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312 reviews for:
The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon
Kevin Fedarko
4.34 AVERAGE
312 reviews for:
The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon
Kevin Fedarko
4.34 AVERAGE
A great book! Mr. Fedarko not only tells a fascinating story, but is a wonderful writer. The book is filled with detailed background information that makes the story come alive. I have always wondered about the Colorado River's place in water and power in the American Southwest. His account of the Glen Canyon Dam's brush with disater is gripping. And, above all, the whitewater rafting characters are brought to life, to the extent that I was emotionally rivited to their adventure. Highly recommended!
An epic and exhilarating experience, reading this book. The actual story of the speed run isn't told until 2/3 of the way in, and yet that seems entirely fitting and totally worth the reader's journey. This nonfiction book feels like an epic drama - poignant characterization, passionate description of the Colorado and the Canyon and the glory of river running, detailed and fascinating descriptions of Glen Canyon Dam's engineering, prose that is simultaneously seat-of-the-pants and exquisitely detailed. A wonderful read.
This book is close to great. It oscillates between poetic, irritating, informative, and very compelling.
A quote on the front of my copy claims, "It would not be overblown to say The Emerald Mile deserves a spot on the bookshelf alongside such classics as Cadillac Desert, Desert Solitaire, and Encounters with the Archdruid..."(Durango Telegram). Yes, it is overblown to say that. The Emerald Mile is above average adventure reporting. It's not Desert Solitare. It's not even close.
Fedarko does this...thing that I think comes from a history of writing for magazines. So many of his page breaks end with a completely unnecessary and completely hyperbolic cliffhanger. Here's some examples:
You can pretty much flip to any page and find one. Is this a consequence of writing clickbait for Outside Magazine or something? I don't know but I find it grating. It's literally never useful. You could find every pagebreak and just delete the preceding line and you wouldn't miss any content.
Futhermore, some of these are just...wrong! Take this one:
"The consequences of this, however, were about to be demonstrated to them in the most graphic manner imaginable" (pg 255)
Spoilers - One person ends up drowning. Really Kevin!? That's "the most graphic manner imaginable"??? You must have a horrible imagination. He does this dumb clickbait thing again at the end:
"The Emerald Mile had not broken the speed record. She had smashed it to pieces..." (pg 326). .
So...What you mean is that the Emerald Mile HAD broken the speed record. This sentence is just incorrect and such Buzzfeed shit.
My other contention is that this book is just poorly named. It's a sweeping history of the Colorado River and the Glen Canyon Dam, first and foremost. Then it's partially a history of river running. Only then is it "The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History...". If you pulled out the sections related to The Emerald Mile you'd be left with maybe 40 pages. Out of 300+.
A quote on the front of my copy claims, "It would not be overblown to say The Emerald Mile deserves a spot on the bookshelf alongside such classics as Cadillac Desert, Desert Solitaire, and Encounters with the Archdruid..."(Durango Telegram). Yes, it is overblown to say that. The Emerald Mile is above average adventure reporting. It's not Desert Solitare. It's not even close.
Fedarko does this...thing that I think comes from a history of writing for magazines. So many of his page breaks end with a completely unnecessary and completely hyperbolic cliffhanger. Here's some examples:
"This, as he was about to discover, was a terrible mistake" (pg 76)
"He was shocked by what he found" (pg 77)
"And in a single stroke, everything changed" (pg 137)
"Once again, the river was about to prove them all wrong" (pg 226)
"What he did not know...was that deep inside the canyon...a monster had awakened..." (pg 241)
You can pretty much flip to any page and find one. Is this a consequence of writing clickbait for Outside Magazine or something? I don't know but I find it grating. It's literally never useful. You could find every pagebreak and just delete the preceding line and you wouldn't miss any content.
Futhermore, some of these are just...wrong! Take this one:
"The consequences of this, however, were about to be demonstrated to them in the most graphic manner imaginable" (pg 255)
Spoilers - One person ends up drowning. Really Kevin!? That's "the most graphic manner imaginable"??? You must have a horrible imagination. He does this dumb clickbait thing again at the end:
"The Emerald Mile had not broken the speed record. She had smashed it to pieces..." (pg 326). .
So...What you mean is that the Emerald Mile HAD broken the speed record. This sentence is just incorrect and such Buzzfeed shit.
My other contention is that this book is just poorly named. It's a sweeping history of the Colorado River and the Glen Canyon Dam, first and foremost. Then it's partially a history of river running. Only then is it "The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History...". If you pulled out the sections related to The Emerald Mile you'd be left with maybe 40 pages. Out of 300+.
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
I've got to call it quits at 7%... this book is just not grabbing my attention. Might be better to read vs. audiobook.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
adventurous
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. Based on the initial description, I thought I was launching into another outdoor adventure tale about the wild and scenic, but the author instead does an excellent job of tying together the history of the river, the boaters, and the canyon with the epic tradition of exploration and adventure that draws people to wild places. So great! I also give the author props for deftly wielding suspense and drama into the story: many parts of this book were page-turners and really thrilling. Overall, I really loved this, and can't wait to read whatever he writes next.
This book was incredible. I'll admit, I wasn't too interested in reading it at first based on the synopsis (I read it on the recommendation of my sister). Fedarko, however, makes history and nonfiction not only palatable, but extremely interesting to read. The story of the Emerald Mile's speed run, the flood of 1983, and really just everything discussed in this book is fascinating. Fedarko is a talented writer. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, especially if you have been to, are going to, or want to go to the Grand Canyon.
