Woman of the River: Georgie White Clark, White Water Pioneer (Paperback)

by Dick Westwood (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Westwood's excellent biography suggests Georgie's life, both precious and rare because she lived as she chose, will continue somehow in the canyon she loved so much -- The Salt Lake Tribune, March 8, 1998

[Thanks to] Mr. Westwood...for allowing us to see Georgie the way she really was -- The Boatman's Quarterly, Summer 1997

Product Description
Georgie White Clark became one of the best-known river guides on the Colorado River. By pioneering the use of large rubber rafts, she helped turn an elite adventure sport into a widely enjoyed outdoor activity.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Utah State University Press (October 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874212340
• ISBN-13: 978-0874212341
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #741,619 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Trips, travails, and triumphs, August 2, 2001

By	Bruce Cline "Just a Reader" (Littleton, CO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

You may be as surprised by this book as I was - I bought it thinking that I OUGHT to read it to learn more about a river-running legend, but I didn't expect to enjoy it all that much. I was wrong. Author Richard Westwood engagingly tells the story of Georgie White Clark and how she came to be one of the most celebrated pioneers of Western United State river-running, especially on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. In surprising detail (including the names of many of her passengers and boatmen) this book describes the trips, travails, and triumphs of Georgie's long career here in the United State and elsewhere. The book gives brief details of Georgie's early years, but focuses on her river-running years starting in 1945 when she and Harry Aleson swam from Diamond Creek to Lake Mead, through 1992 when she died.

To the author's credit he does not dodge the controversies that have marred Georgie's legend. Westwood frankly acknowledges and, in some instances, documents the validity of some of the criticisms leveled at Georgie over the years. He states what he knows or what his considerable research revealed, and leaves the conclusions up to the reader.

Through this book you will get an unvarnished portrait of a unique individual, someone who left her imprint on a sport that largely didn't exist when she started and was a multi-million dollar industry when she died. You'll learn about an incredibly complex person: alternately engaging or aloof, compassionate or driven -- but always a pioneer. This very readable book includes over 50 photographs and maps that bring to life much of what is written, and give the reader a glimpse of Georgie's world.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Life and Times of a River Rat, July 26, 2005

By	Jeff Strang "Elderhostel Naturalist/Guide" (Flagstaff, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

A biography of one of the pioneers of commercial river rafting on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. Georgie--adventurer, raconteur, eccentric--started by swimming the rapids in the river, and continued running large commercial trips into her 80's in the 1990's.