"The Golden Lane: Faja de Oro" is a deeply engaging historical novel written by Sam L. Pfiester. This novel is inspired by true events and real people. The setting unfolds in the early 1900’s with a young man named Everette DeGolyer. Everette is a curious and energetic young man who enjoys a good adventure. Everette becomes a legend in his own right as he discovers oil in the ‘Golden Lane’, which refers to the prosperous oil reserves located near Tampico, Mexico. His discoveries have prompted Mexico into becoming a gigantic powerhouse in the oil producing industry at a time amidst wars and revolutions. This is the story of how Everette DeGolyer put oil on the map for Mexico and also includes his life story, romance and real life adventures.

Pfiester delivers a powerful and well-written novel in "The Golden Lane". Each chapter flows quickly into the next and is very easy to comprehend. The cover of the book is well-designed in a ‘golden’ tone with a faded map, which appears to look mysterious and is truly captivating to the reader. I found Pfiester’s words to be mesmerizing as I was hanging onto each chapter wanting to discover more right alongside of Everette. The elements of suspense, mystery, romance and war all come together nicely to create a true masterpiece on paper. I absolutely loved the fact that this novel is packed with maps of Mexican oil fields, letters and photos. These items greatly help to engage the reader and connect them to Everette’s story. Pfiester also did a phenomenal job in describing the settings and imagery in this novel. The reader is able to imagine that they are included in the adventure and taking part in a great exploration of mankind. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who loves a great historical fiction book which is action packed much like Indiana Jones. Well done Sam L. Pfiester!

"The Golden Lane" by Sam L. Pfiester is considered a fictional account based on fact. Most of the characters in the book are real and most of the events actually happened. The author has utilized (with minor corrections) the correspondence of Everette DeGolyer. The setting is 1910 Tampico Mexico.

"The Golden Lane" begins with Jim Hall and De meeting in a train station in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. De was a likable sort and always curious about everything. De was headed to Tampico. The U.S.G. S. had offered him a job. Apparently De made good biscuits, because that was how he got the job. Jim Hall and De met by accident but it turned out to be a blessing. Jim was from southern Texas and spoke fluid Spanish while De could not speak any. Jim volunteered to be his translator. When they arrived in Tampico De met up with two friends working for the U.S.G. S. The men quickly assessed the problem of mapping the area. Their mission was to find oil. Not only did they find it, but their find pushed Mexico to the top of the list of oil producing nations in that era. Del witnessed the Mexican Revolution, the culture and the violence.

"The Golden Lane" is an excellent read. Sam Pfiester presents readers with a portrait of Everette DeGolye before he became famous. "The Golden Lane" has it all: adventure, action, drama, and romance. I loved everything about this book but especially the letters to Nell. The use of De’s correspondence added much to the tale. Although I know much of this is factual, I feel that it reads like an exciting action/adventure novel. Well done!

"The Golden Lane" is a very fascinating book about the early days of oil drilling in Mexico and about the man who used scientific methods to be able to find the oil under the rocks and hills of Mexico. It is a true story using fiction to add the details missing. The book also has maps, pictures, and diagrams as well as a glossary to explain to the lay person what is entailed in the business of oil extraction. The book also is a love story of Edward DeGolyer and Nell Goodrich and the story of their marriage and life together in the early days. Life cannot have been easy for a woman in frontier Mexico and a husband who had to be away sometimes. War with Mexico made it a dangerous place to live. DeGolyer made an interesting hero matched by the heroism of Nell.

I didn't know I wanted to read about the oil drilling business in Mexico during the beginning of the Twentieth Century but it turned out to be a fascinating book. A real life story in fiction mode. "The Golden Lane" has it all: gushers of oil, romance, war with Mexico, and just very interesting people that appear bigger than life. The book is big on humor also. It covers the suspense of trying to get out of Mexico alive while the United States and Mexico are at war with each other. This is a rare book that I enjoyed very much.

"The Golden Lane" is that arc of land on the part of Mexico which borders the Gulf of Mexico. It ranges from Cerro Azul to Dos Bocus and was the prime area of the Mexican oil boom of those years before World War I. The Author, Sam Pfiester, after in-depth research for his materials, offers this: "Mexico in the oil boom, oh, yes, it was rough times and a rough crowd." Geologist Everette DeGolyer went to Tampico, Mexico, in November of 1909 to do a map of the geology along with his friend, Texan Jim Hall. DeGolyer was searching out buried domes called anticlines, for he knew from his training that straight lines of anticlines indicate a fault line below ground. DeGolyer was convinced that finding oil was much more complicated than drilling near seeps and that oil was to be found in porous sedimentary rocks. He worked at mapping in the field areas around Tampico and then would return to the El Aquila Oil headquarters in Tampico and write a report, then put his information onto maps. But Mexico was undergoing political unrest back in those times and as oil was discovered, the area where DeGolyer worked became dangerous. Would he be able to marry his sweetheart, Nell, and carry on with his work with all the instability around him?

"The Golden Lane" is an important piece of historical fiction as it covers the early life and work of Everette DeGolyer and the unrest in Mexico back in the years prior to World War I. The dialogue between major and minor characters is excellent as is the character development of DeGolyer, his Nell, Jim Hall, and all the many characters in this time of discovery and unrest in our neighbor to the south. The reader will have to concentrate on Author Pfiester's detailed writings on geology but as the novel moves into the Mexican Revolution, reading becomes easier. As DeGolyer says on page 188, "It's an odd business, isn't it, looking for something buried a half mile deep and then trying to figure out how much oil we can produce from rocks we can never see." "The Golden Lane" is not an easy read but once the reader finishes this well-edited, well-researched book with attached glossary and biographies, he or she will be thoroughly glad that they did.