River of Memory: The Everlasting Columbia [Paperback]

William D. Layman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2006

'In a sense, two Columbia Rivers flow through our lives - the river we see today and the natural river that gave rise to the spectacular sights and thunderings of such places as Celilo and Kettle Falls. To know either has always presented major challenges. The river's rugged physical character prevents knowing by slicing through inaccessible mountain ranges, vast stretches of unpopulated roadless areas, and extreme landscapes before emptying into the sea' - from the Introduction. The Columbia River of today bears little resemblance to the river Native peoples and settlers knew in the early twentieth century. Between 1933 and 1984, an unparalleled fervour of engineering transformed much of the river into a series of large reservoirs contained by fourteen hydroelectric dams.While many mourned the loss of the free flowing river, others embraced a newly tamed waterway that could control floods, irrigate desert lands, and supply electrical power for the growing region. "River of Memory" honours a place and time now gone from view. It restores an unfettered Columbia through more than ninety historical photographs that capture the river as it once appeared. This extraordinary visual record is complemented with the words of early explorers, surveyors, and naturalists who wrote about specific places along the river and with new works by contemporary American and Canadian writers and poets. Organized to carry the reader from the mouth of the Columbia where it enters the ocean to its source in eastern British Columbia, the narrative follows the natural history of the river through the archetypal journey of salmon returning to the river's headwaters in Columbia Lake.Introducing each section are illustrations of salmon and other indigenous fish by artists Joseph Tomelleri and Dan McConnell. "River of Memory" encourages readers to linger along the river's shores and spend time reflecting on its dramatic mountain and plateau landscapes. It fosters connections between the river's natural and human histories through the words of the distinguished writers represented throughout, including Jeannette Armstrong, Gloria Bird, Peter Christensen, Tim McNulty, Kathleen Dean Moore, Eileen Pearkes, Theodore Roethke, Kim Stafford, William Stafford, Robert Sund, David Wagoner, Elizabeth Woody, and many more.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"What a superb achievement! River of Memory is a revelation of the kind that rarely comes these days. Perhaps at long last the Columbia will begin to get the kind of thoughtful attention this 'river-world' deserves." James Ronda, Past President, Western History Association "Sensitive, intelligent, thoughtfully researched and powerfully evocative; I got a feeling for the history of the Columbia that touches on the monumental." Bob Sandford, Chair, United Nations Water for Life Decade, Canada "To understand rivers requires immersion, which is precisely what Bill Layman has done in his extraordinary project. River of Memory is experiential, ecological, and historical. There is simply nothing like this about any other river in the West." William Lang, Portland State University

From the Publisher

"What a superb achievement! River of Memory is a revelation of the kind that rarely comes these days. Perhaps at long last the Columbia will begin to get the kind of thoughtful attention this ‘river-world’ deserves." -- James Ronda, Past President, Western History Association

"Sensitive, intelligent, thoughtfully researched and powerfully evocative; I got a feeling for the history of the Columbia that touches on the monumental." -- Bob Sandford, Chair, United Nations Water for Life Decade, Canada

"To understand rivers requires immersion, which is precisely what Bill Layman has done in his extraordinary project. River of Memory is experiential, ecological, and historical. There is simply nothing like this about any other river in the West." -- William Lang, Portland State University --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 150 pages
• Publisher: University of Washington Press (May 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0295985925
• ISBN-13: 978-0295985923
• Product Dimensions: 22.1 x 11 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,710,355 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Memories from an earlier life of the river., November 1, 2006

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: River of Memory: The Everlasting Columbia (Paperback)

The Columbia is by no means the biggest, the longest or just any other 'est of the rivers in North America. Well maybe it's the roughest. At the bar where the Columbia enters the Pacific Ocean is quite possibly the consistently roughest water in the country. It's called the 'Graveyard of the Pacific,' having claimed over two thousand ships. That's why the Coast Guard located their small boat school in Astoria, Oregon, just inland from the bar.

Anyway, now the Columbia is tamed to a great extent by a series of dams that regulate the flow of water. No longer are there the hundred-foot waves breaking along the bar. This book, though is composed of pre-dam pictures of the river that remain only as memories.

The book is organized in an interesting manner. Just inside the front is a map of the first 200.5 miles of the river. Along the track of the river are a series of numbers. These reflect the page numbers of the pictures that follow. The first number is 5, and the picture on page 5 shows the bar, along with a note that it's 1,243 miles to the source of the river. The pictures range from the mid 1800's to current.

Further into the book are more maps, more pictures. To the old-timer of the area, here will be a collection of memories. To the rest of us, here is simply a spectacular set of photographs of a place that is no more.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, November 12, 2006

By 

John C. Erdman (Bothell, WA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: River of Memory: The Everlasting Columbia (Paperback)

The River is a bueaty today but yesterday - WOW! This is a beautiful work on a great river!

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Book, January 9, 2008

By 

C. Aiken (Cody, WY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: River of Memory: The Everlasting Columbia (Paperback)

I love this book.After sending it to the wrong address, Amazon mailed a new copy to me very fast and free of charge ! I did appreciate this and I will look at Amazon.com first when I will be looking for a book.Thanks!