Rivers of America

"The Canadian boat song."--P. 265.

Describes life on and around the North Carolina river from early explorations, and the crisis of Cornwallis, to Sherman's march to the sea, and the present.

Before 1947, when Marjory Stoneman Douglas named the Everglades a “river of grass,” most people considered the area a worthless swamp. She brought the world’s attention to the need to preserve the Everglades. In the Afterword of this edition, Michael Grunwald gives an update of what has happened to the Everglades since then. Grunwald points out that in 1947 the government was in the midst of establishing the Everglades National Park and turning loose the Army Corps of Engineers to control floods—both of which seemed like saviors for the Glades. But neither turned out to be the answer. Working from the research he did for his book, The Swamp, Grunwald offers an account of what went wrong and the many attempts to fix it, beginning with Save Our Everglades, which Douglas declared was “not nearly enough.” Grunwald then lays out the intricacies (and inanities) of the more recent and ongoing CERP, the hugely expensive Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan.

A history and geography of the Badger State, examining the important heritage and cultural contributions of her residents, including the Ringling brothers, Frank Lloyd Wright, Henry Dodge, and Zona Gale.

History and folklore of the river and valley.

"Traces history of this fabulous land of New Mexico and Arizona from the days of the dinosaur to the present-day dam building and land reclamation through irrigation." Library Journal.