The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon by Kevin Fedarko

4.35 AVERAGE

queerlitloft's profile picture

queerlitloft's review

5.0
adventurous informative inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced

maryjohanna's review

5.0
Such a great book!
It’s a history of the Grand Canyon, the Glen Canyon Dam, water and conservation … all in the telling of a speed run down the Colorado River.
Enjoyed listening to it, and will also enjoy reading and savoring the book!

daconway11's review

4.5
adventurous inspiring tense medium-paced

devin_mcdaniel's review

5.0
adventurous medium-paced

amyegbert's review

I can't rate it because I didn't finish (a rarity for me) but it just didn't capture me. Maybe if I gave it more time I'd get there, but the history felt dry and boring and I just couldn't get into it. Maybe worth another try at a different time of life? But right now it wasn't worth finishing.

saveyj's review

4.0
Interesting but quite long and sometimes hard to keep track of who is who.

rtkahler's review

4.0
adventurous informative inspiring medium-paced

emperk's review

4.0
There is so much information in this book it overwhelms the story at times. However, the vast amount of research Fedarko does into every individual, every historical, meteorological, engineering related detail is extensive and impressive. It puts into perspective the freak perfect conditions that made this entire enterprise even possible for someone to attempt and why it was important beyond the idea of just setting an FKT. This romanticizes what could have been seen as an idiotic journey but helps understand how the individuals taking it on viewed it as something beyond themselves and makes it into an homage to water and a version of the country’s environment unrestrained by government enforced infrastructure. Worth getting through the nitty gritty history for an epic tale

monders's review

4.25
adventurous informative inspiring medium-paced

alilotofbooks's review

5.0
This book is definitely tangential, but I loved it anyway. These tangents (about the geology and history of the canyon, river rafting in the canyon, damming of the Colorado River, and Glen Canyon) are there for context, and only add to the final run and climax. Wonderfully researched and written (by a part time Grand Canyon river guide), it provides an excellent window into the canyon’s secrets, as well as the river running subculture that surrounded Grua’s speed run.