A RIVER RUNNING WEST The Life of John Wesley Powell

Major John Wesley Powell is one of the giants of American exploration. Son of evangelistic Methodist English immigrants, he was a Union artillery battery commander at Shiloh in 1862, where he lost an arm. However, he remained in the army and rose to the rank of major by 1865. This same dogged determination is shown in his Grand Canyon explorations of 1869 and 1871-72 and, among other things, survey of the area around the Canyon, stewardship of the U.S. Geologic Survey, and establishment of the Smithsonian Institution's Bureau of Ethnology. Worster seemingly has left no known stone unturned in the life of Powell, his family and associates, and the culture in which they lived. This LONG academic work is ably read by Edward Holland. His mellow voice, like the Colorado, is steady and constant. Some parts of this production will capture the listener's attention while those sections that go into the seeming minutiae of Powell's life pass by quickly enough. Holland is to be commended for making this academic work interesting to the listener. M.T.F. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC/ JAN 02]