We Swam the Grand Canyon: The True Story of a Cheap Vacation That Got a Little Out of Hand [Hardcover]

Bill Beer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1995

The true story of a cheap vacation that got a little out of hand. In 1955 Bill Beer and John Daggett, at the time both recently out of the military, and in their mid 20s, footloose, and more or less unemployed conceived the idea of swimming the Colorado River through the 279 miles of the Grand Canyon-principally because they couldn't afford a boat. This simple idea escalated into a national news story and has been one of the legends of the Grand Canyon ever since. Never equalled nor duplicated, their illegal venture and many of its dangers, comic episodes, innovations, side effects and long term ramifications are the story of this book.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

April 10, 1955: the water temperature was 51F, and a fierce wind buffeted two men as they entered the Colorado River at Lees Ferry. The author and John Daggett had set out to swim the river through the Grand Canyon. At a time when fewer than 200 people had run the river in boats, this was daredeviltryand illegal. Their equipment was primitive: Army-surplus rubber boxes to carry gear, thin rubber shirts, woollen long johns and swim fins; they also took a movie camera to record the adventure. Twenty-six days and 280 miles later, bruised and battered, they left the river at Pierce Ferry. Beer relives the miseries and exhilaration of that singular journey, a gripping story of endurance. In an afterword, he discusses other, legal trips through the Grand Canyon (he has swum the occasional rapid from a boat) and assesses the present state of the environment; he has high praise for the Park Service. This will appeal to readers who enjoy adventure. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Scientific American

Every complete history of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River gives at least a generous paragraph to the water-soaked saga of Beer and Daggett. What once was considered a foolish risk is now legend. ...We Swam the Grand Canyon offers the reader a full range of vicarious experience: agony, suspense, hope, humor, despair-and, always, the River and the Canyon.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 171 pages
• Publisher: Mountaineers Books; First Edition edition (October 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898861519
• ISBN-13: 978-0898861518
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,785,838 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read for anyone planning a Grand Canyon river trip., October 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: We Swam the Grand Canyon: The True Story of a Cheap Vacation that Got a Little Out of Hand (Paperback)

We Swam the Grand Canyon is a personal account of a "vacation" that Mr. Beer and a friend took through the Grand Canyon via the Colorado River. Unlike Major John Wesley Powell, who is credited with the first boat descent through "The Big Ditch", Beer and his companion decided to do the trip, for various reasons that he goes into in his book, without boats! His writing style is straightforward and unadorned, peppered with humor and self-depricating modesty and well suited for a tale of this proportion. He tells of overcoming the pair's most difficult challenge; not the terrifying rapids, but the continual bone-numbing cold of the water. He also covers their trip's near-fatal brush with the Grand Canyon authorities, and how the swimmers convinced the skeptical rangers to let them continue their unusual tour. In all, a delightful read, especially for someone planning a trip down the Colorado through the Grand Canyon themselves. Informative and entertaining, this book is also a great confidence-builder for those who fear they may flip their boat in the Colorado rapids. Also, if Mr. Beer is accurate in his Amazon comment, this book will shortly be difficult to acquire; he died this summer after a long retirement in the Virgin Islands.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great adventure story, January 3, 2003

By 

"kajabooks" (Waltham, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: We Swam the Grand Canyon: The True Story of a Cheap Vacation that Got a Little Out of Hand (Paperback)

One of the best modern American adventure stories. A relatively easy read. These guys swam more than 100 rapids on the frigid Colorado River wearing nothing but rubber shirts and wool longjohns - carrying thier sleeping bags, food and camera equipment in rubber boxes. Absolutely amazing - and their story had me with butterflys in my stomach just reading about what they did.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ridiculous & charming, April 19, 2004

By 

"frostedchocopups" (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: We Swam the Grand Canyon: The True Story of a Cheap Vacation that Got a Little Out of Hand (Paperback)

This account of a unique 1950's trip down the Grand Canyon is highly entertaining, especially because the whole thing seems like such a bad idea. Beers and his friend's equipment & preparation were laughable, and they had no escape plan or backup. But they plunge into the Colorado River (pre-Glen Canyon Dam, even), validate every stereotype about 50's American optimism/naivety, and somehow don't die. Beers' writing is not fancy, but the unaffected prose is well-matched to detailing the no-frills style of his incredible boatless river run.
I enjoyed this book a lot, and admired the author's courage at least as often as I laughed out loud at his actions.