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River Books, Sponsored by The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, Texas State U
The River and the Wall
When a team of five explorers embarked on a 1,200-mile journey down the Rio Grande, the river that marks the southern boundary of Texas and the US-Mexico border, their goal was to experience and capture on film the rugged landscapes of this vast frontier before the controversial construction of a border wall changed this part of the river forever.
The crew—Texas filmmaker Ben Masters, Brazilian immigrant Filipe DeAndrade, Texas conservationist Jay Kleberg, wildlife biologist Heather Mackey, and Guatemalan-American river guide Austin Alvarado—began the trip in El Paso, pedaling mountain bikes through the city’s dry river bed. Their path took them on horseback through the Big Bend, down the Wild and Scenic stretch of the river in canoes, and back to bikes from Laredo to Brownsville. They paddled the last ten miles through a forest of river cane to the Gulf of Mexico.
As they made their way to the Gulf, they met and talked with the people who know and live on the river—border patrol, wildlife biologists, ranchers, politicians, farmers, social workers, locals, and travelers. They climbed the wall (in twenty seconds). They encountered rare black bears, bighorn sheep, and birds of all kinds. And they sought to understand the complexities of immigration, the efficacy of a wall, and the impact of its construction on water access, wildlife, and the culture of the borderlands.
The River and the Wall is both a wild adventure on a spectacular river and a sobering commentary on the realities of walling it off.
The crew—Texas filmmaker Ben Masters, Brazilian immigrant Filipe DeAndrade, Texas conservationist Jay Kleberg, wildlife biologist Heather Mackey, and Guatemalan-American river guide Austin Alvarado—began the trip in El Paso, pedaling mountain bikes through the city’s dry river bed. Their path took them on horseback through the Big Bend, down the Wild and Scenic stretch of the river in canoes, and back to bikes from Laredo to Brownsville. They paddled the last ten miles through a forest of river cane to the Gulf of Mexico.
As they made their way to the Gulf, they met and talked with the people who know and live on the river—border patrol, wildlife biologists, ranchers, politicians, farmers, social workers, locals, and travelers. They climbed the wall (in twenty seconds). They encountered rare black bears, bighorn sheep, and birds of all kinds. And they sought to understand the complexities of immigration, the efficacy of a wall, and the impact of its construction on water access, wildlife, and the culture of the borderlands.
The River and the Wall is both a wild adventure on a spectacular river and a sobering commentary on the realities of walling it off.
284 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 27, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 17, 2020
I read Ben Masters' Unbranded a couple of years ago and was greatly impressed by this book about his ride on mustangs from the Mexican to the Canadian border. I really enjoyed finding out about these horses and the cowboys relationship with them. When I heard that he was doing a book about the Rio Grande, exploring the length of it on horseback and canoe, I knew that I would eventually have to read it.
I especially wanted to get some perspective about the building of "the wall" and how it would effect the environment. Masters' book The River and the Wall provides a beautifully illustrated picture of what the Rio Grande and its surroundings are like and the effect which the wall would have on it.
We get many glimpse of the animals which would be effected from bears, to mountain sheep, to ocelots, to birds and to butterflies. The Rio Grande provides an environment rich in wildlife and the impact of the wall could be calamitous.
"The barrier, whether it is called a levee fence or border wall, will strand thousands of acres of Texas into a no-man’s-land between the river and the wall. It will prevent wildlife and people from being able to access the Rio Grande, the river around which entire communities were built."
This book provides a multifaceted view of the Rio Grande and the many issues involved and ways in which "the wall" would impact the lives of people and animals living on it. It was well worth the read and for an added benefit it provides many beautiful photos.
For anyone interested in this issue, this book is a good place to start.
I especially wanted to get some perspective about the building of "the wall" and how it would effect the environment. Masters' book The River and the Wall provides a beautifully illustrated picture of what the Rio Grande and its surroundings are like and the effect which the wall would have on it.
We get many glimpse of the animals which would be effected from bears, to mountain sheep, to ocelots, to birds and to butterflies. The Rio Grande provides an environment rich in wildlife and the impact of the wall could be calamitous.
"The barrier, whether it is called a levee fence or border wall, will strand thousands of acres of Texas into a no-man’s-land between the river and the wall. It will prevent wildlife and people from being able to access the Rio Grande, the river around which entire communities were built."
This book provides a multifaceted view of the Rio Grande and the many issues involved and ways in which "the wall" would impact the lives of people and animals living on it. It was well worth the read and for an added benefit it provides many beautiful photos.
For anyone interested in this issue, this book is a good place to start.
July 14, 2019
A decent book. Will try to get a hold of the documentary film as well. The authors show that a border wall will wreak havoc to residents, businesses and wildlife and won't have any positive impact on the immigration problem. Yet there's a lot of uninformed people that live very far away from the border and the issue who think it's just a great idea. Merica!!!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews