The Cold Millions: A Novel [Paperback]

“One of the most captivating novels of the year.” –Washington Post 

NATIONAL BESTSELLER•A Library Reads Pick•An Indie Next Pick

A Best Book of the Year: Bloomberg |Boston Globe  Chicago Public Library  Chicago Tribune  Esquire | Kirkus  New York Public Library  New York Times Book Review(Historical Fiction)  NPR's Fresh Air  O Magazine | Washington Post| Publishers Weekly |Seattle Times| USA Today 

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Ruins comes another “literary miracle” (NPR)—a propulsive, richly entertaining novel about two brothers swept up in the turbulent class warfare of the early twentieth century.

An intimate story of brotherhood, love, sacrifice, and betrayal set against the panoramic backdrop of an early twentieth-century America that eerily echoes our own time, The Cold Millions offers a kaleidoscopic portrait of a nation grappling with the chasm between rich and poor, between harsh realities and simple dreams.

The Dolans live by their wits, jumping freight trains and lining up for day work at crooked job agencies. While sixteen-year-old Rye yearns for a steady job and a home, his older brother, Gig, dreams of a better world, fighting alongside other union men for fair pay and decent treatment. Enter Ursula the Great, a vaudeville singer who performs with a live cougar and introduces the brothers to a far more dangerous creature: a mining magnate determined to keep his wealth and his hold on Ursula.

Dubious of Gig’s ideal“Ü