Down the Great Unknown: John Wesley Powell's 1869 Journey of Discovery and Tragedy Through the Grand Canyon
On May 24, 1869, a one-armed Civil War veteran named John Wesley Powell and a ragtag band of nine mountain men embarked on the last quest in the American West. No one had ever explored the fabled Grand Canyon; to adventurers of that era it was a region almost as mysterious as Atlantis - and as...
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On May 24, 1869, a one-armed Civil War veteran named John Wesley Powell and a ragtag band of nine mountain men embarked on the last quest in the American West. No one had ever explored the fabled Grand Canyon; to adventurers of that era it was a region almost as mysterious as Atlantis - and as perilous. The ten men set out down the mighty Colorado River in wooden rowboats. Six survived. Drawing on rarely examined diaries and journals, Down the Great Unknown is the first book to tell the full, true story.
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Format: paperback
ISBN:
9780060955861 (0060955864)
Publish date: September 17th 2002
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Pages no: 400
Edition language: English
Category:
Adventure,
Non Fiction,
Travel,
Biography,
History,
Literature,
Book Club,
Science,
American,
Environment,
Nature,
American History
An enjoyable read, simultaneously gripping and informative. I picked up Down the Great Unknown after reading another of Dolnick's books (The Clockwork Universe) that I enjoyed immensely, and while this isn't quite in the same league as that one, it's still worth looking into. Dolnick's style isn't...
In 1869 John Wesley Powell decided to set off down the Green River and follow it to the Colorado and then down the Colorado through the Grand Canyon. All of this was territory that had been unexplored by Europeans. Edward Dolnick recounts the passage in Down the Great Unknown. It's a fascinating sto...
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