Customer Reviews

Cataract Canyon

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

 

 

"Cataract Canyon" is an incredibly readable treasure of book, disguised by its subtitle and size as something of a textbook. But it's not just a volume of research material--though it does have excellent accounts of the area's geology, history, and ecological controversy. It's also an incredibly gripping read for anyone who loves the Colorado River, who loves rivers in general, or who loves the West. It tells the story of Cataract Canyon as one might tell an exciting narrative.
Read this book, and then visit Cataract Canyon for yourself. It will be like reading the biography of a famous historic figure, then realizing that person (although ancient) is still alive, then meeting that person and finding out she's more amazing than even the best book could ever tell.
This is an excellent, well-written, scrupulously researched book that no fan of the Colorado Plateau should be without. It contains many excellent now-and-then photos, great accounts of historical figures such as Denis Julien, and a terrific chapter on the portion of Cataract Canyon that's usually submerged beneath Lake Powell. Buy it, buy it, buy it.
(Note however that Robert Webb is only one of the book's three authors; the others include John Weisheit, Conservation Director for the environmental group Living Rivers.)

Great book. everything I wanted to know about the canyon and then some. Well written. You will learn a lot about the canyon after readng this book. Rafting it this spring and plan on taking it with us.

If you are planning a trip into Cataract Canyon buy this book. My daughter and I took a five-day raft trip through it last summer and all the river guides constantly referred to a well worn copy they kept in an ammo box. It is NOT a guide book, but rather a very detailed natural history that is laid out so you could in a pinch use it as such.