In spite of nearly continuous disasters, including the loss of supplies, raging rapids, and personality clashes, John Wesley Powell and his band of hardy explorers became the first white men to chart the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon. Fraser traces Powell's three-month journey down the river in this informative text, which also quite clearly conveys the danger, excitement, and nonstop action of the adventure. She relied heavily on Powell's writings and the journals of other crew members and has included many passages in her work. Readers will enjoy her account of the trip, as well as her observations about Powell's farsighted views on water management and on the treatment of Native Americans. A bibliography is supplied.
|
