The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon

by Kevin Fedarko

From one of Outside magazine’s “Literary All-Stars” comes the thrilling true tale of the fastest boat ride ever, down the entire length of the Colorado River and through the Grand Canyon, during the legendary flood of 1983.

In the spring of 1983, massive flooding along the length of the Colorado River confronted a team of engineers at the Glen Canyon Dam with an unprecedented emergency that may have resulted in the most catastrophic dam failure in history. In the midst of this crisis, the decision to launch a small wooden dory named “The Emerald Mile” at the head of the Grand Canyon, just fifteen miles downstream from the Glen Canyon Dam, seemed not just odd, but downright suicidal.

The Emerald Mile, at one time slated to be destroyed, was rescued and brought back to life by Kenton Grua, the man at the oars, who intended to use this flood as a kind of hydraulic sling-shot. The goal was to nail the all-time record for the fastest boat ever propelled—by oar, by motor, or by the grace of God himself—down the entire length of the Colorado River from Lee’s Ferry to Lake Mead. Did he survive? Just barely. Now, this remarkable, epic feat unfolds here, in The Emerald Mile .

Genres: Nonfiction, Adventure, History, Travel, Nature, Outdoors, Book Club

448 pages, Paperback

First published May 7, 2013

About the author

Kevin Fedarko lives in northern New Mexico and works as a part-time river guide in Grand Canyon National Park. In addition to his travel narratives in Outside, where he worked as a senior editor, Fedarko’s work has appeared in Esquire, National Geographic Adventure, and other publications, and has been anthologized in The Best American Travel Writing in 2004 and 2006. Fedarko was a staff writer at Time magazine from 1991 to 1997, where his work helped garner an Overseas Press Club Award for a story on the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin. Fedarko earned a Masters of Philosophy in Russian history at Oxford in 1990. His 2013 release, The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon, won a NOBA- a National Outdoor Book Award.

Reviews

[Sharon Orlopp · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite quote about reading is from Kevin Ansbro: A book should grab you by the lapels and kiss you into tomorrow. The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon did just that and then some!

June 25, 1983. "The biggest flood in a generation throttled downstream into the night." The Colorado River was closed due to the largest snow runoff in generations. The Glen Canyon Dam was showing destructive signs that could possibly lead to the collapse of the dam. Three daring Grand Canyon River guides, led by Kenton Grua, silently placed their wooden dory, The Emerald Mile, into the Colorado River at Lee's Ferry to set a record on how fast they could maneuver the 3oo miles of raging white waters throughout the Grand Canyon. Typically, it took 14 - 23 days. The speed run record they wanted to beat had been previously set at 47 hours.

Author, Kevin Fedarko's writing style is phenomenal. It is descriptive, fluid, and captivating. He is a part-time Grand Canyon River guide; he does a magnificent job describing height, size, and power with specific details, references, and analogies. I felt like I was in the small, wooden dory navigating the ferocious, hydraulic slingshot turbulence while hanging on for dear life. I also felt like I was part of the Glen Canyon Dam inspectors riding in life-threatening carts deep into the bowels of the Dam and locating large holes that were compromised while knowing that the Dam was holding back nine billion gallons of water.

On a personal note, I am headed to the Grand Canyon this week to complete a one-day hike from the North Rim to the South Rim; a total of 24 miles. I am looking forward to it and this book provided great perspective on what can happen in the Grand Canyon from a white-water rafting experience.

Fedarko's memorable passages include:
* Once in a lifetime chance to participate with the ancestral majesty of the Colorado

* Steady march of geomorphic change punctuated by catastrophic bursts

* Do or do not. There is no try. (Yoda)

* Tremors of admiration and envy

* Ferocious courage and a hellacious set of balls

* Submission was not an option

* Short of gunplay, this train wasn't stopping

* A celestial estuary of starlight

* We are all canyoneers

* Roofless tabernacle

* Our cathedral in the desert

* What we must eventually embrace to make ourselves whole

In addition to the incredible writing style, I learned many new vocabulary words: interregnum, scimitar, declivity, concatenation, antediluvian, phyla, regnum, tessellated, trunnion, atavistic, semaphore, virga, and several others.

Highly recommend!

[Shafjac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book I've read in a long time. At first it just seems like it's about some dudes trying to break a speed record for running a river, but it turns out to be a history of the Colorado River, the Grand Canyon, the Glen Canyon dam, conservation ... and then the adventure aspect of running the Colorado in flood stage. Impressively well-researched and very well-written. Any of my peeps that are into the outdoors or history -- read this.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This past August 2018, I had the great privilege to take a 5 day journey down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. It was truly spectacular! The night sky is so much better than anything I could have imagined. This was a trip of a lifetime for this decidedly no camping, I need to sleep in a bed at night, no discomfort, but adventurous soul, middle-aged lady. Slept under the stars every night and cruised, swam and hiked during the day. I was not roughing it, I was experiencing life!! It was an amazing trip that I hope everyone has an opportunity to experience.

I had envisioned a rafting adventure, but what I purchased was a trip on a Dorey boat. This was a case of stumbling into happiness because experience has shown me that I wouldn't want to experience the Grand Canyon any other way. A Dorey is a 4 person (+1 guide) boat that is used on many rivers and is far more dynamic than a raft. It travels approximately 4 mph with the current of the Colorado. It is powered by oars. The Colorado river has some of the most dangerous and exciting rapids in the world (depending on the water level). This is the best way to connect with the Canyon. Most of the rafts were motorized on the Colorado (4 mph is too slow to process the thousands of people who take this trip every year). We covered roughly 25 miles a day. The motorized rafts were doing 50 or more miles per day. Anyways, this book! This book is about a specific Dorey called The Emerald Mile. The Emerald Mile holds the record for traversing the entirety of the Grand Canyon (some 225 miles) in 18 hours. Obviously there are specific conditions that would enable a boat to travel this rapidly without a motor. The book looks at the history of the Grand Canyon and its water sources to set the scene for this "amazing" (and highly illegal) race. As one would expect, this is a vicious, violent, callous, history of conquerors and Native Americans, and corporate greed, and ignorant, greedy government. It's also a tale of explorers and scientists, and thrill seekers and environmentalists. The story is long and fascinating and as with most history, it is filled with brave and thoughtful people as well as ignorant and callous. The story of the Emerald Mile is to me the story of thrill seeking stupidity, but it is also a view into the minds of these obsessed, brilliant people. There is a science to nature and to understanding physics (fluid dynamics), geology, topology, geography, astrophysics and weather. Understanding the water sources and the flows of rivers, boat architecture, engineering etc. So much science and appreciation of nature goes into this foolhardy adventure. The book is extremely well written and there is so much more to the Grand Canyon and the water politics of the Southwest than people will recognize. Fedarko is a dorey guide and also a writer for Outside magazine. As such, this man knows his way around this story. It's an excellent book. Obvious spoiler, The Emerald Mile to this date still holds the record and WOW what a story!!

4+ Stars

Listened to this on audio narrated well by Richard Powers. I suspect had I read the book, it would have a higher rating. Too many details to keep track of that I wasn't able to retain. This book is on my purchase list.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really brilliant work that encompasses both the natural and man-made history on the Colorado river. The first few chapters stumble a bit but once you get to the beginning of Powell's adventure, Fedarko has found his stride.

Fedarko weaves an intricate, fast-paced narrative with beautiful language and an zeal for his topic. I particularly appreciated Fedarko's fairness in covering the dam, the park rangers, and the river rats.

I found it impossible to not be awed because at its core this is a book of feats- geological, architectural, and daring. Its as easy to get wrapped up in the story as it is to be carried down the river, and along the way you are going to learn about so much. Its quite astonishing the amount of geology, river and white water knowledge, and conservation history in here.

I think that this work is particularly important now. Our national parks are always defending themselves against outside forces and they are our heritage. We must continue to appreciate and fight for our heritage and it is our time to do the due diligence the Litton and others have done before us.

[Jacque · Rating 3 out of 5]

I almost didn't finish this book. My expectation based on the title, the cover and the synopsis I read was that it would be an exciting, adventure read. That is not at all accurate. There is a section of the book toward the end that is, but the majority of it is quite the opposite. The entire first half is more of a history and geology lesson about the Grand Canyon and river rafting. There is also a lot of information about dams and the environmental aspect of building them.

Because of my expectations, I nearly didn't finish the book. But because it was a book club read, I soldiered on and was only a little more than half finished at the meeting - and no one else there had gotten that far. But by that point, I was interested and figured that it just HAD to get more exciting, so I did finish it.

If you haven't seen the Grand Canyon in person - GO! Words and pictures can not begin to do it justice. I think that having seen it added to my enjoyment of the book because I could create mental pictures of some of the scenes. If you're interested in the Canyon, river rafting, geology or dams, I think you'll enjoy the book. If not, you may be bored to tears. The writing is good, but the author likes to flaunt his vocabulary (or his ability to use a thesaurus) as well as describe, both physically and historically, nearly everyone he mentions in the book. Or maybe it just seemed that way. It did add a lot of depth to the story, but is also made a long book seem even longer.

It sounds like I didn't care much for the book, but I did. But not as much as if I'd gone into it with more realistic expectations. So hopefully my review will help someone else enjoy it more.

[Daniel Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is terrific narrative nonfiction. One of the best I've seen lately.

[Annk · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a great story interrupted for most of the book by endless meandering. The author violates the Chekhov rule (if you put a gun on the mantelpiece, it should go off by the second act) vs giving us the action (or at least a summary of it) before launching into the back story.

He also really needed an editor. The language was a circuitous, double- negative- ridden style reminiscent of 19th English prose. It didn’t seem appropriate for the subject matter — instead it came off as affected.

The story itself is great. The back stories were mostly great (although come on, we did t need to know what every explorer was wearing and. How they grew up — cut down the flourish!). The geology was interesting and the Sierra Club piece was compelling as a stand-alone story. Instead I felt thebauthor had me hooked mid- action, at which point he threw 2-3 other novels at me.

[Phil Breidenbach · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW, best book I've read this year (Of course, it is only Jan. 12th)

The book tells the story of the fasted ride through the Grand Canyon. Since the river had been dammed, the flow has been regulated and it never reaches the peaks that it once achieved in its pre-blocked years. We all have heard of Major John Wesley Powell's trip through the canyon, this 1987 ride rivaled that. Due to large snow falls and an extreme amount of rain, the water levels at the Glen Canyon Dam were getting closer and closer to the rim of the dam. The spillways were opened to allow more water past the dam. One of the technicians noticed some strange noises and after an investigation, they found that the excess water was deteriorating the walls of the spillway tunnels. By closing them off to protect the tunnels, they risked a cataclysmic failure of the dam itself. The tunnels were opened up further to avoid a breach of the dam. Since the dam was built, there had never been this much water going down the Colorado River. Seizing the opportunity, a trio of river guides decided to attempt to break the record for the fastest trip through the canyon.

I won't tell you how it worked out, but I will say I was glued to the book until I finished it! It is more than just the story of the run, it is the story of the three men who did the run, it is also about the history of the Grand Canyon. It is about how the dams work and how they were built and it also deals with conservancy and how it affects the area and how people are trying to preserve this beautiful natural gift. It is all put together in a story that grabs you from the very beginning without being preachy. Whether you are a white water fan or not, chances are you'll enjoy this book!

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok, if you have an issue with whitewater, don't read this before going on a Colorado River trip. Granted, the waters were coming out of the dam at 94,000 cfs rather than 6-8,000 cfs but can't you drown in a bathtub?

Other than scaring the shit out of me before my Grand Canyon trip, it is a great history of the Grand Canyon and how it was changed by Glen canyon dam, the conservation fight to save it from more dams (when the Sierra Club was told by Martin Litton to grow a pair and fight for it instead of horse-trading with the Feds and almost ruining one of our national treasures), and the 1983 spring runoff that almost overwhelmed the dam and led to the speed run down the Colorado in a wooden dory, setting the record forever.

Fedarko knows how to dramatize details, seeming to write with exclamation marks at some points - everything can be the worst, the most, the hardest, etc but generally an interesting account. If you can make an engineering problem dramatic, you know how to write.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unlike the record-chasing canyon run recounted in The Emerald Mile, I did not race through this work. That is not to say it dragged. The book was engrossing and often quite intense. Author Kevin Fedarko captures the high stakes nature of this historic time in the Grand Canyon's history. He ably pulls together a wide variety of sources to accurately convey the story. The task is challenging given that many incidents happened amid chaos and tend to be scantily documented and skewed by legend loving.

My only gripe is the effusive nature of Fedarko's prose. Restatement gives way to overstatement, and his unmistakable love for the subject matter sometimes runs wild like the rapids in the canyon. His musings on the wooden boats preferred by elite river guides for example, or any of several aria-like passages of reflection. Such unbridled romanticism captures the sentiments of the players; however, it also sometimes gums up otherwise efficiently engineered reportage.

Here is one example from the Epilogue, not the most verbose, but certainly characteristic of the author getting carried away:

"As this new generation ran the river together, the ferocious clashes of the past--motors versus oars, rubber versus wood--fell away and were forgotten, and everyone became friends."

I could forgive every word up to and including "forgotten" as common positivism laced with hyperbole. But when Fedarko asserts universal friendship, he claims the unlikely existence of a utopia.

Nevertheless, one of the things which The Emerald Mile effectively relates is the tension between various groups who are inextricably tied to the Grand Canyon. In particular, the book recounts volatility between the free-spirited river culture and the bureaucratic--though similarly idealistic--society of Glen Canyon Dam. And it is in exploring these tensions that the novel achieves true depth from which every reader can draw meaning and appreciation.

Selling Point: The Emerald Mile comes with a great deal of bibliographic material sure to be helpful for readers who want to pursue further reading about the Grand Canyon.

[Joy D · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Emerald Mile recounts the 1983 speed run through the Grand Canyon by boatman Kenton Grua and his crew aboard a wooden dory called the Emerald Mile. Fedarko uses this record-breaking river run as the centerpiece for a broader narrative about the Colorado River's history. He interweaves the stories of the 1983 flood, construction of Glen Canyon Dam, environmental battles over the river, and the culture of the region’s river guides. The book moves between the immediate drama of the speed run and decades-long disputes over the future of the Colorado River.

Fedarko’s prose combines technical details about hydrology and dam engineering with narrative storytelling. The perspective shifts among multiple viewpoints, such as river guides, dam engineers, environmental activists, river management, and government officials. Grua and the river-running community receive the most sympathetic treatment, which is not surprising since Fedarko is a former river guide himself. He writes with insider knowledge of Grand Canyon culture while maintaining enough distance to present a balanced account.

The book explores themes of environmental destruction, bureaucratic hubris, and the tension between wilderness preservation and human engineering projects. Fedarko examines how the Colorado River system represents broader American attitudes toward nature and progress. He manages to make complex environmental politics engaging for general readers, which is no mean achievement. It will appeal to environmental readers and those interested in adventure narratives.

[Dr. · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was well-written, informative, well-structured, and interesting, but it was not as advertised. Less than a sixth of the book told the "epic story" while the remainder described the grand canyon, its history, its dams, the politics behind the dams, and a variety of stories of other river rafters. I was in the mood for a fast-paced, non-fiction, tale of daring-do, and instead got a masterwork in conservation-minded natural history ending in a quick tale of individuals engaged in an illegal rafting trip.

Two stars for false advertising.
4.5 stars for those who want a sweeping tale of the grand canyon's river tour history.

[Gus · Rating 3 out of 5]

I also would like to rate this higher. Having (met many of the characters as a part of my river family and) grown up hearing these legends and histories told while gathered around the Dories at cocktail hour, I enjoyed reliving this in my imagination. For the son of a dory boatman from the Golden Age of Guiding it was a joy and vindication to read of the superheroes of my childhood in print.

Fedarko captures the magic and eloquence of these boats in a way only a person who has come in close contact with them is able to. The real struggle in this story is to blend myth and history in a way that feels natural and not overwrought. It is undoubtably non-fiction, but legend and oral story-telling is so much a part of this era of boating culture that it would be unwise to tell this story without an element of magic and mythos. For this reason (the attempt to capture a mythos of the culture) the characters end up reading as intertwining epic heroes (Powell, Litton, Grua, the dam, and Crystal Rapid itself. All with a bit of agency upon each other) and at times the connections feel stretched. I particularly felt the Cardenas discovery story to be a symptom of an author placing thoughts into the head of a historical figure.

Overall, I feel lucky to have something tangible and exciting to hand someone to explain how I feel about the Colorado with its complex issues regarding dam management and recreation and environmentalism and the people who "run" rivers.

[Christine Boyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, high praise for Kevin Fedarko! Where did you come from? I think this is his first, and only, book. His writing style was just beautiful! Even though the whole thing is very detailed, he wrote it in a lovely, almost kind of sentimental, reverent style.

However, I don't think this book is for everyone. It isn't JUST about the 1983 trip of these three boatmen. Fedarko goes into the history of the Grand Canyon, rivers, damns, politics, etc. And what was extra refreshing is that although we can probably guess that Fedarko is certainly more in support of rivers, he is balanced in his representation of the damns and the organizations affiliated with hydroelectric energy.

I loved it! Growing up in Florida, I barely knew what a river was. When I moved out to Idaho, I married a man who had been a river guide himself in the 1970's and had the same passion as all the players in this incredible story. I still can't use the oars to save my life, but I've learned so much through so many trips about "reading the water", and understanding the unique passion these river rats have about dories, boats, rapids, and life on the water and in the canyons. A must-read for that crowd!

[Lynette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is almost a perfect book... it combines the story of an event (a speed-run through the Grand Canyon in a dory) and backstory, both near and old in an extremely readable way. Kevin Fedarko is a painter - he just uses words instead of paint. His descriptions brought every scene to life for me - even when (or especially when) he goes off on a lyrical tangent - e.g., "... And peeking over the cliffs like a Chinese lantern was a swollen, yellow globe that draped the folds of the surrounding plateau in moonbeams..." sigh.
The work is obviously painstakingly researched (and he spends a good deal of time explaining all that (at the end - where it belongs!) but doesn't get bogged down in justifying its research, which is one of my huge complaints about most "histories". Of course, it helps that I'm endlessly fascinated by the subject matter (Grand Canyon, Major Powell, the murder of Glen Canyon, people doing seemingly impossible things - with a little civil disobedience thrown in for color).
Really excellent.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best non-fiction books I’ve had the privilege of reading.

Kevin Fedarko, an award winning journalist for Outside magazine, spent ten years writing this great adventure on the Colorado of the Grand Canyon. It is the only book Fedarko has ever published. It is safe to say that he has an obsession with the place also having guided on the river for many years himself.

The level of research and care that was taken in weaving this narrative is also impressive. I have visited the Grand Canyon many times and hiked down to the river several times. I’ve even run the Rim to Rim to Rim (R2R) so it’s safe to say that I also have a minor obsession with the place. But I’ve never had the opportunity to run the river. So it was rewarding to find that perhaps 90% of the events in this book - beyond Powell’s expedition - were new to me. This is impressive as I am an outdoor and parks enthusiast and avid reader of non-fiction.

I don’t want to spoil this book for anyone so I’ll forego any recap of the events. Just read it.

A million stars.

[William Goss · Rating 5 out of 5]

An informative, compelling, amusing, lyrical and, yes, even spiritual narrative on the magnetic attraction of one of the most perfectly beautiful works of nature on this planet...and a cautionary warning of the risks to which it is even now, more perhaps than ever, exposed. Lose this wild place America, and you will lose a big chunk of your soul.

I paddled a kayak down this river in 1989, six years after the events that form the core of this book. Mr. Fedarko has captured all of the emotions of that experience and brought them roaring back as if it were yesterday. He gets the atmospherics of that mystical canyon and river, exactly right. If you don't have the time and/or the money to go yourself, read this book! It will put you there, in the canyon, on the river, in the water, under the dome of countless stars, heart beating wildly, a face-splitting grin that won't go away, and fully, completely, alive.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book started out slowly, and I found some of the flowery prose to be ponderous, but the second half was much better than the first. It appealed to two of my interests: engineering, with its descriptions of how the personnel at the Glen Canyon Dam dealt with the huge water inflows from the El Nino event and the damage caused to the spillways, and whitewater rafting, with its descriptions of the fastest ride and how rafting companies, their customers, and the river rangers dealt with the danger of the increased water flows and changes to rapids through the Grand Canyon. It's not really a story just about the fastest ride, which is a small part of the book. It's a story about how the El Nino event and the inherent wildness of the Colorado River fought against man's attempts to tame the river and almost won, almost causing a huge disaster.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the tradition of Kon Tiki or Touching the Void, The Emerald Mile is a story of adventure that transcends most writing of extreme exploits. What makes the book so compelling is the broader narrative - this is not so much a book about a rafting trip it is a book about the Grand Canyon and America's relationship to wilderness. Eloquently written and well researched the boom covers many facets of the Grand Canyon all focused through the lens of the "speed run." Highly recommend.

[Ash · Rating 1 out of 5]

Behold a painstakingly long and dry book celebrating privileged white dudes jerking off more privileged white dudes. These river fuck bois are breakin’ rules and putting the lives of others at risk because, hey, someone’s gotta set that speed record! Zoinks. The author also completely glazed over Native history and their ancestral relationship with the Colorado River. My chicken breast has more seasoning than this story. It’s as white and bland as you can get. Nothing to see here. Move on.

[Katie Esposito · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

This is my second time trying to read this book and maybe I’m just not cultured enough to appreciate it but my gosh is it slow and dry for a book thats supposed to be about the fastest run down a river.

The writing is too flowery for me and I wish I had the patience for it because the story does sound interesting but just getting through 2-3pg of this at a time was dreadful for me

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Almost five million people visit Grand Canyon National Park annually. While some visitors undertake back-country hikes, most people are content to enjoy the views from the South Rim, and do not venture much below the rim. Kevin Fedarko’s superb book presents the Grand Canyon in a way most people will never see it – from the bottom up, with a strong emphasis on the river that carved the Canyon’s unique features and which provides the most accessible route for the much smaller number of tourists lucky enough to experience the beautiful natural and geologic features of the lower Canyon.

Although the subtitle of The Emerald Mile announces that this is the “Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon,” the book is much more than that. Fedarko prepares a solid foundation, explaining the history of the Canyon and the taming of the Colorado River through a series of dams built in the 20th century by the US Bureau of Reclamation. He traces the development of commercial river guiding and the environmental battles that occurred over development on the Colorado, focusing in particular on Martin Litton, whose company Grand Canyon Dories provided a human-powered wooden alternative to the rubber rafts (motorized and oar-powered) commonly used by other outfitters.

As we arrive at the events at the heart of the book, Fedarko describes in detail the conditions prevailing in the winter and spring of 1982-83, including freakish weather (spawned by a powerful El Niño), bureaucratic mismanagement of the reservoirs of the upper Colorado, and the failure of the little-tested spillways at Glen Canyon Dam. These events resulted in unanticipated water flows in the Grand Canyon in the first days of summer in June 1983. Fedarko gives a gripping description of the havoc wreaked by the wild whitewater on unsuspecting tourists and guides. Simultaneously, the water levels offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a small group of eccentrics led by Kenton Grua, a dory guide determined to break his own speed record for a river run through the Grand Canyon.

Fedarko tells a tale of unlikely adventure that manages to be both suspenseful and surprising, even though we know the ending as we commence the journey. His book captures the spirit of the Grand Canyon, and touches on the joy that can come to even the most uninformed of visitors. I speak from experience, having been invited by a good college buddy to join her on a 21-day dory trip through Grand Canyon in 1984, the year after the events documented in this book. I’m not the kind of person who would normally have taken a trip of that type, but I can attest to Fedarko having captured the magic and wonder of the Canyon experienced mile after mile, traveling its full length along the river that created it.

This book is a great opportunity for armchair travelers to enjoy the fantastic journey, meet some amazing people, and perhaps be inspired to get out and experience (or re-experience) one of Earth's greatest wonders for themselves.

[W. Frazier · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book reads like an multi-versed ode to nature. And that’s the problem. The book’s sub-title bills it as “the epic story of the fastest ride in history through the heart of the Grand Canyon”. Nope. It’s not that. The story is mostly a multi-part essay on the history and conservation issues of the Colorado River. There is a white water rapid excursion in the mix, but that is a very, very small part of the narrative. The book serves mostly as a forum for any story about the River and about its environmental causes. It definitely tilts to the river rafter, the environmentalist, and the Sierra Club member. I learned some interesting facts, but found myself continuously zoning out to the narrative’s poetic cadence and circular prose. The book gets utterly lost in its eloquent verbosity. The audio book and its narrator reinforce this glossy poetic-type performance. The book is not a fast or exciting ride to anywhere. The title is exceedingly misleading and I felt the bait and switch, although at 77% into the book, when the actual race begins, it does deliver.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Emerald Mile is so much more than the epic tale of the 1983 dory speed run through the Grand Canyon, though that adventure is brilliantly told. Fedarko is a great writer (I've enjoyed his pieces in Outside for years), and he puts the speed run in context with the Grand Canyon's history, geology and hydrology, river-running culture, and the dam-building era. He juxtaposes the Glen Canyon Dam engineers' race to avoid catastrophic failures during the huge 1983 spring runoff with what was happening on the river with the many commercial trips caught in big water. He brings alive the Canyon, the Colorado River, and the people who are drawn to protect it or dam it. Clearly he interviewed everyone from river guides to Bureau of Reclamation and National Park Service officials, but he never really seems to take sides. The Emerald Mile is the best combination of journalistic reporting and eloquent storytelling. Highly recommend it.

[Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to rate this book higher - the subject matter is exactly what I want to be reading... all the time, but I had a couple issues with the book.

For me personally, much of the history (first 2/3s of the book) was stuff that I was already familiar with. That would not be a problem in and of itself, but it is not footnoted well enough to stand strongly as a work of history (ex Cadillac Desert by Marc Reisner). Nor does the prose stand on its own like writing by John McPhee.

My other main issue, maybe I'm being too picky, was Fedarko's tendency to describe what characters saw and how they felt about it (I would cite a passage, but don't have my copy on hand). It felt right in the section about the ride itself, but forced, invented, and out of place in a historical context.

[Jessica Park Rhode · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prob objectively a 2.5 but it’s stoking trip interest.

Good history/river geography/dam logistics, buried in lots of unnecessary fluff.

The author was feeling himself with his effluvient (pun intended) descriptions of everything. I rarely say this, but he needs a copy of strunk and white. Too much, my guy.

[Lore · Rating 4 out of 5]

After months of a terrible reading slump and losing access to almost all of my books, I’m honestly just grateful I was able to finish a book in general, but I’m glad it was this one specifically because I think it’s a great read!!

This book is so much more than what the cover/title/subtitle make it seem. It has something for everyone; history, science, nature, adventure, engineering, environmentalism, dams, etc. It covers a lot more than just the “the fastest ride in history through the heart of the Grand Canyon.” I will admit that part of the reason I took a star off is because some parts lost me but the parts I enjoyed, I really enjoyed (history, nature, adventure). Also, the writing was amazing so I continued on!!

I actually think this book is ~ objectively ~ written well. It’s informative, descriptive, structured in a way that makes sense, and passionate. Fedarko feels like the perfect author for this book. His research and love for the river is 10/10!!

I also learned something about myself while reading this book. One day when I was a child, my family took a rafting/tubing trip on what was suppose to be a calm easy kid friendly river. It was not. Not going to go into details but I genuinely thought we were going to die. Luckily we all lived!! Reading certain parts of this book made me realize that I still hold a lot of anxiety towards river rapids. My heart started racing (and not in a fun way) at some of these descriptions especially the ones regarding crashes. Instantly brought me back. Guess my water related nightmares and aversion to tripping down rivers is still rooted in that one day as a child LOL (I have to laugh through it).

I bring all this up to say I love when books can make us learn about ourselves even if it isn’t always positive. Nonfiction holds just as much emotional and introspective power as fiction, gotta love it.

[Myla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably more information and history behind the great dams of the west, Grand Canyon, Lake Powell and river running than most people want/need, but I ended up really liking this and the narrator was great! A few key points factor in to making this a good match for me:

1. At one point in college, at the height or my tree hugger days, I had determined to make my future families summer vacations be planned around running a river.
2. I very clearly remember the floods of ‘83…church was canceled, my family was evacuated out of our home in the middle of the night one night…a major event in my childhood.
3. Another major event in my childhood was our yearly, week long vacation to Lake Powell…I love that place!

So getting the behind the scenes to these and other places and events was very interesting to me.

[Rodman Marquez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the book from start to finish. Going into the Grand Canyon is like walking back in time as you see and feel the layers of earth. The history presented in the book made me keep reading as different people in different generations navigated the waters of the mighty Colorado River. I recommend this book that blends US history, engineering and adventure as it spins the tale of the Emerald Mile. (Was a little surprised to not have Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett enter the scene to help keep law and order. Ha ha.)

[Mallory Showalter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This will be hard to beat as my all-time favorite non-fiction read. I so enjoyed the variety of topics covered - history of the river and its inhabitants, dam structure and presence, introduction of river guiding, and the record breaking conditions that showed themselves to make the speed run happen. Combined they formed a story that makes you feel like you are there in the tunnels of the dam, or on the dory with them. It is easy to appreciate the work the author put into the construction of this book because it flows so well, and I feel like that's very hard to accomplish with most non-fiction pieces.

I would read this over and over again 💯 in my forever library