Glen Canyon: Images of a Lost World [Hardcover]

Tad Nichols (Author), Gary Ladd (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1999

In 1963, as the gates closed on Glen Canyon Dam, Lake Powell began to inundate this mysterious landscape. Two photographers would record its wonders-Eliot Porter, who made the Glen famous in The Place No One Knew, and Tad Nichols, the man who first led Porter through the canyon. In more than thirty river trips beginning in the early 1950's, Nichols created thousands of images of the place that gave birth to the modern environmental movement. Glen Canyon: Images of a Lost World is a stunning photographic memoir and the work of one of the West's finest nature photographers. Featuring 164 duotone plates, journal writings, and the photographer's recollections today of a world that lives again in these exceptional images.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In the early 1960s the federal government announced a plan to control the Colorado River by building a series of hydroelectric dams. The plan set off a storm of protest. The Sierra Club filed a lawsuit, arguing that one of those dams, to be built at the entrance to the Grand Canyon, would mean the destruction of Glen Canyon, a jewel-like oasis, one of the most beautiful natural wonders of the desert Southwest. But the lawsuit failed, and the dam was built, resulting in the formation of 200-mile-long Lake Powell, one of the largest artificial bodies of water on the planet--and in the inundation of Glen Canyon, which environmentalists called "the place no one knew."

Photographer and filmmaker Tad Nichols did know Glen Canyon, so well that many of the area's place names are the ones that he and his fellow explorers and friends gave them. In this stunning book of documentary photography, Nichols takes readers on a voyage down the Colorado River, traversing stone labyrinths, wild rapids, and narrow beaches. Accompanied by entries from his travel journals of the 1950s and early '60s, his photographs show us just how much was lost when Glen Canyon receded beneath Lake Powell's waters--and what we stand to regain if, as advocates hope, Glen Canyon Dam is dismantled and the Colorado River is allowed to flow freely once again. --Gregory McNamee

From Library Journal

Nichols photographed and studied Glen Canyon in southeastern Utah from 1950 through 1963, when it was flooded to create Lake Powell, and it is difficult to study this book without its becoming a visual obituary for that extraordinarily powerful, unforgiving, and unspoiled canyon. The volume's more than 160 black-and-white images demonstrate the enduring quality of duotone photographs in honoring a place. The photographer learned most of his technical skills from two masters, Eliot Porter and Ansel Adams, and his photographs are outstanding. They are printed very dark and show a superb control of light, shadow, and silhouette. The text comes from Nichols's journal entries (which correspond to many of the scenes depicted) and from other essays of appreciation. Since color is often mentioned some color images of this now-flooded canyon would have nicely complemented the text and broadened our understanding of what has been lost. Recommended.
-David Bryant, New Canaan P.L.,CT
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Museum of New Mexico Pr (October 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0890133301
• ISBN-13: 978-0890133309
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 9.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,452,139 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spectacular! A Treasure, January 3, 2000

By 

Patrick J. Killien (Spokane, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Glen Canyon: Images of a Lost World (Hardcover)

Anyone will find the pictures breathtaking. If you have an interest in the southwest rivers and canyons you will especially enjoy this book. If you are interested in seeing what they stole from us by the construction of Glen Canyon Dam then this book is required reading. Hayduke lives!

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, March 24, 2000

By 

Kyle C. Jones - See all my reviews

This review is from: Glen Canyon: Images of a Lost World (Hardcover)

This is the best collection of photos I have seen on the now drowned Glen Canyon. Unlike some other books covering the area, this collection was clearly taken by a professional photographer. These pictures could easily be mistaken for Ansel Adams and I believe Mr. Nichols lists him as a big influence on his work. If you are like me and a lover of canyon country, it will definitely make you a little wistful thinking that this area has been lost--probably irretrievably. I just wish there were a comparable collection of color photos of Glen Canyon to supplement this wonderful work.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nine years old, still a must have book, August 1, 2009

By 

John J. Falkenstine - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Glen Canyon: Images of a Lost World (Paperback)

Many photography books about the Southwest feature oversaturated color, and show that while the photographer might have excellent technical skills, there is little to really get excited about when it comes to the actual content of the images itself. Not the case with this book. The images were taken in a precomputer era, they're a bit grainy at times, something that probably could be fixed with a newer edition and a bit more care by the Museum of New Mexico Press. A new edition would sell well. No matter, however, this book is a real beauty, instead of just pictures, there's plenty of text and items thrown in besides the images, such as the photographer's little spiral notebook. If you find one new, or a good used one, it is still a must-have. Just beautiful pictures, no color needed at all. Buy this book, and a second one for a gift. Five Stars for sure.