Tammy M. (Tamsbooks) reviewed A River Running West: The Life of John Wesley Powell on + 39 more book reviews
The Grand Canyon has always captured my attention, and the one-armed Civil War veteran who led the first expedition through its depths has always held the place of mythic hero in my mind.
The problem with reading a biography of this scope, length, and depth is that the hero becomes human, not mythic.
Worsters biography takes us step by step through Powells life, from his peripatetic formative years, to his great surveys of the Colorado Plateau. We even endure years and years of his life as an administrator of the USGS in Washington, D.C.
Through it all Major Powell comes across as an eminently sensible man, but most of his life lacks the color of his two forays upon Grand Canyons Colorado River. As a result, the highlights come early in his life. After that, his adventures are political ones... interesting in their own way, but not gripping.
Certainly this is a work that will be appreciated by hard-core historians, but others may find Powells story losing its spark as the years go by.
The problem with reading a biography of this scope, length, and depth is that the hero becomes human, not mythic.
Worsters biography takes us step by step through Powells life, from his peripatetic formative years, to his great surveys of the Colorado Plateau. We even endure years and years of his life as an administrator of the USGS in Washington, D.C.
Through it all Major Powell comes across as an eminently sensible man, but most of his life lacks the color of his two forays upon Grand Canyons Colorado River. As a result, the highlights come early in his life. After that, his adventures are political ones... interesting in their own way, but not gripping.
Certainly this is a work that will be appreciated by hard-core historians, but others may find Powells story losing its spark as the years go by.
