A review by liberrydude
Beyond the Hundredth Meridian: John Wesley Powell and the Second Opening of the West by Wallace Stegner

2.0

At times as dry as the land it discusses this book is more a biography of John Wesley Powell, or perhaps hagiography. Powell was the one armed amateur scientist who quickly morphed into a selfless, skilled bureaucrat whose vision for the American West was denied by Congress and the settlers of the West. The first part of the book concentrates on Powell's expeditions and the latter part on his work in DC managing numerous surveys and agencies. Surprisingly the second part is very instructive and interesting, more so than the tedious recounting of every mile of the discovery trips. Congress in the 1880's and 1890's sounds just like today's Congress. Lots of talk of anti-science and government encroachment into the state's rights and the right of the individual to just be. If they had listened to Powell the American West would be very different. This took me over two months to read. It's one of those books you are glad to have read but you're not going to revisit. However, it's essential in any library on the American West. Stegner's prose is inviting and Powell was obviously one of his heroes. Powell set the stage for Teddy Roosevelt and Gordon Pinchot but he was just one man against a sea of selfish and impatient interests. He was an interesting man who is almost saint like in this retelling. Sadly his contributions to reclamation are overshadowed by his explorer status. He was also a cultural anthropologist and a philosopher.