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Apr 12, 2007

Zedder rated it:

This is the weakest adventure/exploration-type book I've read so far and I don't recommend it. Most of it is pretty damn boring. It gets a little more interesting towards the end, but only for a little bit. The interesting bit concerns the situation at the end of their trip down the Colorado river through the Grand Canyon. No one had ever been all the way down it before, on boat or foot, so they had no idea what was in store for them. For most of the trip they had dealt with this by explori More...

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Sep 24, 2011

Khulser rated it:

Gripping tale fleshed out with highly useful commentary on shooting rapids, river craft, boater drownings and other material designed to make you realize how very extraordinary or foolhardy the expedition led by the one-armed Powell was. In 1869 they did not even face down river, as they rowed their absurdly heavy Whitehall boats towards the rapids. Powell would hold onto a strap to keep from being thrown, as he called out rock hazards. They lined and portaged the heavily loaded boats, as their More...

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Aug 28, 2011

Daryl rated it:

I'm not a river / rafting type and I'm not a non-fiction reader by nature, but I have to admit - I really liked this book. The author can be a bit long-winded at times to make his point clear, but often it is worth it in the end. The story is amazing. You'll be blown away at the sheer courage of the expedition members and the trials they suffered through. They were the FIRST to go down the Grand Canyon and no one thought it possible. They had the wrong boats, no experience, and no knowledge More...

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Aug 26, 2011

Connie rated it:

I read this excellent book in conjunction with my trip to the Grand Canyon. Seeing the places described really helped bring the text to life. Dolnick is an excellent writer who knows how to conduct exhaustive research and put it together into an engaging narrative. This book wasn't dry. Instead, it used the words of John Wesley Powell and two of his expedition crew who kept journals to describe the awesome trip they took in order to map and explore the Colorado River. They were the first organiz More...

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Feb 25, 2010

Gerry rated it:

This book belongs to a small set of books I've been reading with my son on early river explorations (see River of Doubt, about Teddy Roosevelts' exploration of a Amazon tributary, or Blood River, a modern excursion down the Congo laced with great back round stories of early Congo exploration). Down the Great Unknown deals with the 1869 journey of discovery and tragedy on the Colorado River, specifically the stretch through the Grand Canyon. It was nothing like modern runs down this now ta More...

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Apr 13, 2010

Andrew rated it:

Before launching on a 17 day 300 mile kayaking trip on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon I read several books about the canyon and river thinking they would inform my trip and make it more enjoyable...This is a great story of the first descent of the river, which at the time was one of the last unexplored regions in the continental US. John Wesley Powell travels and logs and writing about the 1869 adventure are captured in much detail. This should be required reading for anyone atte More...

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Apr 14, 2010

Eric_W rated it:

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 story told masterfully of a courageous -- or foolish -- adventure.

His companions had no experience running rapids and their equipment was sturdy but not designed for shooting rapids. Fortunat More...

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Jan 24, 2008

Kay rated it:

One of the great true adventure stories of the past few centuries is surely John Wesley Powell's expedition down the unexplored Colorado River and through the Grand Canyon in 1869, a journey of some 1,000 miles in ninety-nine days. Ten poorly-prepared men set out in six ill-equipped wooden boats, but only six survived.

Powell, a multi-faceted one-armed Civil War veteran, was the leader of the group, and much like another of my favorite adventurer-heroes, Ernest Shackleton, probabl More...

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Feb 01, 2009

gabrielle rated it:

A re-telling of the tale of John Wesley Powell's historical voyage down the Green & Colorado, through the Grand Canyon. The author used Powell's published tale of the trip (which differed from his actual river journal in some respects), river journals from three of the crew, contemporary accounts, and discussions with modern whitewater experts. Excellent adventure story.

I took this with me on my last Grand Canyon hike. Wonderful to be reading about the area as I was there.

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Jan 19, 2009

Clare rated it:

This is the amazing true story of the first attempt to map the Colorado River. John Wesley Powell, a one-armed civil war veteran, got together a group of men to help him traverse the tricky waters of the Colorado. With no previous experience in these matters, and although warned by native Americans of the dangers involved, he and his men forged ahead. This is ultimately a story of derring-do, foolhardiness, perseverance and tragedy.

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Dec 19, 2010

Bryan rated it:

What can get better than a story about a group of explorers that travel down the unmapped death defying Colorado River in the 19th century. Oh, did I mention the leader, John Wesley Powell did this with only one arm since he lost his arm as a soldier in the U.S. Civil War? Facing the Colorado with only one arm and climbing cliffs for geological research.... this isn't fiction this is a history. A journey that will leave you in awe.

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Feb 18, 2009

Marva rated it:

Like many books recommended from a class I attended at a singles conference, this book is an adventure. I thought it exciting. I enjoyed hearing the view of the first person to ride on a boat through the Grand Canyon. However, I struggled to get past my thought of "why did they do it?" They lived at the same time as the pioneers who sacrificed so much to accomplish so much for their posterity. These men just wanted adventure and they accomplished mapping the Colorado River and see More...

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Oct 30, 2011

Gary rated it:

Very enjoyable read. I found the author's way of making parallel comparisons, so as the reader may get a better picture of what these men actually went through... and the difficulty of their task, to be very helpful in giving me a mental picture of the severity of their situations. Their situations were many. They were pretty much totally unprepared as to what they were about to face... and what it would take to get through it. It certainly does amaze me that they didn't all get killed in th More...

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Jul 26, 2011

Sweetwilliam rated it:

Good book. This is a nicely written account of the the Powell expedition but not a real page turner. I liked the digressions about Powell losing his arm at Shilo. If you want to know about the first trip down the Colorado through the Grand Canyon, this is for you. I think the low draft rubber rafts of today would have made Powells expedition much easier. enjoy.

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Oct 25, 2008

Taylor rated it:

That the author was so present in the telling of this story was both its best and worst feature. He brings context to events and circumstances, but he does so through odd illustrations. For instance, he describes a boatman stuck in a muddy whirlpool as being in the center of a massive glass of chocolate milk as it is stirred by a giant 8-year old. It was consistently distracting, but I think it enhanced my understanding of the challenges the expedition team faced in the process of exploring t More...

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Oct 19, 2010

bert-bobbi rated it:

Picked this one since love the outdoors. A good read about the Grand Canyon before any dams were placed along it. Once you have read the book and get to know the characters, the best part was the last chapter where the author relates what each person did after the trip.

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Aug 25, 2011

Liz rated it:

I bought this book whilst I was at the Grand Canyon and after seeing the place you cannot help but admire John Wesley Powell and his men. This book explains the story well to those familiar and ignorant of it (I'd never heard of him before reading the blurb). Dolnick manages to weave a great tale whilst sticking to the facts. I would thoroughly recommend it, particularly to those who like historical or adventure stories.

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Jan 08, 2012

Suzanne rated it:

Whew, that was an incredible read! I can't even imagine the courageous foolhardiness of John Wesley Powell and the nine other men who decided to travel the Green and Colorado Rivers. Mr. Dolnick obviously did a ton of research and did a masterful job of reconciling the various diaries and trip accounts. Not only was the book a great adventure, I learned something of geology, river running, and history.

I felt very emotional at the end when the crew finally made it back to 'civiliza More...

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Feb 15, 2010

Carl rated it:

Interesting reading for anyone who has been to the Grand Canyon on down the Colorado River. Based on research of journals written by Powell and several of the men who went with him in 1869. Incredible journey and story.

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Jul 31, 2011

Ellen rated it:

Quite an adventureto be so unprepared for what is next on the unchartered Colorado River. Makes me what to raft it -- with an experienced guide.

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Jul 21, 2008

Joshua rated it:

Interesting adventure/survival non-fiction about a group of non-river types jazzed by the idea of discovery or doing something first. The ten men attempt to raft the Grand Canyon in 1869 and all the rivers that lead to the canyon--takes over 3 months and they suffer many hardships over the 1,000+ mile journey.

The one thing about this that started to get old is there's only so many times you can read about rapids before they all just blur together. Rapid, rapid, rapid, rapid and more r More...

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Dec 31, 2010

Marie rated it:

The story was interesting, the writing was exasperating. Obviously a wealth of research done on this book, but the writing was difficult to tolerate.

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Nov 15, 2008

Jeffrey rated it:

outrageously good. If you have an unhealthy obsession with the Grand Canyon, and your early years were spent devouring Gary Paulsen books about cantankerous mountain men, it doesn't get much better than a crew of cantankerous mountain men led by a one-armed civil war veteran floating through the Grand Canyon in wooden row-boats. This is the kind of history that would seem over-the-top and contrived if it were fiction.
Devastating flash floods, moldy flour, near-mutiny, deceitful Morm More...

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Jan 19, 2009

Andy rated it:

Shooting the Colorado rapids without lifejackets or the abilty to swim or a right arm? Not recommended.

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Apr 30, 2010

Michelle rated it:

This was a fun book, especially since I read it while floating several hundred miles of the Green River.

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Aug 07, 2011

Katie rated it:

This is a very engaging account of Powell and crew's historical trip down the Canyon. It was made even more engaging for me because I read it while floating down part of Canyon that this trip took over 100 years ago. Good for historical notes not only of the time, but of the men themselves as well as the geography of the Canyon and the history and the author's descriptions of white water boating. The author has a pretty entertaining voice that pops up throughout the book.

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Aug 31, 2009

Luanne rated it:

I went down the Colorado on an 18 day raft trip...I had to read another John Wesley Powell account!

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Feb 24, 2009

Don rated it:

A must read for anyone who has ever rafted down the Colorado.

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Apr 10, 2009

Todd rated it:

good book, felt like i was there, but glad i was not.

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Jan 08, 2010

John rated it:

A riviting tale about discovery and human will.

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