Major Impossible (Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #9): A Grand Canyon Tale

Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales #9

by Nathan Hale

Explore the Grand Canyon with John Wesley Powell in the New York Times bestselling graphic novel series! John Wesley Powell always had the spirit of adventure in him. As a young man, he traveled all over the United States exploring. When the Civil War began, Powell went to fight for the Union, and even after he lost most of his right arm, he continued to fight until the war was over. In 1869, he embarked with the Colorado River Exploring Expedition—ten men in four boats—to float through the Grand Canyon. Over the course of three months, the explorers lost their boats and supplies, nearly drowned, and were in peril on multiple occasions. Ten explorers went in, but only six came out. Powell would come to be known as one of the most epic explorers in history! Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales are graphic novels that tell the thrilling, shocking, gruesome, and TRUE stories of American history. Read them all—if you dare! Get Major Impossible and two other Hazardous Tales in the Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales Third 3-Book Boxed Set, available now! 

Genres: Graphic Novels, History, Middle Grade, Nonfiction, Adventure, Biography, Historical

128 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 3, 2019

About the author

Nathan Hale is the New York Times best-selling author/illustrator of the Hazardous Tales series, as well as many picture books including Yellowbelly and Plum go to School, the Twelve Bots of Christmas and The Devil You Know.

He is the illustrator of the Eisner-nominated graphic novel Rapunzel's Revenge and its sequel, Calamity Jack. He also illustrated Frankenstein: A Monstrous Parody, The Dinosaurs' Night Before Christmas, Animal House and many others.

(He is not the author of Extinction Earth or the other apocalyptic titles listed. That's a different Nathan Hale. If someone with "librarian" status would disambiguate those titles for me, I'd appreciate it.)

Learn more at www.spacestationnathan.blogspot.com

Reviews

[human · Rating 3 out of 5]

Major Impossible tells the story of Major John Wesley Powell, through his time in the American Civil War, as well as his expedition down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. As is characteristic of the 'Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales' series, the story was captivating while being extremely informative, along with a touch of humor here and there.

That being said, I'm not sure if I was the only one but I felt that this book was shorter than the others in the series. That might have been because I was anticipating it so much that I read it all at once, or because there simply wasn't as much content as there is in other major events that the books have covered.

Overall, an interesting read with amusing illustrations, and I would definitely recommend if you'd like to learn more about an expedition that, in my experience, isn't spoken of much.

[Diz · Rating 4 out of 5]

It turns out that Nathan Hale, the author of this book, spends a lot of time in the Grand Canyon. His love of the setting really comes through in the art as the canyons and rock formations that the characters encounter along their journey are drawn in loving detail. Of all of the author's graphic novels, this one has the strongest sense of place. In many parts of the story, the setting overpowers the characters, but that's how it should be in tales of man versus nature.

[Rod Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nathan Hale's histories are real treats to read. Here we have the first organized expedition by white men to explore the the Green and Colorado rivers by boat from Wyoming through Utah and the Grand Canyon region of Arizona shortly after the end of the U.S. Civil War. Determined and obsessive guys doing dangerous stuff, presented with humor and thrills aplenty.

Side note: This is the 14th book I've read this year to prominently feature an amputee. That's an unexpected trend. And warning, there is a graphic depiction of an amputation surgery.

[Darla · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at the expedition that mapped the Grand Canyon. It was a perilous undertaking and the men suffered many hardships as they traveled down the Green and Colorado Rivers. Powell was clearly motivated by his love of geology. He was also driven to succeed at whatever task was put in front of him (as evidenced in the flashbacks that occurred throughout). I can hardly imagine undertaking the river trip as an amputee. Speaking of which, I have my doubts as to whether the amputation scene needed to be included? Also found that the controversy about the Howlands and Dunn disappearance (murder?) tainted the ending of the narrative. Would have preferred that to be in some sort of end note or appendix. I scanned the Bibliography to see which source the information came from as to the speculation that Mormons were at fault and could not determine where NHHT obtained that info. Is it a rush to judgment? History.com cites the deaths occurring at the hands of a Shivwit war party. It appears to me that NHHT was debating whether to offend Mormons or Native Americans and made a judgment call. All in all, this is a solid addition to the series. Definitely not one of my favorites, despite the novelty of the underwear story.

[orangerful · Rating 5 out of 5]

This might be my new favorite book in the series! Though I was not ready to get that amount of detail about Civil War battlefield amputations in a children's comic, let alone find out that even cartoony drawings of amputations would make my stomach turn. I can't wait to take this one out for booktalks!

Also, I kind of want to go to the Grand Canyon now. How have I never been?

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

So fun!

We went to Lake Powell every summer when I was a kid, and I had no idea about the man it was named after!

[Mary Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great Nathan Hale book. The amputation scene had my stomach in knots! Now I want to go visit the Grand Canyon.

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again, children's books to the rescue - a surprisingly well-told, well-drawn story of John Wesley Powell and his epic exploration of the Colorado River, with accompanying flashbacks to his childhood and rapid rise through the Union ranks in the Civil War.

That said, this is a strange little book series - basically, a Scheherazadhe-type concept whereby the original Nathan Hale (not this author of the same name) entertains his executioners with various "hazardous tales" in order to postpone his hanging. The result is a weird mashup of humor and historical gruesomeness, such as this spread which graphically shows how amputations were handled during the Civil War on one page, and highlights the killing fields of Shiloh on the other.



Will definitely check out some of the other titles available at our library, which include the Monitor and the Merrimac, the Donner Party, WWI trench warfare, the Doolittle Raid, and the Korean War. Good times!!

[Matti Karjalainen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nathan Halen hasardihommat ovat täällä taas! Nyt keskitytään minulle entuudestaan tuntemattoman John Wesley Powellin (1834-1902) tutkimusmatkoihin Grand Canyonilla sekä vaiheisiin Yhdysvaltain sisällissodassa. Hauskoja ja opettavaisia sarjakuvia ovat nämä. Kuka tekisi suomalaisista suurhenkilöistä jotakin vastaavaa?

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just love these. They are just so informative and funny. I honestly didn’t know hardly any of this, so it was nice to learn about it.

[Ed Erwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like most explorers, John Wesley Powell was a bit crazy. Why would anyone put themselves through all that hardship just to find out where a river goes. Can't you wait for someone to invent airplanes?

Nathan Hale brings it to life well. Aimed at young readers, but also fine for an adult who doesn't want a dry boring description that goes on and on for 1000 pages.

[Rory · Rating 4 out of 5]

This delightful and reverent series is still just as snappy!

[Noah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book because of the perilous gurney.

[DaNae · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is hands down my favorite of the Hazardous Tales. Powell's life lends itself to Hale's brand of adventure telling. He told me once, when I was trying to convince him to do a book about Promontory Point, that the events he covered needed lots of carnage. This book may have had fewer dead bodies but there was plenty of grim realities, starvation, rapids, naked butts, and buttes. The very best part of this book was opening the cover to see my home town of Green River, Wyoming. That skyline is unmistakable.

[Oliver C C1]

A tale of a civil war hero's exploits through the unforgiving terrain of a long river that stretches quite a distance. The journey was filled with large amounts of precariousness and avoidable hindrances. I found the story to be less interesting as previous books of this series I have read but that is likely just my personal bias against texts having any relation to science.

Major Powell was quite the pioneer (though it is repetitively stated that he wasn't at all the first do what he "did"). I think the book could have explained more into detail the impacts of this journey through the rapids.

[Kate Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot keep this series on the shelf, and so I just grabbed the only one I had left. My gentlemen readers LOVE these. I 1000000% see why! Hale makes history so fun and accessible! I LOVE how he breaks the 4th wall! This was a fascinating story of both a great expedition and battles of the Civil War I knew very little about.
I would also let the record reflect that much like a middle schooler, I did giggle out loud at the butt/butte jokes.

[Stephanie Griffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another entertaining history lesson from Nathan Hale!

[Linus · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was slightly gross.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

First sentence: I've been on this gallows long enough! It is time to execute this spy!

Premise/plot: The provost and hangman are joined by an eavesdropper leavesdropper, Bill Richmond, in Major Impossible. Nathan Hale, our hero, talks his way out of execution and straight into another tale. This time he's telling the hazardous tale of John Wesley Powell and company as they explore the Colorado River and (discover?) explore the Grand Canyon. There were ten that set out to explore on this expedition. (But how many would make it to the end?)

This story also uses flashbacks--which definitely annoy the hangman, especially at first.

The adventures mainly focus on the "present day" (1869) exploration of the river/canyon AND through the flashbacks events like the civil war.

For those not at all familiar with Nathan Hale and his hazardous tales, the series is a graphic novel series rooted in history. Nathan Hale, our hero, is facing execution by the British in 1776. He's prolonging his would-be execution by telling tales from history. Though to the provost and hangman, these "historical" events are from the future. He's an entertaining storyteller and he always leaves them wanting more, more, more.

The graphic novels aren't without some lighthearted moments (though perhaps the one on the Donner Party is an exception). In this one, some humor comes in as one of the adventurers lose all their clothes but their long john underwear.

My thoughts: I am not the target audience of this one, not really. That's a given. My complaint--really my sole complaint--is that the font size is teeny-tiny. I have to squint my way through the whole book. Seriously hard on the eyes. BUT again I am not the target audience. I do think younger readers--with better vision--will not have a problem reading and enjoying this one.

I have nothing but solidly good feelings about the series as a whole. I really do enjoy sitting down and enjoying Nathan Hale's hazardous tales. I think the series is super fun. I like learning about different historical figures in a fun and entertaining way.

I'm not sure this one is my absolute favorite and best from the series. But I definitely enjoyed it as part of the whole. I do recommend the whole series.

I do think you could read the series out of order.

[Jurij Fedorov · Rating 5 out of 5]

After a few books that declined in quality we are now back to the basics and proper storytelling. The flashback narration is a tad weird. We go back to his childhood and the civil war. Then forward to this scientific expedition in Grand Canyon. Yet it never quite feels wrong mainly because other books were linier so this is fine for a single book. Any more would feel too much.

We explore the boat trip and the accidents along the way. It's all action packed despite it not being overly historically significant besides them naming areas in Grand Canyon on the river. A few boats flip over and they struggle to find proper game. The American Civil War events are yet again curious. I'm starting to think the author is obsessed with this war and how the slaves were freed as we see it in most books. The women and slaves are always drawn as modern action heroes which feels fake. He takes a more historical approach to the White men and they are depicted as real people, but a bit clownish. He also tackled American Indians historically. So that's where he truly shines. I would love a book about how settlers fought a tribe. Murders, genocide, whole White settler families getting axes by furious tribe people. I feel like he could depict it properly. While the slave stories definitely feel a tad forced and one-sided to a degree where it never quite feels historical.

History wise he definitely likes big explosions and shouting. So is this true history? Not really, it's a book for children where everything is made more silly and explosive. Yet I have to admit it's fun to read. I didn't know about this story as it's quite insignificant. But it's a cool trip and I think these men overall felt it was an important experience in their lives.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every Hazardous Tale is a tremendous read and Major Impossible is no exception. John Wesley Powell led a staggeringly productive life, both as a Civil War soldier and as the man who plumbed the depths of the Colorado River. Nathan Hale covers both stories here, somewhat awkwardly. Flashbacks are announced because the narrators consider them awkward - and they are. The Civil War stories get short shrift compared to the Colorado River rafting stories, particularly as the Civil War battles are difficult to describe or illustrate in a truncated fashion.

The exploration of the Colorado River is much better depicted, both from an art perspective and from a story-telling perspective. You get to know each man involved in the journey and feel anguish for them as conditions worsen. I'd honestly forgotten whether Powell lived through the affair (Mercifully, he did - and went on to do more fabulous stuff!). Major Impossible could easily have been two volumes, but as it stands, it's still a terrific time.

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Major impossible is a book with lots of humor, history, and FLASHBACKS. John Wesley Powell (main character) Is very adventurous and goes on an expedition to the Columbia river with 10 men. In the middle of it, three men leave and were never heard of again. The flashbacks are primarily about John's life as a kid and growing up. He had many hard times growing up including losing his arm at war. The book seems like a normal book at some points but sometimes you can get the silliest comments from the Hangman, the Provost, and Nathan Hale himself.

I recommend this book to people who like to read about history, and like humor. This book has a good mix of both.

[Lgordo · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is good to see Hale venturing into less violent (albeit still hazardous) territory. This was an easier version of a historical tale my husband was concurrently reading in a dense brick of a book. He admitted that this version was more amusing, if somewhat less detailed.

My 7yo was highly amused by all the wrong parts. His first laugh-out-loud was when they threw the sheep off the cliff. His second enormous guffaw came when the Union POWs ate a live pig with their bare hands. I did not attempt to explain this scene to him. Children are ignorant savages and we like to keep them sheltered.

I did feel like a few frames explaining the actual significance of the expedition would have been nice. Was this just a crazy man's crazy idea, or was something important achieved?

[Quinn McKeever · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a historical graphic novel covering Major John Powell. He goes on an expedition into the Grand Canyon by the river. It also has flashbacks to when he was in the Civil War. There are also narrators to help move the book along, and add jokes too. Overall this was a good book. It was funny, suspenseful, historical, and had lots of action. I recommend it.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent as always - an exciting tale of exploration I'd never heard of.

[Markku Kesti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Taas opin palan historiaa, josta en (tietääkseni) ollut koskaan kuullutkaan. Liekö tärkeä pala, mutta samapa tuo. Viihdyttävä historiallinen henkilökuva ja tarina huimasta tutkimusretkestä tämä oli.

[Ashley N. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed another history lesson compliments of the author Nathan Hale. His graphic novels have universal appeal and go down easy. Highly recommend his work for all ages.

[Tamara York · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit of Grand Canyon exploration and a bit of Civil War history combine in this installment of Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales. This series continues to be great.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to learn about history in a very fun and easy way read Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales! They are exceptional!

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just as the listeners in the book point out, the flashbacks made this Hazardous Tale a little different, but it was still fascinating. Definitely someone I want to read more about.