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Overview
Niagara Falls has always been more than just a natural wonder. The sublime beauty and awesome power of the great cataract have made it a magnet for statesmen and stuntmen, poets and poseurs, ordinary sightseers and exceptional visionaries. This book traces the history of the Falls and those drawn to it: industrialists who come to harness its power, movie stars who come to garner publicity, photographers who come to test new techniques, and honeymooners who come to start new lives. As Pierre Berton shows, the history of the Falls is a chronicle filled with exceptional characters: Charles Blondin, the French daredevil who crossed the Falls on a high wire; John Roebling, the engineer who spanned the Niagara gorge before he built the Brooklyn Bridge; Henry Perky, the inventor of shredded wheat; and Robert Moses, the "Power Broker" himself.Synopsis
A sweeping history of this natural wonder, from its geological beginnings to the present.
Publishers Weekly
The first Europeans to see Niagara Falls were struck with an awe akin to terror, but with the passage of a couple of centuries the site came to be regarded as the ultimate symbol of God's creative power. Even Charles Dickens, who didn't think much of what he found on this side of the Atlantic, was deeply moved. In the 19th century, the American side of the falls became a Mecca for honeymooners, first luring the rich and then the middle class as well. Later in that century, the unparalleled opportunity for hydroelectric power, combined with the development of alternating current, which meant that electricity could be sent over long distances, brought a wealth of industrial development. Canadian historian Berton (The Wild Frontier) tells dozens of absorbing tales about the region and those who passed through it: the "funambulist" Blondin, who danced on a tightrope high above the chasm; John Roebling, better known for the Brooklyn Bridge than for the one he built to span the Niagara River; the adventurers and crackpots who went over the falls in barrels; the lengthy struggle to close the Love Canal toxic waste dump. He tells them all superbly, aided by essential maps and a few reproductions of posters advertising some of the more bizarre stunts. (Jan.)