Customer Reviews

Oneota Flow: The Upper Iowa River and Its People (American Land & Life)

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Written by David Faldet (Jones Professor of English, Luther College) Oneota Flow: The Upper Iowa River & Its People relates the story of Upper Iowa, while remaining mindful of the vision of great conservationist Aldo Leopold. From the Upper Iowa River's geologic origin, to the Native Americans who inhabited the region, to the American colonists who settled there, to today's modern era, Oneota Flow spans the gamut of evolution in the land's natural and human history. A positive message about the importance of maintaining the river through stewardship of the biological communities that connect to it rounds out this inviting and enjoyable historical chronicle.

If you can only read one book about Iowa, read this one. Oneota Flow is a balanced view of the history and natural history of the Upper Iowa River. The author, Jones Professor of English at Luther College in Decorah, is a native of the area, long acquainted with many of the families whose farms are profiled in the historical parts of the book. I will be leading a bicycle tour for a non-profit cycling club in the area, and have recommended this book highly to my tour participants.

Especially strong is the author's treatment of the necessary balance between modern agriculture and its environmental impacts.

The author also captures the stunning beauty of the region, which I have personally visited. Quite a trick, since there are no pictures in the book.

Oneota Flow is a masterful blend of local history, culture and storytelling leading the reader to understand their connection to the land and our past.