Brent Underwood

A long-abandoned silver mine for sale sounded like an adventure too great to pass up, but it turned into much more—a calling, a community of millions, and hard-earned lessons about chasing impractical dreams. “Inspiring and meditative—the story of man vs nature and man vs himself.”—Ryan Holiday, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Obstacle is the Way The siren song of Cerro Gordo, a desolate ghost town perched high above Death Valley, has seduced thousands since the 1800s, but few fell harder for it than Brent Underwood, who moved there in March of 2020, only to be immediately snowed in and trapped for weeks. It had once been the largest silver mine in California. Over $500 million worth of ore was pulled from the miles of tunnels below the town. Butch Cassidy, Mark Twain, and other infamous characters of the American West were rumored to have stayed there. Newspapers reported a murder a week. But that was over 150 years ago. Underwood bet his life savings—and his life—on this majestic, hardscrabble town that had broken its fair share of ambitious men and women. What followed were fires, floods, earthquakes, and perhaps strangest, fame. Ghost Town Living tells the story of a man against the elements, a forgotten historic place against the modern world, and a dream against all odds—one that has captured millions of followers around the world. He came looking for a challenge different from the traditional 9-5 job but discovered something much more fulfilling—an undertaking that would call on all of himself and push him beyond what he knew he was capable of. In fact, to bring this abandoned town back to life, Brent had to learn a wealth of new self-sufficiency and problem-solving skills from many generous mentors. Ghost Town Living is a thrilling read, but it’s also a call to action—to question our too-practical lives and instead seek adventure, build something original, redefine work, and embrace the unknown. It shows what it means to dedicate your life to something, to take a mighty swing at a crazy idea and, like the cardsharps who once haunted Cerro Gordo, go all in.

Mining for Purpose and Chasing Dreams at the Edge of Death Valley

Ghost Town Living

"My books spent 5 years on the New York Times Best Seller List. They got there through endless hours of hard work. If only Brent had been my marketer, I could have done it in 5 minutes with a simple picture. I'M SO STUPID!"- Tucker Max, 3x #1 NY Times Best Selling Author "Like all good art, this book--and it is definitely a book--exposes a little bit about how society works."- Ryan Holiday, author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller Trust Me, I'm Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator "Brent Underwood's book shows the inner workings of the publishing industry and its desire to be the "best". Brent helps create a path toward ending the madness."- Matthew Kepnes, author of the New York Times bestseller How To Travel The World on $50 a Day "Unputdownable! Hop don't walk, to your nearest Kindle and download it now! The footnotes alone are worth the cover price!"- Brooke Unger, Americas Editor, The Economist "Putting My Foot Down will keep you on your toes at all time."- Young & Sick, musician/artist "Brent Underwood's foot, a more accomplished author than you or I."- The Paris Review "...status is meaningless, and can be bought for just a few dollars."- BoingBoing "Amen, Brent. Amen."- The Daily Dot "A man put a photo of his foot on Amazon."- Gothamist "The game's definitely afoot!"- Neil Gaiman "Amazing how much perception creates reality today."- Nick Bilton, Columnist, New York Times "...had me from the moment this guy takes a photo of his foot."- Laura Bennett, Senior Editor, Slate "Brilliant."- Martin Robbins, Columnist, VICE "...nails the 'biggest lie in publishing'."- Richard Lea, Books Reporter, The Guardian

Brent Underwood

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