible, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Bookshop.org, Painted Porch (Signed & Numbered), and everywhere else books are sold.

This is a really special moment in my life and I feel very grateful to be able to share it with you all. Thank you so much for all the support over the past few years and I hope you enjoy the book!