The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons (Classic, Nature, Penguin) (Paperback)

by John Wesley Powell (Author) "The Colorado River is formed by the junction of the Grand and Green..." (more)
Key Phrases: Vermilion Cliffs, Green River, Little Colorado (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
What started as a scientific expedition through the last uncharted territory of the continental United States turned out to be a harrowing adventure for John Wesley Powell and nine other men who set out to explore the Colorado River in 1869. Their story, recounted from Powell's journals, is as exciting today as it was when first published in 1874. Photos & line drawings.

About the Author
John Wesley Powell (1834-1902) was a professor of geology and director of the U.S. Geological Survey.

Wallace Stegner (1909-1993) was the author of numerous works of fiction and non-fiction, including the National Book Award-winning The Spectator Bird and Angle of Repose, which won the Pulitzer Prize. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (March 3, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140255699
• ISBN-13: 978-0140255690
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #846,853 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This item is part of The Penguin Nature Classics Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bears comparison with Lewis and Clark, August 12, 2000

By	Michael Green "mrclay2000" (OKLAHOMA CITY, OK United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons (Paperback)

Even if you are illiterate, the drawings in this book are frequently incredible. While true, that the drawings don't always fit with the adjacent text, this will neither lessen the impact of the journal nor irritate the enjoyment of its descriptions. Like Lewis and Clark, Powell suffered great hardships on the way, going so far along known courses, and then emerging into the great unknown. His account of his last ten critical days on the Colorado River is compelling, his descriptions of the Grand Canyon and other canyons are frequently better than the illustrious drawings, and his geographic and geologic explanations of the basin's creation help shape a broader view of one of America's most visited places.

I highly recommend this as a reference book, a history book of the area, an adventure story, and an art portfolio.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than "In Thin Air"., November 5, 1997

By A Customer

One of the most enthralling and astonishing adventure books I've ever read. Powell was an ace geologist, a pretty good naturalist, a fearless explorer, and a very good writer. Add the unexplored waters of the Grand Canyon -- they truly didn't know what they were getting into when they started down the Canyon -- and you have a great book. The illustrations are first-rate as well.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Exploration of the Last Unmapped Part of Continental U.S., January 30, 2002

By	"bcj222" (Newport Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews

On May 24, 1869, Major John W. Powell, a one-armed veteran of the Civil War, along with nine others (geologists, geographers, scouts and adventurers), set out from Green River, Wyoming to explore the last great unmapped and unknown portion of the continental U.S. No man had ever descended the Colorado river as it cut its way through 1,000 miles of incredibly rugged badlands. However, Powell and his band of men completed a remarkable journey of exploration through this country.

A passage from Powell's narrative of the expedition, after they had been on the river nearly two months, conveys very well a perspective of the challenge Powell and his men faced, the courage they demonstrated and Powell's matter of fact, but powerful writing style.

"We are now ready to start on our way down the Great Unknown. Our boats, tied to a common stake, chafe each other as they are tossed by the fretful river. They ride high and buoyant, for their loads are lighter than we could desire. We have but a month's rations remaining. The flour has been resifted through the mosquito-net sieve; the spoiled bacon has been dried and the worst of it boiled; the few pounds of dried apples have been spread in the sun and reshrunken to their normal bulk. The sugar has all melted and gone on its way down the river. But we have a large sack of coffee. The lightening of the boats has this advantage--they will ride the waves better; and we shall have but little to carry when we make a portage. We are three quarters of a mile in the depths of the earth and the great river shrinks into insignificance as it dashes its angry waves against the walls and cliffs that rise to the world above. The waves are but puny ripples. We are but pigmies, running up and down among the sands or lost among the boulders. We have an unknown distance yet to run, an unknown river to explore. What falls there are, we know not. What rocks beset the channel, we know not. What walls rise over the river, we know not. Ah, well! We may conjecture many things. The men talk as cheerfully as ever. To me, the cheer is somber and the jests ghastly."

This book is a classic tale of exploration and discovery!