Der Schatz der Sierra Madre (The Treasure of the Sierra Madre), published in German in 1927, is the masterpiece of the mysterious author B. Traven, whose true identity was never definitively established. The novel follows three down-and-out Americans in Mexico who find gold in the Sierra Madre mountains and watch their partnership and their humanity dissolve under the pressure of greed, fear, and mutual suspicion.
John Huston’s 1948 film adaptation made the story famous worldwide, but the German original text has a rawness and moral depth that rewards direct encounter. Download this free public-domain EPUB to read Traven’s classic in the language in which he wrote it.