Niagara: A History of the Falls [Hardcover]

Pierre Berton (Author), Philip Turner (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1997

Replete with engaging details and colorful anecdotes, a lively history of Niagara Falls recounts the exploits of engineers, daredevils, photographers, industrialists, and honeymooners who have been drawn to the Falls' treacherous beauty.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Sometimes a place can be as good a subject for a "biography" as a person--and Niagara Falls turns out to be such a place. Fortunately, it found its ideal biographer in Canadian historian Pierre Berton, who chronicles its colorful history with a storyteller's verve. Niagara Falls was a sort of laboratory and breeding ground for a wide variety of American phenomena: carnivals and theme parks, destination tourism, industrialization based on cheap hydroelectric power, and the conservation movement, among others. Berton weaves all this together in a readable, well-paced book rich with anecdotes, memorable characters, and nicely crafted language.

From Publishers Weekly

The first Europeans to see Niagara Falls were struck with an awe akin to terror, but with the passage of a couple of centuries the site came to be regarded as the ultimate symbol of God's creative power. Even Charles Dickens, who didn't think much of what he found on this side of the Atlantic, was deeply moved. In the 19th century, the American side of the falls became a Mecca for honeymooners, first luring the rich and then the middle class as well. Later in that century, the unparalleled opportunity for hydroelectric power, combined with the development of alternating current, which meant that electricity could be sent over long distances, brought a wealth of industrial development. Canadian historian Berton (The Wild Frontier) tells dozens of absorbing tales about the region and those who passed through it: the "funambulist" Blondin, who danced on a tightrope high above the chasm; John Roebling, better known for the Brooklyn Bridge than for the one he built to span the Niagara River; the adventurers and crackpots who went over the falls in barrels; the lengthy struggle to close the Love Canal toxic waste dump. He tells them all superbly, aided by essential maps and a few reproductions of posters advertising some of the more bizarre stunts.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Kodansha America; Later prt. edition (January 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568361548
• ISBN-13: 978-1568361543
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,636,903 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Rise and Falls of Niagara, June 13, 2000

By 

John B. Maggiore (Buffalo, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Niagara: A History of the Falls (Hardcover)

"Niagara" is a nice little book, stringing together a series of anecdotes about Niagara Falls and its immediate region, especially from the mid 19th century to the mid 20th century. As histories go, it is fairly light (the author does not cite his facts, although he does include an extensive bibliography), but Pierre Berton is adept at telling stories, especially human stories.

The stories mostly develop along one of two themes - daredevil encounters with the Falls, and human manipulation, either for the purpose of exploitation or protection of the Falls. Berton is best with the small stories of explorers, tightrope walkers, barrel riders, a family of "rivermen" (the Hills), and their ilk. The small becomes large with what is perhaps the best-crafted story, that of Lois Gibbs and the toxic tragedy of Love Canal, with which Berton ends the book.

Although the story of the Falls did not end in 1980, Love Canal is a fitting final story. Despite the occasional preservationist triumphs, the story of the Falls really culminates in Love Canal. The natural wonder of the Falls became framed by hucksters, factories, power stations, tacky museums, homes, roads, manicured parks and everything else unnatural. Engineers even managed to stop the falls in an attempt to clear out fallen rocks (they wisely chose not to once they realized that the rocks propped up the rock face behind the falls). A visit to the Falls today is a jarring reminder of what a mess we humans have made of the natural world. It is an obscene juxtaposition of nature's best and humanity's chintziest.

Berton is less skilled at relaying scientific stories about the formation of the falls, and the energy and chemical industries. He also seems less than passionate when writing about big business deals - his treatment of power-mavens Adam Beck and Robert Moses palls beside his treatment of activist Lois Gibbs or "riverman" Red Hill. As a result, the book is somewhat inconsistent and (ironically, considering the subject matter) does not always flow.

Conspicuously missing from "Niagara" is ancient Native American history and the eventful history of the last 20 years. The former may not be possible to write for lack of information, but the latter (which includes the establishment of a gambling casino overlooking the Falls) warrants an update. Also lacking is some of the political history surrounding the Falls. For all these reasons, this is more a three-and-a-half star book than a full four star book. But I'm givivng it four because it was fun to read and provided me, as a native of Western New York, with some history of my home region. I'm not sure how interesting all this will be for those with no personal experience of the Falls, but for those of us who do, its worth reading.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent anecdotal history of Niagara Falls, August 14, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Niagara: A History of the Falls (Paperback)

If you're curious about Niagara Falls, and want to know more about its geological and social history told in an highly engaging narrative style, this book is highly recommended. All aspects of the area and the natural phenomenon known as Niagara Falls is covered, with detailed stories about both the New York and Canadian sides. Interesting illustrations complement the text. Included are a wide range of topics, including the stories of the daredevils who tried to conquer the Falls to the more serious subject of Love Canal.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Niagara: From the awe-inspiring to Love Canal, April 30, 2007

By 

Bomojaz (South Central PA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Niagara: A History of the Falls (Hardcover)

Here's a wonderful history of Niagara Falls in all its splendor and loopiness, from the early explorers and the first tourists, to the artists who've tried to capture its stupendous glory on canvas and the daredevils and just plain crazies who've tempted fate by going over it in a barrel or walking across it on a tightrope. Although it ends on a sour note with the Love Canal environmental disaster of the 1980s, which took place in the city of Niagara Falls, Berton's history is comprehensive and marvelous to read. Whether it's John Roebling building the first great suspension bridge near the falls, Robert Moses trying to swindle the Tuscarora out of their lands for a power plant reservoir, or those who viewed the falls with almost spiritual awe (as Harriet Beecher Stowe did) or saw them with dollar signs flashing before their eyes (too many to mention), Berton's book captures them all. It's extremely well written, with many illustrations to boot.