A Colorado River reader / edited by Richard F. Fleck.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Fleck, Richard F., 1937-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Adventure and adventurers.

White-water canoeing.

Natural history.

Colorado River (Colo.-Mexico)--Description and travel--Anecdotes.

Colorado River (Colo.-Mexico).

Natural history--Colorado River (Colo.-Mexico)--Anecdotes.

White-water canoeing--Colorado River (Colo.-Mexico)--Anecdotes.

Adventure and adventurers--Colorado River (Colo.-Mexico)--Anecdotes.

Colorado River (Colo.-Mexico)--History--Sources.

Genre:

Anecdotes.

Physical Description:

xv, 190 pages : illustrations, map ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City : University of Utah Press, [2000]

Summary:

The mystique of the Colorado river is no less enduring and powerful than is its physical presence in the landscape of the West. Little wonder that narratives about the Colorado still arouse and intrigue readers, or that the river continues to inspire new writing among contemporary authors. What is surprising is that no anthology offering a comprehensive introduction to these works existed -- until now.

A Colorado River Reader spans hundreds of years and many cultures and voices to capture an array of responses to this mighty river and its tributaries. The collection opens with a Paiute creation myth set in the Grand Canyon and progresses through time, encompassing the Spanish and American exploration narratives of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and culminating in the adventure and nature writings of the twentieth.

This is a book that deserves a place next to every armchair and in a pocket of every backpack.

Contents:

Why the Grand Canyon Was Made: Paiute Indian Legend 1

From The Dominguez-Escalante Journal / Silvestre Velez de Escalante 11

From the Grand to the Little Colorado / John Wesley Powell 17

Cataract Canyon / Robert Brewster Stanton 23

Silent River / John C. Van Dyke 42

A Wonderland of Crags and Pinnacles / Frederick S. Dellenbaugh 48

Its Delta / Frank Waters 64

The River-Runners / T.H. Watkins 82

Encounters with an Archdruid / John McPhee 87

Conquering Glen Canyon / Georgie White Clark 97

Canyon Country: The Ultimate Ditch / Phillip L. Fradkin 112

Down the River with Henry Thoreau / Edward Abbey 119

Rapids, Icewater and Fire / Bill Beer 131

Gravity in a Fluid Medium / Ellen Meloy 144

Badger Creek and Running Rapids / Ann Zwinger 156

Big Drop / Colin Fletcher 167

Plant Journey / Linda Hogan 185.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 189-190).

ISBN:

087480647X

0874806461

OCLC:

43365802