The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

The author of this book, B. Traven, is a mystery man but his novels are some of the best moral adventure tales that I have ever read. Treasure of the Sierra Madre is his best known novel, probably due to the film version directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart. In it three Americans down on their luck prospect for gold in the Mexican Sierra Madre. A genuinely exciting adventure tale, it is also a psychological novel that takes us through the disintegration of one of the three, Dobbs, as the gold they find corrupts his soul. The results provide for suspense and Traven's fine delineation of character makes the story both believable and interesting. Traven also explores the contrast of cultures with the white man's culture show more operating on the principle of greed while the Indians adhere to a myterious principle which they call "happiness". The difference between cultures is epitomized by the difficulty that Howard, the oldest member of the trio, has in explaining that for white men business is "happiness". The men in the novel are particular individuals but they are recognizable as universal types. The tone of the novel is serious but not without humor. with an ironic style Traven develops a well-rounded plot. The novel presents a powerful fable that is reminiscent of Chaucer's "Pardoner's Tale" in its lesson of "Radix malorum est Cupiditas" (greed is the root of all evil).
But most of all it is a story of outsiders, anarchic in its spirit, exciting in the adventure in spite of the tragic vision it portrays. I enjoyed both reading the novel and viewing the film adaptation. I highly recommend them. show less

The mysterious B. Traven's masterpiece is best known as the source of the outstanding Bogart/Huston film, from 1948, but stands as a first-rate piece of noir gutbucket writing on its own. Ostensibly an adventure story, the novel combines elements of psychological realism and social protest with a grimly humorous fatalism that was a notch or two more sophisticated and profound than that of most hard-boiled writing of the time. An important if not necessarily essential book.

B Traven has been overlooked by many as a source of great literature about the degradation of human nature. His perspective particularly rings a bell as an exposition of the male mind. This story that begins with the characters in situations that are dehumanizing and yet somehow more humane than where they wind up. The corruption of the mind by greed is breathtaking and completely believable. The correlation to our modern greed driven economy leaves no doubts about the potential, and perhaps inevitable, destruction of human character by lust for money.

Traven has a great way of weaving this massive tale. It in many ways is an extended fairy tale exposing the profits of greed. The writing is not fantastically lyric but the gruffness and show more simplicity of the text match up well with the stark setting of the novel in the heat of the Mexican sun. The writing also matches well with the characters as they represent our basest elements. This is not a spell-binding tale of high adventure but it is an intense and powerful accusation of how easily people are dehumanized. show less

Dont expect too much of psychology here, its mainly an adventure tale, or rather a series of those. Keeps you interested though and the end is surprising.

Well written and clear and darker than the movie. The story portrays the chaos and violence of old Mexico (as opposed to that in the new Mexico?). The two stories told by the old man Howard were not necessary in the development of the story but did provide an historical violent context of for a violent story.

Summary: Little is known for certain about B. Traven. Evidence suggests that he was born Otto Feige in Schlewsig-Holstein and that he escaped a death sentence for his involvement with the anarchist underground in Bavaria. Traven spent most of his adult life in Mexico, where, under various names, he wrote several bestsellers and was an outspoken defender of the rights of Mexico's indigenous people. First published in 1935, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is Traven's most famous and enduring work, the dark, savagely ironic, and riveting story of three down-and-out Americans hunting for gold in Sonora

3 men decided to try their luck gold prospecting but the land is full of bandits trying to relieve them of their find. There is a simplicity to the writing style but this in no way detracts from the authors ability todescribe the hardships and difficulties of the time.