About this title: The author recounts the successes and frustrations of John Wesley Powell, the distinguished ethnologist and geologist who explored the Colorado River, the Grand Canyon, and the homeland of Indian tribes of the American Southwest. "No library of western/southwestern materials can be without this book. . . ".-- Books of the Southwest.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Description: SOFT COVER-SOUND VERY GOOD CONDITION-438 pages-Photos- John Wesley Powell, Colorado River, Grand Canyon. No writing or marks in book-Clean tight copy- Penguin Books (1992)-0140159940- read more
Edition: Reprint
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: PENGUIN GROUP
Date Published: 1992
ISBN-13:9780140159943ISBN:0140159940
Description: New. The author recounts the successes and frustrations of John Wesley Powell, the distinguished ethnologist and geologist who explored the Colorado River, the Grand Canyon, and the homeland of Indian tribes of the American Southwest. "No library of weste... read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Penguin, New York
Date Published: 1982
ISBN-13:9780140159943ISBN:0140159940
Description: Very Good in Paperback jacket. 8vo. pp. xxiii 438. "The author recounts the successes and frustrations of John Wesley Powell, the distinguished ethnologist and geologist who explored the Colorado River, the Grand Canyon, and the homeland of Indian tribes of the American Southwest. 'Wear to spine, penned number on front end page. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Penguin Group USA
Date Published: 1992-03-01
ISBN-13:9780140159943ISBN:0140159940
Description: NEW. Softcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780140159943. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln
Date Published: 1982
ISBN-13:9780803291287ISBN:0803291280
Description: Near Fine. No Jacket. 8vo. Copyright is 1953/1954; This is the third printing of the Bison edition which was first pubished in 1982; 438 pages, soft bound. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Bison Books
Date Published: 1982-08
ISBN-13:9780803291287ISBN:0803291280
Description: Good. Excellent customer service. May ship from alternate location depending on your zip code and availability. Satisfaction guaranteed! ! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin, Boston
Date Published: 1954
Description: G+/G+ Dust Jacket. 438pp; fold-out of The Grand Canyon of the Colorado (panorama looking east, sou th + west from Point Sublime) by William H. Holmes; sepia photos & ils; ex. lib with usual markings; flaps of dj glued to boards. read more
Edition: Later printing
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston
Date Published: 1954
Description: 438pp. Octavo [21.5 cm] Tan cloth with gilt stamped titles. Includes an index and a large fold-out of "The Grand Canyon of the Colorado: Panorama looking east, south, and west from Point Sublime, " by William H. Holmes. The book is in very good condition, with lightly rubbed edges. There is a previous owner's ink stamp on the rear pastedown. The half title page has a previous owner's name and brief notation. The dust jacket is in rough condition with creasing and rubbing, and multiple small ... read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Date Published: 1954
Description: Very Good+ No Jacket. Fold-out map has a few wrinkles. Small previous owner inscription at top of front endpaper. Light foxing to endpapers. Light soiling to cloth. read more
"I really only loved the first third of the book, the part dealing with his first expedition down the Colorado river in its entirety. But I especially appreciated the last 2 thirds of the book that taught me a ton about Powell and the magnitude of the endeavors he had before him. It makes my head hurt just trying to comprehend how he aspired to map the entire U.S. topographically and how he wanted to to establish irrigation agriculture in the West. He was up against something far too big for him--states and squatters wanted their rights before they'd let the federal government decide how land could be parceled out so that no one would starve in the arid region. Powell was ahead of his time in foreseeing the problems that would come if reservoirs and dams and rivers and streams weren't all organized into irrigation patterns ahead of time and his job grew more and more difficult as the lands became more settled, when some government people would tell ridiculous lies about conditions in the west to encourage settlement too. Very educational book."
"dipped into this for a trip down the Grand Canyon. A much getter and more interesting read that THE MAN WHO WALKED THROUGH TIME, and of course, far better prose. The author of ANGLE OF REPOSE is here, even back in 1954. Read the first third which encompasses John Wesley Powell's exploration of the Canyon. Didn't need more, but if you want to know Powell, this is your book."
"This is a remarkable book in several ways. It is the story both of John Wesley Powell's explorations of the west, and also a history of land use in the west and the ways Powell tried, and failed, to influence the government policies that would shape it. Being written by Stegner, the landscapes and adventures are beautifully recounted. It is amazing to imagine the thrill and adrenaline of pushing off down a river with literally no knowledge of what lies ahead. And then finding the Grand Canyon!
But it's not only about the adventuring. Powell was a skilled bureaucrat and broke new ground in government-sponsored science, essentially nonexistant before the charting of western lands. Did you know that it was generally believed that as farmers moved west, their actions would actually change the weather patterns so they would have plenty of rain for their crops? There was all sorts of incorrect thinking about the west that Powell was up against. He recognized the absolute fact of the aridity and it's implications. The plan he ultimately failed to get implemented as to how to deal with the arid west has largely, over time and through painful experience, eventually been implemented.
Why did he fail? For many of the exact same reasons we see necessary changes fail today. Vested, powerful influences and corporations have huge lobbying budgets. The strong American preference for individuals to try things on their own, with high failure rates, instead of a more planned government program (the homesteaders in the west were absolutely devastated by policy as it stood). The American sentiment that it is somehow un-patriotic to do things for the public good instead of only for individual gain. It was really stunning to read how much the fight mirrors our current political climate.
The book was written in the 1950s, and I wished I had a more recent perspective on how things have turned out in the west compared to Powell's vision. The west of the 1870s, 1950s, and 2000s are so different, I regretted that lapse. Lake Powell did not yet exist, and Vegas, Phoenix and LA were different orders of magnitude.
It is a non-fiction work, and occasionally technical, so it took some dedication to get through. If you're not especially interested in the west and land use policy it will probably bore you. But I enjoyed it immensely."
We guarantee every item's condition, as described on Alibris. If you are not satisfied that an item is as described, return your purchase for a refund.
rating
