Overview
The one-armed professor who conquered the mighty Colorado.
No European had ever taken boats down the Colorado river and come out alive. In May 1869, ten men boarded four rowboats in Green River City, Wyoming.
Three months and 1,000 miles later, just two battered boats carrying six exhausted and starving men emerged from the depths of the Grand Canyon. The Last River tells their remarkable story.
The man who challenged the Colorado was different from other explorers. Major John Wesley Powell was a small, bookish, one-armed geology professor from a midwestern farm. Despite his size and the constant pain from the Civil War wound that had cost him his arm, Powell's twin passions -- adventure and scientific exploration -- drew him to the Colorado River.
For three months he and nine crew members made their home on the river. They thrilled to riding the rapids and endured the back-breaking labor of transporting boats and cargo past rapids too dangerous to run. They discovered canyons of unsurpassed beauty and gave them names like Music Temple and Canyon of Lodore. They saved each other from drowning, and suffered together as their food supply dwindled to nearly nothing.
Excerpts from journals of crew members personalize the gripping text. Original paintings and a fold-out map allows the reader to simultaneously follow the expedition's route and its adventures.
The Last River is an inspiring and riveting true adventure written with drama and compassion that brings history to life.
Synopsis
The story of the first Europeans to survive traveling by boat down the Colorado River. The 1869 3 month exploration reduced 4 boats and 10 men to 2 boats and 6 men, but made them witness to unsurpassed beauty and their true adventure is inspiring.
Michael L. Cooper - Children's Literature
I wanted to like this book about the first successful expedition by white men down the Colorado River through the desert and canyons of Utah and Arizona. While the writing is quite good in many places, it seems too adult for the young kids who are the typical audience for oversized illustrated books like this one. And the illustrations, an essential element of nonfiction books these days, are disappointing. Rich, full-page color paintings are printed too darkly, while historical photographs from late 19th century expeditions are too small and add little to the text. One nice touch is the use of excerpts from the explorers' letters and journals in sidebars. Overall though, this book was most successful at whetting this reader's appetite for other books about John Wesley Powell, one of the founders of the National Geographic Society. 2005, Mikaya Press, Ages 9 up.
Editorials
Booklist -
Handsome full- and double-page paintings... Rich in colors, strong in composition, and beautifully executed, these often-dramatic paintings bring the story to life.Children's Literature
I wanted to like this book about the first successful expedition by white men down the Colorado River through the desert and canyons of Utah and Arizona. While the writing is quite good in many places, it seems too adult for the young kids who are the typical audience for oversized illustrated books like this one. And the illustrations, an essential element of nonfiction books these days, are disappointing. Rich, full-page color paintings are printed too darkly, while historical photographs from late 19th century expeditions are too small and add little to the text. One nice touch is the use of excerpts from the explorers' letters and journals in sidebars. Overall though, this book was most successful at whetting this reader's appetite for other books about John Wesley Powell, one of the founders of the National Geographic Society. 2005, Mikaya Press, Ages 9 up.—Michael L. Cooper