The Hudson: America's River [Paperback]

Frances Dunwell (Author), Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0231136412 | ISBN-13: 978-0231136419 | Publication Date: April 3, 2008 | Edition: First Edition

Frances F. Dunwell presents a rich portrait of the Hudson and of the visionary people whose deep relationship with the river inspires changes in American history and culture. Lavishly illustrated with color plates of Hudson River School paintings, period engravings, and glass plate photography, The Hudson captures the spirit of the river through the eyes of its many admirers. It shows the crucial role of the Hudson in the shaping of Manhattan, the rise of the Empire State, and the trajectory of world trade and global politics, as well as the river's influence on art and architecture, engineering, and conservation.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Dunwell, who has worked for 30 years to conserve the Hudson and its cultural heritage, tells the story of the magical river that has been central to New York's power and to the history of the United States. Beginning with the Native Americans who lived near the Hudson, Dunwell follows the river through the centuries, describing the painters—like Thomas Cole—who found in the river inspiration for great art and the Civilian Conservation Corps's work to build recreational facilities during the Great Depression. Covering the Hudson through space as well as time, Dunwell ranges from the building of the Erie Canal to the erection of the Statue of Liberty, and the Gilded Age estates of J.P. Morgan and Jay Gould. She pays particular attention to the tension between harnessing the Hudson's economic potential and preserving its natural beauty. Dunwell indulges in grandiose statements (the river's forts assume the importance of Grecian temples) and boosterism (Can a person make a difference? The answer is yes). But with the book's dozens of illustrations and a moving foreword by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as bonuses, people who love the Hudson will love this book. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* The magnificent Hudson River is emblematic of America’s dreams of freedom, bountiful nature, and uplifting beauty. And yet, for all its wild splendor and historic sites, America’s “most important waterway” became “grossly polluted.” Dunwell, a key figure in the river’s conservation, reawakens appreciation for the Hudson in a richly illustrated book graceful and capacious enough to capture the spirit and significance of its subject. Combining natural and human history, Dunwell tracks the river from its Adirondack headwaters to the tip of Manhattan, from Revolutionary War battles to Millionaire’s Row, where such prominent families as the Roosevelts and Rockefellers built grand estates, to the industries that poisoned the river and the activists—among them Pete Seeger, with the sloop Clearwater—who rescued, restored, and continue to protect the Hudson.  Dunwell’s clear, fast-moving prose conveys a wealth of information to form a commanding and inspiring biography of a river that gave rise to an art movement (the Hudson River school), progressive social quests, landmark environmental cases, and heroic approaches to preservation. The story of the Hudson River is the story of nature’s resiliency and civilization’s evolution. --Donna Seaman

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Product Details

• Paperback: 392 pages
• Publisher: Columbia University Press; First Edition edition (April 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0231136412
• ISBN-13: 978-0231136419
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #386,061 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Hudson, history and mystery..., February 22, 2009

By 

Laura Kefalidis (Miami, FL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Hudson: America's River (Paperback)

What a book! Frances Dunwell places us in the cockpit of a river which has shaped American history for centuries. Heroes and traitors, pirates and builders, the robber barons who made the Hudson home, and the (sometimes converted super rich) conservation-minded, the modern threats to its grandeur, and under it all, the ever present mysteries and goblins discovered and so publicized by Washington Irving, in the many Sleepy Hollows still along the Hudson.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dunwell's Hudson: a fine read, February 13, 2009

By 

James C. Davis (Farmington, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Hudson: America's River (Paperback)

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Frances Dunwell's "The Hudson: America's River." It's a lively account of the river's role in the history of New York City and State, and America as well. A good deal of research and visual support inform and detail an engaging, well-written narrative. Dunwell helps us see why the Hudson is not just a 300+ mile body of moving water. She shows us its importance, its historical role, is the myriad ways it stimulated our imaginations: commercial, political, scientific/technological, aesthetic, spiritual. It's a very good book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read about America's river!, December 25, 2008

By 

Charles Henderson (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Hudson: America's River (Paperback)

In addition to being one of best informed environmentalists living and working in the Hudson River valley, Fran Dunwell brings her deep knowledge of history, art, and ecology to illuminate the importance of what she calls "America's River." Filled with colorful illustrations, and a sweeping view of the history, if you are going to buy one book to deepen your knowledge of this important region, this would be the one. There are other books that focus on the art, and others that are long on text and footnotes, but this book has it all. A must read for long time residents or newcomers to one of the most beautiful regions of the United States. Charles P. Henderson, Executive Editor, CrossCurrents