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46th out of 60 books
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18 voters
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Sunk Without a Sound: The Tragic Colorado River Honeymoon of Glen and Bessie Hyde
by
Brad Dimock
On November 18, 1928, Glen and Bessie Hyde launched on the final leg of their honeymoon voyage through Grand Canyon. Their cumbersome wooden sweep scow was found upright and fully loaded three weeks later, but despite exhaustive searches, Glen and Bessie had vanished without a trace. Or had they? In the years since, four people appearing to be either Glen or Bessie have em...more
Paperback, 288 pages
Published
February 21st 2001
by Fretwater Press
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The one-phrase rundown: not bad, but not great, either.
I was intrigued by the story when I saw the book in the Canyonlands VC, as it seemed like a local myth. It is indeed, but more to the Grand Canyon than the upper Colorado or Green, where I was.
The disappearance of the Hydes is a myth which has grown all out of proportion to its beginnings, and in that regard the book is well-researched and explains the reality of the 80-year old case: the contemporary (well, the 70s and 8...more
I was intrigued by the story when I saw the book in the Canyonlands VC, as it seemed like a local myth. It is indeed, but more to the Grand Canyon than the upper Colorado or Green, where I was.
The disappearance of the Hydes is a myth which has grown all out of proportion to its beginnings, and in that regard the book is well-researched and explains the reality of the 80-year old case: the contemporary (well, the 70s and 8...more
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Great history about the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon. A great mystery. Truly enjoyed the book. Fast read.
A wilderness adventure wrapped in a mystery with a thriller on the side. Dimock interviewed everyone alive who had even marginally entered the Hydes' orbit, which makes for some confusion, but so does a wave train on a wild river. The many photographs offer a breath-catching eddy to slow the charging pace. Descending the Colorado in a sweep scow unsupported was a crazy idea, but it was a decade of crazy ideas that worked out better than this trip. A father's search for his missing child is the h...more
The first half of this book was so suspenseful! And I knew the end! There's something about being alone out in the wild that I kind of find terrifying, being a confirmed and pampered suburbanite. So the descriptions of the lonely canyons, the insufficient boat, and the wildness of the rapids made my blood run cold. The addition of the couple's actual photographs gave the story a true immediacy, partly because the photographs themselves were of an amazingly high quality. I found them haunting. ...more
This book details the true story of Glen and Bessie Hyde, who vanished on their 1928 honeymoon river trip through Grand Canyon. Glen thought they would get rich from their story. Unfortunately, they went in November, and Glen's only river experience was in sweep boats in Idaho--a very different kind of river running. This book is packed with information not only about Glen and Bessie Hyde, but about river running, the rapids and the canyon itself. I really enjoyed it. You don't have to run ...more
A few years ago my husband and I attempted whitewater rafting on the Wolf River. We were inexperienced, and the late summer river was low, a dangerous combination of circumstances which led to us getting hung up on rocks in a rapids, me being washed out the of raft clinging to an oar, and after a dunking a bruising, vowing to never try that again. So when my local book group chose this nonfiction account of the disappearance of a young couple on the Colorado River in 1928 I was interested. Be...more
Allison
rated it
Recommends it for:
naturalists, people interested in detective stories/mysteries,
Recommended to Allison by:
saw it in the grand canyon
If you are to read one book this year, I'd suggest Brad Dimock's Sunk Without A Sound.
In 1928, Glen and Bessie Hyde disappeared on their honeymoon rivertrip through the Grand Canyon. Their boat was found intact, and undisturbed however the couple was nowhere to be found. Years later, a woman who claims to be Bessie ends up on the Canyon, and a male skeleton with a bullet hole in the cranium is found in the Kolb brother's shack.
I am not sure if this is Dimock's first book ...more
In 1928, Glen and Bessie Hyde disappeared on their honeymoon rivertrip through the Grand Canyon. Their boat was found intact, and undisturbed however the couple was nowhere to be found. Years later, a woman who claims to be Bessie ends up on the Canyon, and a male skeleton with a bullet hole in the cranium is found in the Kolb brother's shack.
I am not sure if this is Dimock's first book ...more
Meaghan
rated it
Recommends it for:
true crime buffs and wilderness buffs
Shelves:
missing-people,
biography
As part of his research for this book, the author Brad Dimock actually attempted to recreate the setting of Glen and Bessie Hyde's disappearances. Both professional boaters, Dimock and his wife made a sweep scow like the Hydes' boat, as reconstructed from photographs, and rafted down the same rivers they did to get a feeling of what it was like. Dimock's experience on the river no doubt contributed to the conclusions he reached about Bessie and Glen's disappearance.
Thoroughly researc...more
Thoroughly researc...more
The absorbing account of the disappearance of Glenn and Bessie Haley Hyde as they attempted to navigate the Colorado River in a sweep boat on their 1928 honeymoon. The author did a great job of telling the reader who Glenn Hyde was and explaining for lay readers what Colorado River whitewater was like then and now. I had less of a sense of who Bessie Haley Hyde was. The second half of the book is more of a testament to the power of folk stories and oral tradition, as it seems only logical that t...more
This book unpacks the mystery behind the disappearnce of the Hyde's while running the Colorado through the Grand Canyon.
The author seems to take care to examine and debunk (when necessary) each theory as to why the Hyde's boat was found floating empty with no clue whatsoever as to the fate of the newlyweds.
Particularly if you've floated through the Grand Canyon yourself, you'll likely resonate with many descriptions of the river in this book.
The author seems to take care to examine and debunk (when necessary) each theory as to why the Hyde's boat was found floating empty with no clue whatsoever as to the fate of the newlyweds.
Particularly if you've floated through the Grand Canyon yourself, you'll likely resonate with many descriptions of the river in this book.
I heard about this story when I visited the Grand Canyon in 2000. I start a class on the history of National Parks this quarter and thought I would try and find a book about this couple. It was an interesting mix of history and personal experience as the author and his wife try and replicate that fateful trip the Hydes took and disappeared. If you like river rafting...I would say you would enjoy it even with the history mixed in.
A subject I have always been interested in for a while. It was a good quick read, however, I didnt learn that much more about the subject but it is a compelling read. I highly recomend for anyone interested in mystery around ever corner of with happend in 1928 on the Colorado!
Brad was my tour guide on my river trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon which added interest to the story. Also having seen and remember many on the places Brad discribes brings the words to life.
A good mystery and an exciting adventure (true) in the Grand Canyon. The author and his wife recreate the journey of a couple who disappeared in the Canyon in the 1920's.
Fascinating story. I thought the author did a great job of pulling together the facts involving the tale, and put forth a fairly plausible explanation for their disappearance. Truly one of the most riveting legends surrounding the Grand Canyon.
This is good book, unless you like closure, because there isn't any here. That was a struggle for me. The first part of the book took me a few weeks to read, it was interesting but didn't pull me in. Then once the search began I was hooked and finished it in a few days. I chose not to believe the brute versions of the stories and think that to go that "big" back then you had to be crazy and driven, which doesn't usually jive with "bruteness." But the book kind of leaves you t...more
After having watched specials on the Travel and History Channels about the Grand Canyon, I purchased this book 2 years ago on our Canyonlands vacation. It was very interesting and hard to put down. It tells the background of Glen and Bessie as well as their disappearance rafting the Colorado River on their honeymoon. There have been tales of Glen being murdered by Bessie and her crawling out of the canyon and starting a new life with a new name. Only their boat was found, not a trace of either o...more
A very well-written account of the Hyde disappearance in Grand Canyon. I appreciated how the author stuck to facts. I see little evidence pointing to anything other than them both drowning in the river. All the other theories seem pretty far fetched. If you like river history and a good mystery, I recommend this book.
I love to read about the history of places I have been & found this story fascinating.
Very mysterious and interesting, but not very well written.
I liked this book better than Blind Ambition. It gave me a better idea of what actually happened. Sure makes you wonder what happened to Bessie and Glen Hyde!
my friend KP gave me this book and i LOVED it! i felt like i came to know the hydes! i cant believe how adventurous bessie was for her time. i get scared on rough water WITH a lifejacket. not to mention the river was so unknown at that time. i am in awe of her even though her story didnt quite come like she wanted (or maybe it did .. we are STILL talking about her 80 years later)
Not the best written book, but a fascinating true story nonetheless.....I'd probably actually give it 3.5 stars.
OK, I admit that I was a jerk for making my book club read this. It's beyond dorky. But I still thought this story was fascinating. I didn't care as much for the author's personal chapters (where he tried to re-create Glen and Bessie's honeymoon), but I loved how the real story had a bit of history, mystery, science, and romance.
Very fascinating. Found its flow a little strange in spots. Kind of all over the place.
Nissa
marked it as to-read
An accomplished author and boatman. Brad Dimock's GC books are great.
Written by a friends brother. Very interesting story and mystery.
Can't say that I was blown away by the book, but it was ok.
One of the canyons greatest mysteries is still not solved!
I found out I could actually write a book.
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