Excerpt: Prologue
Excerpts from published reviews
The Grand Canyon’s beauty, grandeur, and striking form have made it one of the greatest tourist attractions in the U.S., and also one of the greatest intellectual challenges to geologists. James Powell’s exciting account of the Canyon’s development is worthy of the excitement that the canyon itself inspires.
Jared Diamond, author of Guns,
Germs, and Steel
"John Wesley Powell, the pioneer explorer of the Grand
Canyon, believed that science could reveal a deeper history
of America, one that we should know for our own survival.
As this excellent book shows, that prophecy has come true:
modern science indeed has revealed just how fragile our
civilization is—as vulnerable as the rocks that water has
relentlessly washed away in the Canyon. A clear, dramatic,
and humbling story of continental discovery."
Donald Worster: Rivers of
Empire & A River Running West
Grand Canyon reads like a detective novel, as Powell traces
the work of the generations of geologists trying to
understand our most majestic landscape. In the process, his
fascinating book reveals not just how the Grand Canyon has
taken shape, but our planet as a whole.
Carl Zimmer, author of
Evolution: the Triumph of An Idea
As important to the
professional scientist as it is to those who simply are
bewitched by the Grand Canyon. An expertly woven tale of
scientific intrigue.
Richard A. Young, Dept. of
Geological Sciences, SUNY College
An honest and open description
of geological detective work and the rethinking of ideas.
At a time when the National Park Service sells a book
describing a creationist explanation of the Grand Canyon’s
formation little different than the ideas from which modern
geology emerged more than 150 years ago, the book reminds
us of the timeless contrast between the methods of modern
natural science and the power of myth.
Science Magazine
Powell’s well-crafted account
makes one appreciate just how [the Grand Canyon] came to be
so grand.
Natural History Magazine
An engaging and lucid account
of one of geology’s greatest monuments. The story of how
the Colorado River cut the Grand Canyon turns out to be a
remarkable detective story, complete with red herrings and
innocent suspects. The tale of the Grand Canyon
encapsulates features of the growth in our knowledge over
the whole of the earth sciences.
Richard Fortey, author of
Trilobite! and Earth
Grand Canyon weaves together
the observations, themes, and men that shaped our
understanding of this spectacular natural wonder. The book
puts John Wesley Powell’s feats of exploration into the
context of how we have gained an overall understanding of
the origin of not just the Grand Canyon, but of river
valleys in general. It does all of this with a flare that
will inform and entertain anyone curious about how the
Earth’s surface has been shaped.
Charles G. Groat, Director,
U.S. Geological Survey