Customer Reviews

Sunk Without a Sound : The Tragic Colorado River Honeymoon of Glen and Bessie Hyde

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Outrageous adventures that capture the imagination, like Lindberg's trans-Atlantic flight, often personify the American spirit, especially in the youth of a new century. But the 1928 honeymoon excursion down the rapids of the Grand Canyon by Glen and Bessie Hyde ended in tragedy, their bodies never recovered, the whole trip shrouded in mystery. This book sets out to tell their story with as many facts as are available, recount the rescue efforts and determine some answers after all these years of speculation.

After reading Grand Ambition, a novel by Lisa Michael's, about the couple's fateful honeymoon, I was curious to know more of the details and explore the lore surrounding the disappearance of Bessie and Glen. Author Dimock gathers what few pertinent facts are available and reconstructs the Hyde's journey, physically experiencing parts of it himself. He even builds a replica of their craft, hoping to ascertain what happened as they moved from one dangerous whitewater course to another. Literally, only speculation remains, because their flat-bottomed scow was found drifting, intact and packed with provisions with no evidence of the bodies. Did they die, or escape? The author also carefully goes over each step of the rescue party's unsuccessful search. As an extra service to the reader, he spends some time debunking the many urban legends that have sprung up over the years, passed from campfire to campfire, further clouding the truth.

The most satisfying part of this book is Dimock's exacting concentration on each phase of the journey given the modernization of river rafting techniques and experience. Easy answers are simply not acceptable to Dimock, and he unfailingly covers every possible situation in the attempt to arrive at a feasible conclusion. In his conscientious writing, this author postulates some scenarios that set my mind at rest. When he fits the pieces of the puzzle together, it's as likely a fit as will be found at this time. And I was relieved to put aside those rumors and innuendoes told with a broad wink, because I would like to think of this couple in peace after such a short and harrowing twist of fate.

I'm no expert about the Grand Canyon or whitewater rafting - I've visited the canyon about 5 times over the last 30 years, spending 6 days on a spring break backcountry hike on one of the trips, and I've been on one float trip down the San Juan River [Bluff to 'Lake Foul'] on the spring break before or after the canyon hike - so I'm reviewing Sunk Without A Sound by Brad Dimock as an interested and knowledgable layperson. This book is an amazing adventure story, a gripping mystery, a brave piece of experimental historical investigation, the end product of extensive research, and an extremely rational and fair reading of the available evidence.

The book is a tapestry of stories sewn together with several strong threads. The main thread is the story of the failed [?] honeymoon Colorado River trip of Glen and Bessie Hyde in 1928 and the subsequent attempts to find a solution to their disappearance. It is the story of RC Hyde, Glen's father, and his obsessive, but loving, attempts to find his son and his daughter-in-law. It is the story of author Brad Dimock and his wife, Jeri Ledbetter, and their enlightening version of the original Hyde trip [they recreated the original journey in a version of the original sweep scow]. Dimock ties all these pieces together in one seamless piece of non-fiction.

I enjoyed the book immensely, especially the fact that Dimock told the most reasonable story that the research and the evidence supported. I recommend you take a ride throught the twists, the turns, and the rapids of this excellent book.

It's obvious that Dimock has done his homework in researching and writing this superbly crafted book detailing the disappearance of Glenn and Bessie Hyde, the 'honeymoon couple' who attempted a run through Grand Canyon in their sweep scow--Rain-in-the-Face--during 1928. Here we find three great stories packed concisely into one exceptionally good book. It is part mystery novel, part an historical account replete with colorful and obscure Grand Canyon characters, and part the telling of Dimock's own run down the Colorado River in the sweep scow he built to recreate the Hyde's histroic trip. SUNK WITHOUT A SOUND is also, and more importantly, a thorough biography of the life and times of Glen and Bessie Hyde. Their family members appear in startling detail, their history is laid out in a colorfully woven chronology, and their ultimate end is surmised in vivid fashion. Beyond that, the many folk tales surrounding their disappearance are debunked and kindly dismissed with considerable research. Illustrated with maps, diagrams, and an interesting variety of historic Grand Canyon and Hyde family photos, Dimock ultimely takes the reader on a whitewater trip not to be forgotten. Dimock's first book, THE DOING OF THE THING, a biography of riverman Buzz Holmstrom, won the National Outdoor Book Award in 1998. However impressive that my be, SUNK WITHOUT A SOUND is, obviously, destined for much higher accolades.

I first heard about Glen and Bessie Hyde from a friend who runs the river each summer. They are icons and legends of Grand Canyon lore with the unfortunate tale of their tragic honeymoon trip down the river. Brad Dimock has not only captured the essence of their story, but tells it with empathy and great attention to detail. The book weaves three stories into one great piece: the background and travels of Glen and Bessie, the relentless search by Glen's father, and Dimock's own trip down the river in a similar craft.

Each chapter is headed with one of Bessie's poems, incredibly brief and in many ways, prophetic of her untimely disappearance. These brief glimpses into her mind and heart are timeless and profound. We come to know Glen and Bessie as complex individuals who ventured into an unknown arena.

I had the opportunity to hear Dimock at Northern AZ University the week the book was released... he was mesmerizing as he recounted his impecible research into the story. In spite of being a self-proclaimed "hermit in training," he brought the story, in all its versions, into a new and insightful realm. Bob Emerson, nephew of Glen Hyde, was in the audience, and seemed moved by the stirring tribute that Dimock provided.

The world will never know what really happened to Glen and Bessie, but Dimock seems to ask us to let them rest, and honor their memory. The river holds her own mystique, and this is one legend that can be told and retold as part of her lore.

I watched this book develop over several years as the older brother of the author. When he first told me he was planning to write a book about Glenn & Bessie Hyde I thought "good luck - there isn't enough hard information about them to do a long article, much less a book". But Brad is persistant, and found more about this couple (and the tightly interwoven tales of their relatives and wanna-be's) than I would have thought possible. He then wove this material into a great read, interweaving several approaches to the tale that end up keeping the readed glued to the page. Yes, I'm biased, but yes, it's a great book! Read it yourself, and I'm sure you'll agree.

I think, at first, the cover scared me away, but once I started reading I was involved. I must applaud Brad Dimock's writing skill. He has written a book with the timbre and cadence of a Jon Krakauer about an episode of which we know very little. While Glen Hyde's life was well documented by his family, very little is known about Bessie Hyde or how the Hyde's marriage was holding up under the pressure of their Colorado River float. Despite this dearth of information, Dimock has succeeded in bringing Glen and Bessie to life. We care about these two people, who disappeared over 75 years ago, and we follow the scanty thread of facts that Dimock has been able to gather, hanging on to each clue in the hope of learning their fate even though we know from the beginning that the Hyde's were never found.

Sunk Without a Sound can stand side-by-side with the best of Jon Krakauer and David Roberts.

Brad Dimock's outstanding research and writing help you to relate to the couple's families and their lives before their honeymoon adventure. In addition, his own real life adventure of a similar nature lends an exciting and unexpected perspective. An intriguing mystery intwined with true life romance that everyone will enjoy!

I knew nothing about whitewater boating before I read this book, and I still thought it was wonderful. The book is well written, and takes you through the story from a number of fascinating angles, even though "you know how it ends". The author describes his journey down the river with his own bride in a way that compliments, but does not intrude upon, the story of the Hydes. This book is part adventure, part myth, part mystery, and, ultimately, a love story.

This is a terrific book. It is an "unsolved mystery," a love story, an historic account of some very interesting people, and the story of a fantastic adventure on the Colorado river. It was one of the most enjoyable reads I've had in a while.

The story of Glen and Bessie Hyde is the greatest Grand Canyon mystery. They are the honeymoon couple that disappeared without a trace in 1928. Many myths and legends have evolved in the intervening years (including a segement of "Unsolved Mysteries"). Brad Dimmock is a Colorado River guide (and a very good writer) who duplicated the couples ill fated journey down the Colorado. He has interwoven the historical material with his own modern attempt using a sweepboat similiar to the one the Hyde's used. I read this while visiting the canyon again. It was great sitting on the patio at the Lodge on the North Rim reading this fascinating account. If you love a great mystery or you love Canyon lore, you'll love this book.