From School Library Journal
Grade 3-5The Rio Grande flows almost 2,000 miles from the Continental Divide in Colorado to the Gulf of Mexico below Brownsville, TX. During the course of its journey, the river is mighty and meek, life enriching and life altering, but always alluring and important to the people who live along its path. Louries first-person travelogue successfully brings this body of water to life and provides readers with a sense of its history and the places that it passes through. The author also relates his feelings of excitement and adventure as he traveled downriver. Historical photographs and reproductions of Billy the Kid, General Santa Anna, Pancho Villa, and others supplement Louries bright, sharp full-color photographs; a map highlights the towns he visited during the trip. Through this photo-essay, armchair travelers can share the joy of following a river from its source to its mouth while picking up bits of history, archaeology, culture, and political and environmental concern.Jeanette Larson, Texas State Library, Austin
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
Lourie, following the format of his previous photo-essays (Yukon River, 1992, etc.), traces the route of the Rio Grande, third longest river in the US, from its origin high in the Colorado mountains, 1,885 miles to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way, historic and contemporary photographs tell of people and events past and present. The first-person narrative makes the past come alive; under discussion are ranchers, miners, and outlaws such as Billy the Kid and Pancho Villa. Lourie visits Taos Pueblos, describes the petroglyphs carved in the rocks, rafts, and camps along the shores, stops at a ghost town flooded when the Falcon Dam was created, interviews border patron officers, and ends at the azure waters of the gulf. Throughout the narrative runs an accomplished combination of history, geography, archaeology, and ecology. (Nonfiction. 10-12) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
