Colorado River Reader

Richard Fleck is a retired English Professor. He has edited several volumes of writing by naturalists, including John Muir: Mountaineering Essays (University of Utah Press, 1997).

Preface Paiute Indian Legend - Why the Grand Canyon WSilvestre VElez de Escalante - From the DomInguez-Escalante Journal John Wesley Powell - From the Grand to the Little Colorado Robert Brewster Stanton - Cataract Canyon John C. Van Dyke - Silent River Frederick S. Dellenbaugh - A Wonderland of Crags and Pinnacles Frank Waters - Its Delta T. H. Watkins - The River-Runners John McPhee - Encounters with an Archdruid Georgie White Clark - Conquering Glen Canyon Phillip L. Fradkin - Canyon Country: The Ultimate Ditch Edward Abbey - Down the River with Henry Thoreau Bill Beer - Rapids, Icewater and Fire Ellen Meloy - Gravity in a Fluid Medium Ann Zwinger - Badger Creek and Running Rapids Colin Fletcher - Big Drop Linda Hogan - Plant Journey Suggested Reading

"Few anthologies can be both so action-packed and respectful toward nature as is Richard Fleck's choice of narratives. Here for the adrenaline addict are walloping-good rides down Cataract Canyon, as well as craftily informative nature writing on canyon rattlers, cottonwoods, otters, and datura blossoms. The naturalist and river runner in me found these pages turning themselves."--Reg Saner, author of Reaching Keet Seel "Fleck has masterfully drawn together seventeen pieces that bring to life the explorers and adventurers of the Colorado River.... A comprehensive, well-balanced book that is perfect for armchair travelers and history buffs."--Library Journal "The anthology, by turns analytical and lyrical, will interest both those with intense personal experience of the river and those with an appreciation of the intrinsic interrelatedness of natural phenomena."--New Mexico Historical Review