Customer Reviews

Canyon

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is full of interesting information about the Colorado River going through the Grand Canyon. The author has included all aspects of this great place. He tells the history of the river and canyon, including the geolgy, the first residents, the first settlers, the daming and problems with the daming, the many people who have tried to make the trip, and the history of the wildlife. I found it to be a great read with a lot if great insight into the Grand Canyon. I couldn't put it down and I look forward to reading it again before I take the pluge and float this great river.

The author carefully weaves his own experiences as a Grand Canyon river guide with the history of the Canyon. This book will keep you enthralled right up to the last page.

I would heartily recommend this narrative to all who enjoy adventure books. This classic should be on the bookshelves of everyone who enjoyes whitewater rafting.

This is the 2nd book I have read by this author and his experience as a river guide gives him the inside perspective to relate his experiences to the reader. He, like all the guides I have been with on the river, is a case of a well educated and articulate person, with qualifications out the wazoo, that instead of pursuing financial gain, chose to make the Grand Canyon an integral part of his life. These people and their incredible knowledge of every facet of GC, from geology, anthropology, and sociology to recent historical events, are part of what make a river trip, for some a "once in a lifetime" experience, and for others an "incurable obsession". If you have already been or are thinking about going, this book will put you in the spirit. The story is primarily about a river trip but spins off on some adventure that relates to the current location. The only problem with this book is, it isn't long enough and I finished it too quickly.

I read Canyon prior to an 8-day rafting trip through the Grand Canyon. It gave me a good idea of what to expect on the trip as well as information on the geology and history of the canyon. I now plan to read it a second time in order to relive our wonderful experience. This is a must read for someone planning to raft the Colorado through Grand Canyon, as well as an entertaining read for the "arm-chair traveler."

Well written narrative that provides good information about the Colorado River at higher levels. Decent adventure story and also captures some of the magic or running the river in this magnificent canyon.

Since Michael includes a somewhat incorrect story about me in his book I guess I should make it right. But instead I'll commend this somewhat old book highly because it tells a compiled story of a river guides life during one trip down the river/canyon. It's good and it's good to go with the books in the new wave (pun intended) of books written by female river guides which I throughly applaude. Books like Teal's Breaking Into The current and Sadler's There's This River should be bought when you buy Michaels book. Do it!

I hated for this book to end. I loved being with Michael P. Ghiglieri, the most knowledgeable of river wranglers in love with the Grand Canyon. Being a geologist as well as a good writer, he imparts a special understanding of the 2 billion year old canyon sharing the message of the striated walls written over time by the hand of the creator. He brings this knowledge in a light-hearted, easy to comprehend manner that anyone can understand. You get to be with him at the helm of his rubber craft as he maneuvers it through rapids that make the heart of the most experienced boatmen go pitty-pat! You hike with him to Eden like gardens sequestered in ancient slot-canyons and learn about the native peoples who made the canyon their home for the past 10,000 years. He also speaks about the environmental degradation to the canyon by extractive industry and the hydro-electric boys. This is a wonderful, comprehensive book for anyone who wants know the true depth of the Grand Canyon.

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