The River Reader (The Nature Conservancy Readers). This item is unavailable.The River Reader (The Nature Conservancy Readers)

Gathers writings about rivers by John James Audubon, William Bartram, Annie Dillard, Eddy Harris, Barry Lopez, Meriwether Lewis, and John Wesley Powell

YA-Readers ride the rivers of three continents with some of the most gifted writers of modern times in this thoughtfully chosen collection. In the introduction, Murray places the authors in their regional and historical context. What follows is a riveting armchair journey. After all, what would a collection of river writings be without that great raconteur Mark Twain sharing his prodigious knowledge of river piloting in the selection from Life on the Mississippi. Or John Wesley Powell's white-knuckle narrative of his harrowing descent through the Grand Canyon of the Colorado. Even modest little creeks can briefly become mighty torrents as described in the laconic humor of Annie Dillard. Louise Wegenknecht reminds readers that "Rivers are more than hydrology; they have lives and souls and can be hurt." She grew up on soil drained by the mighty Klamath River and its tributaries, which have been so adversely effected by the logging industry in northern California and Oregon. And rivers can be malignant, as Joseph Conrad observes. Finally there are excerpts from Eddy Harris's Mississippi Solo, which chronicles an adventure he was not altogether prepared for. For nature lovers, this collection is the next best thing to being on the river itself. Any river.
Cynthia J. Rieben, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA
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