The Hudson River Valley Reader

by Edward Goodman

2009 marks the 400th Anniversary of the exploration of the Hudson River and it's valley, which was first discovered by Henry Hudson in 1609 while about the ship Half Moon. This literary anthology covers the history and literary heritage of the valley through its many lives. The book begins with a natural history of the valley, from it's creation, carved out my mighty glaciers between the Catskill and Berkshire mountain ranges all the way to its existing geography. The second part is a literary homage to the river and the valley including works by John Burroughs, Washington Irving, James Fennimore Cooper and many others.

400 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, the book was an easy read. I did learn some things. However, most of the myths seemed to be tales about scorned Indian lovers seeking their revenge. It painted the Native Americans as a very vengeful people, and skewed my opinion of the settling of the area. I do not think the literary works included in the book did anything to enhance the book. My biggest issue with the book is that you time traveled without realizing it. Chapters might say something such as 'at present time' and then as you read on you realize that 'present time' was 100 or more years ago. It was hard to keep track of when things were happening. I fear for someone unfamiliar with the area; it would be a very confusing read.