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THE LAST VOYAGEUR: Amos Burg and the Rivers of the West
For river lovers, paddling enthusiasts, history buffs, and everyone who likes stories of courage, strength, and adventure
** Amos Burg ran all the major rivers of the West when they still flowed freely and potential danger was just around the next bend
** Part early 20th-century history, part adventure, part biography of the West's first commercial outdoor guide
Amos Burg (1901--1986), a native of Portland, Oregon, was the first to complete transits of the free-flowing, undammed Snake and Columbia Rivers by canoe, and in 1938 he became the first to navigate the length of the Colorado River in a rubber raft. In his daring explorations of waterways from the Southwest up through Canada and into Alaska, Burg is considered to be the only person known to have run all major Western rivers from source to mouth.
In The Last Voyageur: Amos Burg and the Rivers of the West author Vince Welch, himself a river guide, weaves a passionate and well-researched narrative using extensive material from Burg’s own rich archives. History buffs, paddlers, and adventure readers alike will delight in this remarkable regional history of the larger-than-life Burg, a quintessential man of the American West and one of the last “voyageurs” of North America’s great waterways.
** Amos Burg ran all the major rivers of the West when they still flowed freely and potential danger was just around the next bend
** Part early 20th-century history, part adventure, part biography of the West's first commercial outdoor guide
"What is this thing in me that enables me to leave comforts and a wide variety of entertainments and feel a strange satisfaction wandering down a cheerless and indifferent river, enduring hardships and eating very little and exposed to all sorts of weather . . . tonight even as I sit shivering and listening to the patter of the rain, I see myself in many places all over the world, wandering like a gull on the winds, working with the ideals of Truth and Beauty as part of my vision to bring these things back with me for other people to see." Amos Burg, Yukon River, July 1928
Amos Burg (1901--1986), a native of Portland, Oregon, was the first to complete transits of the free-flowing, undammed Snake and Columbia Rivers by canoe, and in 1938 he became the first to navigate the length of the Colorado River in a rubber raft. In his daring explorations of waterways from the Southwest up through Canada and into Alaska, Burg is considered to be the only person known to have run all major Western rivers from source to mouth.
In The Last Voyageur: Amos Burg and the Rivers of the West author Vince Welch, himself a river guide, weaves a passionate and well-researched narrative using extensive material from Burg’s own rich archives. History buffs, paddlers, and adventure readers alike will delight in this remarkable regional history of the larger-than-life Burg, a quintessential man of the American West and one of the last “voyageurs” of North America’s great waterways.
- GenresNonfiction
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 12, 2014
An surprisingly.enjoyable read. Burg was a likeable man who embarked on many a waterborne adventure throughout his life. The writing is uneven; at times nothing but a list of facts, at others a colorful and richly detailed. I suspect this is a consequence of using diaries as primary source material. This unevenness does not detract from the sweeping sense of adventure this book provides.
Disclaimer: I won a free copy of this book through First Reads.
Disclaimer: I won a free copy of this book through First Reads.
February 8, 2013
this book was won on goodreads. it is amazing!!!!!!!! if i could have given it a 10 i would have. i am a fan of bios and this book left me wanting more. i wanted to crawl into the pages and live right along with amos. i imagin the trips he made and i definatly want to research his articals in national geographic.
so if you read only one biography this year, make it this book.
so if you read only one biography this year, make it this book.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews