Colonel Greene and the Copper Skyrocket

By C. L. Sonnichsen

Book Description:

Colonel Greene owned the Cananea Consolidated Copper Company, the site of the 1906 strike which many historians consider the start of the Mexican Revolution. There are two other reasons for knowing more about him. He owned the rail line that served the Mormon colonies, and when his enterprises went bankrupt, thousands in Chihuahua and Sonora became unemployed.

Colonel William C. Greene represented the American Dream come true in a sensational era when “copper was king.” By age 46, he had built a multi-million-dollar copper enterprise, started an enormous lumber business, and accumulated nearly a million acres of ranchland on both sides of the border. His career was spectacular. And brief. When he was 53, his empire collapsed.

Greene was a shrewd financier who had great foresight, impressive organizing ability, and a gambler’s willingness to take chances. By the time the Copper Skyrocket sent him plummeting back to earth, Greene had become the subject of a legend that spanned a continent—from the lonely deserts of the American Southwest and Mexico to the bustling streets of New York and Boston.

Colonel Greene and the Copper Skyrocket was awarded the National Cowboy Hall of Fame's Western Heritage Wrangler Award for outstanding western biography and the Western Writers of America's Spur Award for best western non-fiction book.

My Opinion:

William C. Greene was quite a “character,” the kind of person that people held strong opinions about—and after his downfall, most of those opinions went south. When Greene’s widow died, his children hired Sonnichsen to show Greene in a more favorable light. A former English professor and folklorist, Sonnichsen has written both fiction and non-fiction. His thorough research and engaging writing style made this an enjoyable book to read.

Much has been written about Greene, both during his lifetime and afterward. Surprisingly, this is the only book-length biography I have found on him. Sonnrichsen's treatment of him is a reminder that there are always two—or more—sides to every story.

Full Citation:

Sonnichsen, C.L., Colonel Greene and the Copper Skyrocket: The spectacular Rise and Fall of William Cornell Greene: Copper King, Cattle Baron, and Promoter Extraordinary in Mexico, the American Southwest and the New York Financial District, The University of Arizona Press, Tucson, Arizona, 1974.