The author carefully weaves his own experiences as a Grand Canyon river guide with the history of the Canyon. This book will keep you enthralled right up to the last page.

I would heartily recommend this narrative to all who enjoy adventure books. This classic should be on the bookshelves of everyone who enjoyes whitewater rafting.

You will, I believe, be fascinated by the side-by-side comparisons of photographs taken in 1923 and 1991, and the remarkable degree of change or lack of change in many of them over the span of 68 years. If you have run the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, or hiked it extensively, you will undoubtedly recognize many of the river and rock features that are depicted in this relatively slim volume (167 pages). A favorite of mine is plate 17, Nankoweap Ruins, taken high above the river. This must be one of the most photographed scenes in the Grand Canyon below the rim, and I know that many river runners have their own shot of this same down-river vista in their personal photo albums. There are 45 sets of photographs in the book, and each set comes with a description of the shot, any significant changes that may have occurred, and other information useful for appreciating the photographs.

The authors achieved a nice balance between text and photos, and provided informative historical summaries of both Grand Canyon river running and the 1923 Birdseye Expedition that produced the original photos. Of possible interest to reader/photographers are overhead maps of locations of all of the shots. With the maps yet more "rephotography" can take place in coming years.

If you love the Grand Canyon, especially at river level, I think you'll love this book.

Ann Livesay has thrilled readers with three prior International thriller mysteries: The Isis Command, Death In The Amazon, and The Madman Of Mount Everest. Ann Livesay is a summa cum laude graduate in geology of the University of Illinois, as well as being a Phi Beta Kappa. However, when she applied to Glacier National Park in Montana for a summer job, she was turned down because of her gender. She was hired in Arizona, however, and has many years of experience at the Grand Canyon National Park there.

Barry Ross is Livesay's point-of-view character in The Chala Project. His wealthy aunt wants to help "clean up the world" with her millions, and Barry acts as her agent, taking on environmental cases. In this episode Barry and his protege, Joe Muck, are assigned to protect the controversial Hounto Chala, a West African office of the United Nations Environment Programme, who fulfills a lifelong dream of coming to Arizona to raft through Grand Canyon National Park. Chala has many enemies because he is an animal rights activist. Protecting him in a three raft entourage is almost impossible:

"'You'll never make it!' said Chief Ranger Lee Federico, bluntly, as we stood beside the placid Colorado River on an overcast morning. A bulky man, scarred, wrinkled, sunburnt, dark glasses hiding his eyes, Federico wasted no words. 'Don't get your hopes up, Barry. Everybody in all three rafts will be a sitting duck.'"
The Grand Canyon is one of America's treasures, and setting up an assassination attempt of an animal rights activist is about as chilling an experience as a reader could hope for. Danger lurks behind every crevice as the overworked and underpaid park rangers attempt to foil an enemy that can't be seen.

Lindsey is an expert at setting up exodic landscapes and providing chills and spills along the way. The Chala Project is a series of real-time cliff-hangars (with the cliffs described in tortuous detail). Joe Muck and Barry Ross are both sexy, intriguing personalities who apply their craft in a precise, sure to please manner. Lindsey doesn't disappoint with her fourth installment of Barry Ross, and this reviewer will anxiously wait for her next episode.

This is THE book to have for anyone taking a private river trip through the Grand Canyon. It's the only guide book that shows all of the camp sites and their relative size. It also rates the difficulty of all of the rapids. There should be one on every raft.

For those quiet moments in camp the book contains a lot of information about the history and geology of the Grand Canyon as well as a lot of other information.

This book is a must if you love steam engines, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad history and the revival of railroad excursion trips to the Grand Canyon

Richard D. Fisher's coverage of the earth's canyons is breathtaking. If you are a world traveler, this guidebook is a must have! The first explorer to many of these canyon areas has done an extensive study of the terrain, local peoples, and wildlife. Many of the stories are first-hand accounts of his experiences in the canyons and with the local peoples. Richard's photography pulls you into the magnificent atmosphere of the surroundings. I highly recommend this guidebook for individuals headed to the canyons and for the armchair enthusiast. It doesn't get better than this!

This is the perfect book for anyone who loves the Grand Canyon. Not only do you get gorgeous photos and historic shots of the 1905 El Tovar hotel, but there's more on Mary Jane Colter's Grand Canyon work and a chapter on the park. This is a perfect stocking stuffer or very reasonable little gift for someone heading to the canyon for a honeymoon or anniversary!

This is a beautiful book that not only explores the Canyon through words and watercolors but also our place in the world as human beings. Jordan introduces one to the rythyms of life on the river and shares with us her ability to interpret the daily wonders that make the Grand Canyon so majestic. She has created not just a journal but a moving piece of prose that carries the reader from the widerness of the Canyon to finding meaning in our daily lives. A wonderful journey.

This is a great book, written not from a journalistic point of view nor from an official point of view, but from that of somebody who was a fire boss for over a decade on the Grand Canyon's North Rim fire crew. Written as fiction, although it is based on actual events with only the names changed. Edward Abbey, who worked in a fire tower on the North Rim for a couple of seasons, makes a thinly-disguised cameo appearance here as "Abner". Effectively captures the work, the culture, and the humor of forest firefighters in a way that no other book I've read has. If you're at all interested in the subject I'd recommend picking this up.

If you love maps, Grand Canyon, and geology, you will want to have this marvelous map on your wall. It's a big, dramatically colorful geologic map, covering the entire eastern region of the Canyon, where most of the hiking trails are located. Grand Canyon geology is simple and bold, and therefore eminently accessible to the amateur. This map, which makes it even more accessible, is a wonderful companion piece to the handful of geology books about the Canyon, and will inspire you to purchase one if you have not already done so. With a little effort, using the legend in the margin, you will soon learn to pick out every layer of rock that you can observe from the rim or encounter on your hike or float. Needless to say, the map is even more of a treasure-trove to the professional. More than a map, the beautifully printed sheet also includes several cross-sections of the Canyon, revealing what is going on beneath the surface. If you have visited the South Rim you may have seen this map. Two copies are on display in the entrance hall / cocktail lounge of the Arizona Steak House, adjacent to Bright Angel Lodge. Because of its size, it is not a map you would want to carry in your pack, but, tacked up on your wall or unrolled on a table, it will provide plenty of rock-solid lore as you plan your next Canyon adventure or remember the magic of your last visit.