Earl Redman is a geologist who worked for two decades for the US Bureau of Mines studying mines and mineral deposits in more than 220 abandoned mine workings in the Juneau Gold Belt, Alaska. In 1999 he moved with his wife Sharon to Ireland, where although there are no mines in sight, his experience has been put to good use in another field, exploring the gold mines of the stories included in this book. He now travels widely and for long periods of the year and is much in demand as a speaker and storyteller.