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Colorado River Reader
"This canyon world where water yearns toward the ocean is a place so large I can’t take it in. Instead, I am taken in, traveling a near dream as we journey by water, contained by rock walls. In order to see this shorn-away world, I narrow my vision to the small and nearly secret. Never mind the stone’s illusion of permanence or the great strength of water. I look to the most fragile of things here, to the plant world of the canyon. The other river travelers seem taken in by stone, time, and water, and do not see the small things that tempt my attention, the minute fern between stones, the tiny black snails in a pond of water. I am drawn in by the growing life and not by the passing."
- from 'Plant Journey' by Linda Hogan
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 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.
- from 'Plant Journey' by Linda Hogan
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 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.
- GenresNonfiction
210 pages, Paperback
First published April 6, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 27, 2024
Book 14 of 2024: A Colorado River Reader by Richard F. Fleck (2000, University of Utah Press, 190 p.)
This volume is a selection of works by various authors about the Colorado and Green Rivers (although it is a bit Grand Canyon centric). The selected authors include John McPhee, The Major, Fray Escalante, Ed Abbey, Colin Fletcher, Anne Zwinger, Georgie White Clark...among others
I'm an avid reader of all things Colorado River, so I was familiar with many of the selected writers and their work. I've probably read over half this book before I even started.
The works are arranged chronologically by publication date (excepting a re-telling of a Paiute myth and Escalante's journal entry). For me, I found this less satisfying than a would be geographic arrangement, from upstream to downstream. Editor Fleck, a retired English professor, includes a map (always a nice touch) showing the locations of his selections.
The reading experience was marred by a couple of errors in Fleck's preface..both pretty glaring IMHO: Stanton was a member of JWP's 1869 expedition (he wasn't) and Desolation Canyon being "just north" of the Green and Colorado confluence (as if 150 miles is just upstream).
I also found a couple of the selections odd. Again, IMHO, the Abbey contribution on his trip from Mineral Bottom to Hite on the Green and Colorado Rivers seemed more like a literary exploration of Thoreau than about the river. A better selection could have been Abbey's essay on a similar trip through Glen Canyon from Down the River. The Frank Waters selection on a steamer journey on the Delta could have been replaced by Leopold's entry on the Delta from A Sand County Almanac...IMHO.
For someone wanting to learn more about the Colorado (and Green!) Rivers, I'd recommend it. It could be a good read on a river trip.
This volume is a selection of works by various authors about the Colorado and Green Rivers (although it is a bit Grand Canyon centric). The selected authors include John McPhee, The Major, Fray Escalante, Ed Abbey, Colin Fletcher, Anne Zwinger, Georgie White Clark...among others
I'm an avid reader of all things Colorado River, so I was familiar with many of the selected writers and their work. I've probably read over half this book before I even started.
The works are arranged chronologically by publication date (excepting a re-telling of a Paiute myth and Escalante's journal entry). For me, I found this less satisfying than a would be geographic arrangement, from upstream to downstream. Editor Fleck, a retired English professor, includes a map (always a nice touch) showing the locations of his selections.
The reading experience was marred by a couple of errors in Fleck's preface..both pretty glaring IMHO: Stanton was a member of JWP's 1869 expedition (he wasn't) and Desolation Canyon being "just north" of the Green and Colorado confluence (as if 150 miles is just upstream).
I also found a couple of the selections odd. Again, IMHO, the Abbey contribution on his trip from Mineral Bottom to Hite on the Green and Colorado Rivers seemed more like a literary exploration of Thoreau than about the river. A better selection could have been Abbey's essay on a similar trip through Glen Canyon from Down the River. The Frank Waters selection on a steamer journey on the Delta could have been replaced by Leopold's entry on the Delta from A Sand County Almanac...IMHO.
For someone wanting to learn more about the Colorado (and Green!) Rivers, I'd recommend it. It could be a good read on a river trip.
February 16, 2009
As its name suggests, this book provides an array of writings centered on the Colorado River. The writings vary from the epic accounts of the first people to navigate the River, to more poetic accounts of people who are inspired by the River. My favorite writing is that from Frank Waters' book: The Colorado. This section describes the author's journey down the lower Colorado river in a rickety old steamer piloted by a relaxed but ingenious Yaqui Indian.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews