Matthew Davis-A Biography of a Mountain: The Making and Meaning of Mt. Rushmore episode artwork

EPISODE · Dec 26, 2025 · 19 MIN

Matthew Davis-A Biography of a Mountain: The Making and Meaning of Mt. Rushmore

from Speaking of Writers · host Steve Richards

A BIOGRAPHY OF A MOUNTAIN: The Making and Meaning of Mt. Rushmore, by Matthew Davis (St. Martin’s Press), is a powerful comprehensive history of Mt. Rushmore, written in light of recent political controversies, and a timely retrospective for the monument’s 100th anniversary in 2025. Davis has penned an impressive work of narrative nonfiction, combining history with reportage, bringing this complicated and nuanced story of the famous, and infamous, mountain to life.ABOUT THE AUTHORMatthew Davis is the author of When Things Get Dark: A Mongolian Winter’s Tale. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and Guernica, among other publications. He has been an Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fellow at New America, a Fellow at The Black Mountain Institute at UNLV, and a Fulbright Fellow to Syria and Jordan. He holds an MFA in nonfiction writing from the University of Iowa and an MA in International Relations from The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Davis lives in Washington DC with his wife, a diplomat, and their two young kids.#mtrushmore #authorpodcast #speakingofwriterspodcast

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