North America Books

I've been down part of the Colorado from Diamond Creek to Lake Mead but have never had the means or opportunity to see the rest at water's edge. Ed Abbey's text and John Blaustein's photos take me on a vicarious trip that brings back all the excitement of white water and the awsome experience of gazing up and up at the canyon's walls that many only view from the rim. It's a different canyon down there and a river journey allows me to see it all and remember the feel of ancient schist and the plaintive song of the canyon wren. It's a book to read and look at again and again even if you can never visit or revisit the river itself.

As a person how recently did a two week raft trip down the Grand Canyon, I can say that this book visually caputures the essence of the experience! The pictures are wonderful. I have recommended it to my rafting friends as well as some Grand Canyon river guides.

Having done the Colorado in a private raft, The Hidden Canyon absolutely thrilled me - again - as much with its elegant pictures as with Edward Abbey's flat-out-fun narration.

Having rafted the Colorado myself 2 years ago, this was a perfect souvenir-reminder of my trip. The photos in particular are exquisite - some I have no idea how he managed to capture without ending up in the river himself. I lost my Pentax to the very first rapid! This book definitely gives a sense of what the Canyon, the river, and the rapids are like. Makes me want to go back!

I have traveled through the Grand Canyon many times, both on the river and on the trails. John Blaustein has not only been able to capture the beauty of the canyon but also the soul of the river it contains. Abbey's journal is a fine compliment to the pulchritude of the pictures.

Every once and awhile a reader is forturnate to come by a book that might seem uninteresting but upon reading it finds it to be one of the best books ever. Such is HOLDING STONE HANDS which I bought several years back from University of Nebraska as one of their sale books. Turned out to have been one of the wiser buys of my time.

One of the very first things that struck me as I began this book was the flat out courage it would take to do what the author has done. Leave home, leave safety, walk upwards of 1500 miles, live, eat, and sleep out of doors much of the time. Another thing that quickly came to me was the interest people, mostly Cheyenne, still held for this historical happening. And they wanted to aid the author in his quest.

I have read some on this subject but things such as the Northern Cheyenne life coming to an abrupt end in December, 1876, was a surprise. Also that Lone Wolf's name was not that but 'Lone Coyote', or that Dull Knife's name was not that but 'Morning Star'. Also that both of these heroic and historic personages of the Northern Cheyenne, each in his own way, ended life mostly an outcast. Remembered today, yes, but only in a tempered way. Many still find fault with some decisions Dull Knife made. And with Lone Wolf murdering a fellow tribesman, his later life of blindness and isolation had to be very unrewarding.

No matter the reason for reading this wonderful book, a reader has struck a true classic of western history. And the main thrust of the book goes beyond history to be one of mission and people. Great reading as usual from University of Nebraska Press.

Semper Fi.

As my title states, this is a very powerful book. Mr. Boye walked the trail that the Cheyennes travelled in their tragic journey to get back home (from Oklahoma to Montana). Along the way the author meets up with two Cheyenne men who travel with him for the better part of the journey. When they leave he meets a mid-20s Japanese man who travels with him for a while. Why is this Japanese man touring the American West? Read the book to find out. Despite my praise for this book, my rating is a 4.5 out of 5. Why? I will give two examples (not that there are many more):
1 - On p. 225 he states that hundreds of Indians were killed at the Battle of the Blue Water (the number was about 86 and his own source--Utley, Frontiersmen in Blue--states 85).
2 - Following Little Wolf's capture his followers shortly after became scouts for General Miles to fight the Sioux. Boye only mentions his surrender. He should have gone on to include this important detail.

Having said that, the book is still a very good read and I really enjoyed his journey and his dramatic retelling of the Cheyennes' escape from Fort Robinson. I would like to know more about the film made by some Cheyenne's as mentioned in the book. Final verdict: Recommended.

I'm not much for history as it is taught in our schools, but this book is great. It is a perfect blend of history, present day (in the form of the author's trip), and thoughts and stories from the author's personal life.

I recommend this tome to anyone that likes travel stories. Especially if you dont know, or want to know more about, the Cheyenne Exodus. Expensive, but worth the money.

This is a story of heartache and strength, of hope and struggle...it is the story of a man's love of the land and a people's fight to keep their homeland. Boye is a gifted and talented writer whose words flow as he leads us from page to page, back into the past and then gently into the present. He is a writer that truly cares about his story and the people that inhabit it. He opens his heart and the words come tumbling out. A wonderful MUST READ for all nature lovers and history buffs.

This is a magical walk through a dark time in American History...Alan's own experiences are so materfully intertwined with history on this voyage, the past truly comes alive as you feel every step and face every fear. With each step, with every encounter along the way, you can feel the ghosts of the Cheyenne people walking in your own shadow. Make no mistake, HOLDING STONE HANDS is a Masterpiece...you'll feel the pain of endless walking, the anger for what the Cheyenne people were forced to endure, and the sorrow for the pointless death as they tried to make their way to the only land they would ever call home.

I agree with the earlier reviews but I'd like to provide some details about this book's strengths.
First, Payne places the people who made the Mississippi movement at the center the story. He tells the story of both the original local leaders who made it possible for the civil rights movement to happen in Mississippi and the activists who followed their lead in the 1960s.
Second, he extends the time span of the civil rights movement, showing that it would not have been possible without the "organizing tradition" referred to in the subtitle. Payne expertly traces the relationships and linkages between different generations of heroic troublemakers in Mississippi.
Third, he shows that the original radicals, and I mean those who wanted to change Mississippi from its roots, were those who had already challenged the system to achieve personal gain. "Bourgeois" blacks in Mississippi weren't uniformly complacent or fearful. Wisely, Payne does not use this fact to justify any notion of a "talented tenth" that ought to lead the masses.
Fourth, the chapter on Ella Baker is a stunning and riveting account of one heroic troublemaker who didn't receive enough recognition for her efforts.
Fifth, when Payne writes about what we typically consider the civil rights movement, he places you in the midst of the activists and makes you feel their exhileration, exhaustion, frustration, fear, and courage. Scholarly books never have this quality. At the same time, he does this in a historical context and with a critical eye which absolutely illuminate the raw material in a way that first-person and journalistic treatments rarely approach.
For these reasons, and many more, this is clearly the best of many excellent books on the civil rights movement. Some could fault Payne for placing less emphasis on the national and institutional dimensions of the freedom struggle. But, in the case of the black American struggle for freedom, Payne shows us the story begins with, and is carried by, people who tried to change their communities, not their nation.

Two years ago the author taught a short course at my college on the Mississippi civil rights movemement. He used this book, and I've been recommending it to people ever since. His style and content are both amazing, and I feel really lucky to have had an opportunity to read this book in a course structured around it. _I've Got the Light of Freedom_ offers a new perspective on the way history is taught and remembered. Organizing and people's history are emphasized in what happens to be one of the best movement books out there. It's everything scholarly writing should be. Kudos to Charles Payne.

The real history of the civil rights movement. Who really made the difference in a day to day way on the front lines. Not only that, a description of how to organize from a working class, feminist perspective in the context of the African-American freedom struggle. A must read for anyone who is trying to build the movement we need today to make a world free of oppression.

I'd pair the book with a more nationally-oriented one, such as the Taylor Branch trilogy, which give a better sense of national politics, but Payne's book is both profound and profoundly moving in its depiction of local communities and Ella Baker's "Organizing Tradition", which turns a number of assumptions about the movement on their head. I've read the book a few times with students and never fail to be personally engaged and to have invigorating classes with students. Great, great stuff!

As a history major, I have various interests. One of my favorite things to study is the civil rights movement. Of all the books that I have seen, few match the caliber of this book. It takes the state of Mississippi (which may be the book's greatest irony)and shows how powerful a grassroots movement such as the civil rights movement can be with the proper forms of leadership. I urge anyone who is interested in learning about the civil rights movement should start with this book!

Many books have 10-20% useful information, padded with verbiage. This is a heart-touching book worth reading repeatedly- with 100% useful material, really more like 150%, because it is so good that as I grow, I go back and reread it. It is easy to read, and very profound. I got a B.A. in Anthropology, and all of my useful notes together do not equal what is in this book. This book, and Tad James' first book on Huna, are all I sought getting my BA, and didn't get. We don't know what healthy community is; we know only the pathology of the average. This describes the elements of healthy human living, of a healthy community. I paid to donate this book to 3 University libraries, so that other people, seeking as I was seeking, could find this. I didn't know this kind of high level awareness could be put in print. For my interests, I've never found a book even close to being as good as this one is.

It is somewhat difficult to enter the indigenous world of immediate experience and intuitive awareness from Western culture. Teaching it is even more difficult. Putting this transition in words, so people can read about it is even more difficult. Yet he does it. This book is the best book of its type, of the over 500 I have read. It is a book I go back to as I grow, because I find new ideas when I reread it, and this is not true of many books for me. If you have an interest in indigenous cultures- even European- and in expanding awareness, or in learning how shamanic indigenous cultures lived, this is a book well worth getting. I have personally given 10 copies away to relatives and friends. This is a treasure trove, a smorgasbord of useful ideas. Dover will, in my opinion, reprint this book, in another 30 years, because it is such a classic.

This book is really neat. I learn something new every time I read it, it's like it's layered, with something for every level. I will keep my copy of it as long as I live. In many other books, one finds cool tidbits, here and there. This guy gathered a lot of cool tidbits and put them in one place, with like almost no waste.

Western society is more and more fragmented. Indigenous cultures, before contact, weren't. This book is clearly written from the perspective of someone who has spent a lot of time among indigenous peoples. Really good books are such that you can read them several times, and get new insights each time. This book is like that, and I re-read it once a year, to get new insights. It has a lot of the heart of indigenous cultures. The heart of the problem is usually a problem of the heart, and this book is very useful for getting to the heart of issues. As a community organizer, student of minimal equipment wilderness survival, and even just human being trying to improve, I have used this book a lot. I have given at least 7 copies of this book to friends. I wish there were more books like this in print. It is really, really good. This is easily among the best 10 books I've read in my life.

This book not only gives a person a fresh perspective, it goes into detail HOW to begin anew - how to re-learn and re-live a common path and lifeway we all once walked. This is not a "dyed-in-the-wool" self help or new age book. The book shelves are lined with them. Anyone asking questions, and then questioning the resultant answers about their most basic belief systems will most likely renew their spiritual enthusiasm after reading this book. If you're a Seeker by nature, a questioner, this book will rejuvinate you. If you're living a lifestyle in the mainstream, and comfortable with what you know (or think you know), this book may challenge much of what you've been taught since you were a child. Especially re-assuring is the basis for the commonality we all share. Debunks the precept that Native Culture "primitivity" is inferior to the modern, civilized way of living. Outdoor enthusiasts will be challenged to view the world they love so much in a new light of Stewardship and Appreciation.

Best travel guide bar none. Fits your pocket or small purse.. Visually great looking. There are actual pictures .... All high recommended hotels different prices..Great maps.. hard to get lost . Great recommends for food I am a shopper.. Absolutely great & unusual shops ..None of the bad tourist gear only the styling gear.. .I am familiar w/ New York but I still use this guide. This is the one I get around with...I do not go anywhere without this guide if there is one available for the destination Im will be traveling to....

This is the most ergonomically designed useful city guide I've seen.
100 percent portable, no batteries, internet connection and user friendly.

I have bought several editions of this handy little guide over the years and am now giving one to all the guests at my daughter's New York wedding. It is very easy to use and has great suggestions for dining, sight-seeing etc. with very simple sections for each area of the city. I call it my New York bible.

I went to New York for the first time for two weeks. This map is great. It's small, easy to carry, and easy to read. You won't feel so obvious if you have to pull it out on the street corner or on the subway. It was so much better than the full size map that I got from the hotel. Beware, it only covers Manhattan. So if you have to travel to the outer boroughs (Brooklyn, Bronx, Staten Island, Queens) you'll need a different map. However, since all the siteseeing, shopping, and eating I wanted to do was located in Manhattan, it was the only map I needed.

The first time I went to New York, my mom bought this for our trip. It's been a life saver since. The maps are very detailed but small enough to carry with you without looking obnoxious. The subway map is detailed as well and when you use them with your sectioned maps, it completes the whole picture. This is a must have especially for first time visitors as the maps are very easy to read. I'm going on my third trip in two months and had to pick up another copy of this, as I can't seem to find my older one. I couldn't imagine a trip to NYC without it!

As a person who has celebrated Kwanzaa for a couple of decades and as the creator of several kwanzaa products myself, I found the book 'Kwanzaa: From Holiday to Every Day' to be a very informative book on this growing celebration.

The book offers historical info on Kwanzaa and illustrates how the celebration connects people of African descent around the world with our cultural roots.

The book shows you how to organize a Kwanzaa celebration of your own and has a lot of great contacts for Kwanzaa music, books and supplies.

I recommend it for anyone interested in learning about Kwanzaa. I also recommend it for those who already know of and celebrate Kwanzaa as a way to reinforce its concepts and its meaning to you.

This book explores not only the holiday of Kwanzaa, but how to incorporate the values of Kwanzaa into your everyday life without going outside of who you intrinsically are. You are already a person who is creative, caring, conscientious and interested in African inspired cultural values, then this book can expand and enhance your practices.

Ms. Angaza's journalistic style takes the reader on a historical voyage as well as a personal one. Her sense of prose will dazzle the reader as well as make him ponder of why it is so important to celebrate such a holiday. This book has even inspired me to throw my first Kwanzaa event this year.

I picked up Ms. Angaza's text, Kwanzaa: From Holiday to Every Day,and have begun to read it like a novel. I thank Ms. Angaza for penning this positive vibration and upliftment. Her prose is smooth and rational. It puts into perspective the cultural repression and damage to the psyche of Africans worldwide while also providing numerous examples of our triumphs, successes and committment to our cultural heritage.

I laughed out loud at the passage where she exposes the cultural bias inherent in the debate over hyphenated identities and the kiss me i'm Irish example. She's crafted a blend of history, social commentary, practical applications, call to action and inspirational vignettes that can be beneficial to all. I reccommend purchasing this text just for the resource section - simply phenomenal. The resource seciton could be used as a life long self study core curricula. Don't overlook the recipes - yummy. She presents things so honestly (sans pretext) that I think people will be encouraged to try out many of the book's recommendations. A Complete guide is an apt subtitle for this work.

I thoroughly recommend this book to everyone! Were I able to give it 6 stars, I would have given it 7. This book is not simply a nice read... it is an Absolute Need. Seriously, this piece comes at a time when our communities & our families are in dire need of self-realization and a reconnection to the roots and core values that make African people unique. One of the things that was most impressive to me was the level of research that was done to compile this work. Who knew that so many people in so many countries across the world are celebrating Kwanzaa and adapting it's principles. Myself and my mate have even discussed beginning to travel each year during the holiday so that we may expose this tradition to our children as it is celebrated throughout the world. If you have never celebrated Kwanzaa, have celebrated all your life or think that this book is not for you... Buy this book! It is for you and you will absolutely not be dissapointed. The Resource pages toward the back are worth the purchase alone.

While focused on the ANWR, this eloquent work has broad application. Kaye's careful analysis of what it took to mobilize disparate interests to reach a common goal, and of the constant attention that must be paid even after "success" is reached to avoid the same pro-development forces rewinding the clock, is instructive to every grassroots effort to protect our precious wild places. Well done at every level, and urgently needed as an organizing guide.

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has for decades been at the center of the conflict between American needs for oil and nature's preservation, yet until now little has been provided in the way of a comprehensive history of how the Refuge came to be. LAST GREAT WILDERNESS: THE CAMPAIGN TO ESTABLISH THE ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE covers this history, from the early visionaries who set forth to save an entire ecosystem to the battles which led to the passage of the Wilderness Act in 1964. It's a top, recommended pick for any interested in wilderness preservation in general and Arctic or oil issues in particular.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

"Last Great Wilderness is the story of the beliefs and values, the ideas and idealism, and the hopes and concerns for the future that inspired the leaders of the campaign and many of their followers. (LGW, review copy, p. xv) Because the national campaign for establishment covered the period from 1950-1960, Arctic NWR serves also as tracer for the evolution of the Wilderness concept and the 1964 legislation establishing America's National Wilderness Preservation System. The Arctic NWR campaign, in its broadest context, involved many famous names in environmental conservation annals--Olaus and Margaret "Mardie" Murie, George Collins, Lowell Sumner, A. Starker Leopold, F. Fraser Darling, Howard Zahnizer, and others. The foundational vision came from Collins and Sumner, but the Muries helped steer the campaign at critical periods and obtained broad support for the proposal in Alaska, a feat worthy of Hercules.

Make no mistake; Last Great Wilderness will help readers understand the significance of this largest and most threatened refuge in our U.S. Refuge System. The book presents the hopes and dreams of the visionaries who worked so hard and so well for its creation. It presents the compromises that had to be made, and it gives context to the International, scientific, wilderness, fish and wildlife, cultural, and landscape-level ecological values for which the refuge stands, thereby creating a preeminent symbol of freedom, "...freedom from the crowding and pollution of our cities, freedom to continue, unhindered and forever if we are willing, the particular story of Planet Earth unfolding here--freedom for us as well who need to come to the few out-of-the-way places still remaining where we can breathe freely, be inspired, and understand a little of the majestic story of evolution... ."

As conservationists continue the prolonged struggle to protect the Arctic Refuge from oil development and other encroachments, the epic story of the campaign to establish the original Arctic National Wildlife Range, documented in Last Great Wilderness, now provides new inspiration and deeper understanding of why the Refuge should remain protected. This is an invaluable resource for all who will face the battles that lie ahead because in revealing the idealism and values upon which the Arctic Refuge was founded, it provides the most persuasive arguments for keeping it wild. While Last Great Wilderness is a thoroughly researched and authoritative history of the conflict, it is at the same time an absorbing, hard-to-put-down story. Color and black and white historical photos lend interest.

Last Great Wilderness shows how conservation pioneers George Collins, Lowell Sumner, Olaus and Mardy Murie, Starker Leopold, Justice William O. Douglas, and Sigrud Olson united with Ginny Wood, Celia Hunter and other Alaskans to forge a highly effective strategy of grass roots action on a national scale. Their successful struggle set a number of milestones in conservation history: establishment of the nation's first vast ecosystem-scale conservation unit and the first administered as an adventuring ground--a place for the kind of challenging, self-reliant, and exploratory journeys that Bob Marshall had extolled. The Arctic Range exemplified the wild values and recreational opportunities its advocates soon succeeded in enshrining in the wilderness Act of 1964. The victory laid the groundwork for the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA).

While Last Great Wilderness is about what happened in the past, like any history, it was written to serve the future. For those who believe the vision, values, and ideals that led to the Arctic Refuge's establishment should guide its future stewardship, Last Great Wilderness will be an invaluable guide. And for those interested in the evolution of the wilderness movement, and especially its influence upon Alaskan conservation efforts, this book is a must-read.

A PhD in wilderness studies, Roger Kaye has been the Arctic Refuge's wilderness specialist and pilot since 1985.

Establishment of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was an epic struggle in conservation and remains a touchstone for many of us that prefer a hearty dose of wildness. In this book by Roger Kaye, the reader gains an appreciation of the place rightfully called the Last Great Wilderness, but perhaps more importantly we learn about the coalition of scientists, sportsmen, and wilderness lovers who were profoundly touched by this wild corner of Alaska and how they struggled to protect it.

The people involved in the campaign to protect what would become the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge read like a who's who of the early conservation movement. Among those described are the likes of Bob Marshall, Aldo Leopold, Olaus Murie, Mardy Murie, George Collins, and A. Starker Leopold. In those early days, no one knew what special designation was fitting for such land or which agency should manage it, let alone how to convince Congress or the President to act on its behalf.

One of the great lessons of this book is that despite long odds, persistence and dedication eventually pay off. Virginia Wood and Celia Hunter, two early Alaska advocates for protection, captured what I am certain was broad sentiment among conservationists at that time and even today, they wrote: "conservation gets so many setbacks...it is easy to get discouraged and feel that individuals or small groups are impotent in the machinations of `bigness' that plague the modern world."

Today, we are the beneficiaries of their unselfish vision and dedication. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is indeed the last great wilderness, stretching for more than 19 million acres - about 9 times the size of Yellowstone National Park - plus adjoining parks on the Canadian side. Roger Kaye's fine book reminds us not only why such an area was protected but why it is vital that we not lose this vision of a place where nature still plays out her natural rhythms in tune to forces yet only partially understood by scientists and philosophers.

A very readable book on modern history of a segment of society that might go unnoticed. We all know about the Stonewall Riots and the importance they played in the history of gays and lesbians in the United States. THE LAVENDER SCARE puts that event in perspective and points out how this was only a part of the fabric started by brave men and women who finally decided to speak out against government oppression long before Stonewall.

David K. Johnson's history is an excellent, well documented, and captiviating account of a largely forgotten aspect of the Cold War and McCarthy period. While the reputation of Senator McCarthy is alive today, few people are aware of how the anticommunist and anti-gay purges affected life for all Americans, creating a bitter climate of fear and recrimination that felt nation-wide. The political spirit of that time will resonate for everyone who reads the news today, as political leaders are motivated not by a sense of justice, but by a fear of getting branded as being on the "wrong side" of a political issue. As Mr. Johnson points out, the only blackmailing government workers were subject to was that from their own employers. The fear, ignorance, prejudice of that time is brought vividly back to life in Mr. Johnson's book, as is the extraordinary intellence and bravery of the few souls who sought to make a just change in thier country. This is truly an important tale of freedom in America.

Cold war and McCarthyism are familiar topics from historians as America's fear of Communists and its reaction to this fear are interpreted from every side of the political spectrum. David K. Johnson does something different and, in its special way, far more important. The author, in The Lavender Scare, looks at how the cold war fears were used to hound gay men and women out of the federal service and how this continued unabated long after the Communist hysteria died down. It is fascinating, and horrifying, to witness how politicians used their fear and ignorance of "the perverts" for their own political ends and used the fear of Communists as a cover for their attacks. The case presented in this book is well researched and the voices from both sides are used, even from those voices of the gay men and lesbians which had to be silent at the time. This books holds valuable lessons (and warnings) for our own fraught times. A valuable addition to the literature of the history of the Cold War.

Rarely does a work of history both capture a particular moment in time and resonate so deeply with issues alive in contemporary public culture. As the country debates the possibility of gay marriage and the possible meanings of these unions, David Johnson's The Lavender Scare reminds us that homosexuality has at least one other time been conjured up as the nation's "bugaboo" during a period of political shifts and broad cultural change. In an account that is as riveting as it is sobering, Johnson shows how "containment of sexuality was as central to 1950s America as containment of communism." The issue of homosexuality sat at the center of discussions about "national security" during the Cold War period, resulting in the persecution and ouster of hundreds of gay (and suspected gay) federal workers.
The book is written with marvelous grace and sensitivity. Johnson's brilliant skill at research and powers of analysis are in evidence on every page. Much to his credit, Johnson has used those skills to give voice to those from whom otherwise we might never have heard. The impressive narrative structure of The Lavender Scare makes it read like a fine novel. And the callous devastation, the lives lost and ruined by the tactics of a government in search of a moral center after WWII, makes one wish it were a work of fiction. But it is far from that.
The Lavender Scare, rather, is a work of consummate historical research and writing. The enduring contribution of the book is that it shows how the "McCarthy Era" had much less to do with "the Communist threat" and much more to do with homosexuality and "moral panic" than we could have possibly imagined. We will never again be able to think of the Cold War period in quite the same way. Johnson has complexified and clarified perhaps the most vital time in Post WWII American history. The book is certain take its place alongside George Chauncey's magisterial Gay New York.

What a great book! I never liked any type of history. I almost failed it in high school. This book has changed that for me. The only reason I read this book in the first place was because the author is a friend of mine, so I felt obligated to read it. Otherwise I never would have considered it. Well, I was glued to it the entire time reading it. Not only did I find it riveting, angering, thought provoking and scary, but I actually learned a lot about history that I never paid attention to in high school! I also found it quite timely, and I feel like we're going through many of the same things in politics now. (John Ashcroft = Joe McCarthy)

This book is a must read!

Gumprecht's _Los Angeles River_ is a well-written history of the Los Angeles River, from Native American and Spanish/Mexican pueblo days to the present.

Looking at the concrete-lined flood control channel that the LA River has become, it is hard to believe that the LA River once was the main water supply for the City of Los Angeles. As the city grew, though, its water needs outpaced what the river could supply. An alternate source (which turned out to be the infamous Aqueduct), was eventually developed. With all the Owens Valley water coming into the city, the river became simply a dumping ground for wastewater and other undesirable things.

The LA River, more or less also determined the expansion of the city. Since farmers in the San Fernando Valley had no rights to the LA River water (it all belonged to the city), eventually, the San Fernando Valley had to join the City of Los Angeles to access any water.

The river was also known for flooding and changing its course unpredictably. These floods became more and more of a concern as areas near the river developed, first with agriculture, later with residences. After a particularly devastating flood in 1934, officials called on the Army Corps of Engineers to help with flood control. This led to the concrete channelization of the river.

After that, no one thought much of the river. Occasionally, the concrete channel inspired uses such as movie shoots and vehicular uses. It looked so much like a road, that several people proposed making the riverbed into a freeway.

Meanwhile, the river was starting to get some attention. Lewis McAdams founded the Friends of the La River, which is trying to get the river restored to its natural state. They have run into opposition by the Army Corps of Engineers, and other parties concerned about flood control issues. The future of the river becoming more than it is now (a paved channel with a trickle of water in it most of the time) remains in question.

The book started its life as a masters' thesis, but the prose is accessible, not overly academic. Recommended for anyone interested in the history of Los Angeles.

I first saw the Los Angeles River in TV shows and movies like Terminator 2 and have ever since been interested in learning more about this strange, concrete encased urban waterway. Blake Gumprecht's book does a great job of providing the history of the Los Angeles River from its pristine condition two centuries ago into the modern era as a "Freeway for Water" in the book "The Los Angeles River."

The author balances his coverage of the river and fairly represents both sides of the struggle to restore it back to a more natural appearance versus the need to provide flood control protection with concrete fortifications.

The book is extremely well researched and documented. Extensive maps and photos shed light on the topic and make the historical changes easier to follow.

My only wish is that a future edition will include color photos.

If you've ever wondered why Los Angeles is in the middle of a desert (hint: it wasn't always), what the river looked like before there was a city, and why the river was buried in concrete, this is the book. An excellent description of the origins of the river and the city, with insights into the modern revitalization movement.

Among the things I learned:
--The river starts in the San Fernando Valley, but the city of Los Angeles has claimed the water as its own since at least 1810, a claim eventually known as the Pueblo Water Right.
--Not all of those concrete beds in L.A. are technically the L.A. river, which starts along the south edge of the San Fernando Valley, dodges a number of movie studios, and makes a right turn through downtown before heading for the Pacific. The others are creeks and washes that feed (fed) the river.
--The area's light rainfall was sufficient to keep the river flowing year-round until suburbia took over. Concrete and asphalt reduced the water that soaked into the ground to be released slowly into the river. Now, the primary source of flowing river water is the what's been reclaimed from sewage treatment plants.

Worth the read for all Angelenos or anyone who is interested in Los Angeles.

Reading this book was an assignement for a geography course I was taking in college. My first thoughts were "A book on the L.A. River? How can they write an entire book on a river that flows a couple of days per year?" My indifference to the subject was quickly dismissed after the first few pages. This book is very insightful! It gives a detailed history on L.A., from it's foundation as a tiny pueblo to the sprawling metropolis it is today, with the river & water in Southern California being the central themes. I always wondered why L.A. was built in the area it's in & Mr. Gumprecht answers that in fine detail along with many other interesting facts regarding the annexation of neighboring cities, water rights, deadly floods and ultimately the concrete channel built to contain this unpredictable river.
Whoever is interested in the histroy of this region will no doubt greatly enjoy this superb book!

This fascinating book is packed with information about the history of Los Angeles. Not many present-day Angelenos would know that the location for the city was chosen because of the once-abundant flow of the Rio de Porciuncula, or Los Angeles River. Blake Gumprecht pulls an amazing feat in researching the River's many incarnations alongside the history of the growth of Los Angeles. In addition to providing detailed reports of the River's former courses, and devastating accounts of some of the River's infamous catastrophic floods, Mr. Gumprecht explains the River's role in shaping the course of Los Angeles city politics in greater detail than any previous study.

Once an ample stream that sustained all of the city's water needs for over 100 years, the Los Angeles River was then pumped dry, smothered in concrete, and almost pushed out of the city's consciousness. Incredible photographs appear throughout the book; many of these photos will make nature-loving Angelenos yearn for the Los Angeles River of yesteryear, with its bubbling, meandering stream, and its banks lined with willows and sycamores.

Long before you approach the end of this book, you realize that, in an over-zealous attempt to control flooding, the Los Angeles River was essentially raped, depleted, and buried. The fact that, at present, most of its 51 miles are cement is a shame -- especially in a city with so little park space. Amazingly, the River still provides up to 15% of L.A.'s drinking water, albeit from subterannean pumps that tap the River's flow before it ever reaches the surface. And millions of gallons of River water were diverted to the Silver Lake reservoir.

People who never knew that there was a Los Angeles River should go see the few surviving River greenbelts in the Glendale Narrows and the Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area to appreciate our city's River as it used to be.

P.S. - I encourage other Los Angeles River buffs to look at Kevin Roderick's book "San Fernando Valley: America's Suburb" to see other beautiful pictures of the River in its natural state, before the concrete obscured it.

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and I could identify with much of the subject matter in this book. It was well written to the point of totally identifying with every character...There is a piece of all of us in the people Keith Egawa writes about.
It is a powerful expression about Domestic Violence, Alcoholism and Hope in a culture that has been destroyed by the conquering society.

I desperately want Keith Egawa to write more books.

I am very excited to present this book to my Book Club next month.

From the moment I began reading this book, I couldn't put it down. It grabbed my attention and never let go. Keith Egawa has written from his heart with the true insight and compassion one who works in his field seldom has. He takes us into his personal world of social work and beyond, into the realm of what it means being Indian in America. My heart was brought along for the ride...and when it was over I sat in awe.

Lynda "Spiritdove" Imburgia

highly descriptive, fast moving, angst filled, intensely gripping novel that captures the plight of a young man coming of age. this rough-edged first novel simmers with energy. like any good author, egawa draws the reader into a foreign land and sketches from the reader's imagination using the familiar emotions and common issues. a must read.

highly descriptive, fast moving, angst filled, intensely gripping novel that captures the plight of a young man coming of age. this rough-edged first novel simmers with energy. like any good author, egawa draws the reader into a foreign land and sketches from the reader's imagination using the familiar emotions and common issues. a must read.

If you are a person who has unresolved issues with your family, or are someone who works or is planning to work in social services, you will probably gain a lot from reading this book. As I don't fall into those categories ( well we all have unresolved issues with our families, but I'm talking about the major kind that affect your mental health)I have to review it on its literary merits-and they are many.

At first, I must admit, I was a little disappointed. I have come to expect a little "extra" from Native American writers. Whether it's mysticism or time travel, or simply the dry wit of a Sherman Alexie, I assume that Native American literature will take some unusual twists and turns. For the most part Egawa's telling is pretty straight forward. But eventually I found that this approach actually added to the story, especially as the author managed to avoid all the obvious cliches a story of this type lends itself to.

Egawa is very good at portraying familial relationships, but, by far his best talent is his handling of the children the main character deals with. Many authors have difficulty portraying children, and especially teens realistically and in all their complexities. Egawa does it very well, right down to the body language.

In all I would say Egawa is off to a good start and I look forward to some of his other work.