The Promise of the Grand Canyon

John Wesley Powell's Perilous Journey and His Vision for the American West

By: John F. Ross

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

“A convincing case for Powell’s legacy as a pioneering conservationist.” (The Wall Street Journal)

"A bold study of an eco-visionary at a watershed moment in US history." (Nature)

A timely, thrilling account of the explorer who dared to lead the first successful expedition down the Colorado through the Grand Canyon - and waged a bitterly contested campaign for sustainability in the West.

John Wesley Powell’s first descent of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon in 1869 counts among the most dramatic chapters in American exploration history. When the Canyon spit out the surviving members of the expedition - starving, battered, and nearly naked - they had accomplished what others thought impossible and finished the exploration of continental America that Lewis and Clark had begun almost 70 years before.

With The Promise of the Grand Canyon, John F. Ross tells how that perilous expedition launched the one-armed Civil War hero on the path to becoming the nation’s foremost proponent of environmental sustainability and a powerful, if controversial, visionary for the development of the American West. So much of what he preached - most broadly about land and water stewardship - remains prophetically to the point today.

©2018 John F. Ross (P)2018 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Ross tells Powell’s story powerfully, sprinkled with quotes from the explorer-geologist’s diary and a feeling of dramatic suspense - will he survive? - even though we know the outcome." (The Washington Post)

"A convincing case for Powell’s legacy as a pioneering conservationist who maintained, ahead of his time and to no avail, that future settlement of the West must take into account the region’s essential aridity." (The Wall Street Journal)

"A bold study of an eco-visionary at a watershed moment in US history." (Nature)

Powell: hero, scientist, climatologist, visionary

Amazing story of a Civil War hero that conquered the uncharted Colorado River and the Grand Canyon. His emphasis on science led to the US Geological Survey in opposition to Manifest Destiny and exploitation of our limited water resources. His vision of stewardship of our land is amazing forward and needed in our current climate change environment.

Rollicking adventure

Learned much about the region I have always called home, as well as the fascinating man who dared much in the pursuit of understanding our world

Mislead title

I choose this book wanting to learn more about Grand Canyon , but there were only few chapters about it. Rest should have been named great American surveyors. Still yet interesting and well read.

History repeats

Excellent writing, fascinating stories with psychological acuity, grand vistas of personality and geology.

Wisely admits reading today’s papers about water resources climate change and “science incredulity” have not changed

Sometimes overwhelming biographical threads that made a library copy of the book very helpful to follow.

About John Wesley Powell not so much the G.C.

Fun to learn about the US land policy from the roots. Good read for anyone that uses public lands and how we got the ideas that now form water and use management in the West.

Intro into the settlement of The West

I did not read the book description so I have no one to blame but myself. I was expecting a detailed book on that first exploration and mapping of the Grand Canyon. This book had more to do with the people (men) who explored, fought about, fought for and mapped “The West”. It’s an intro into the USGS and a depressing (but real) picture of our water use and resources in this arid part of our country. If you like a book that touches on a lot of interlaced subjects (but doesn’t deep dive into anything), this is for you. I enjoyed it but measure a book on whether I would listen again-I would not. However, I would recommend it to someone who is interested in an introduction. No criticism of the book at all.

Fine addition to the Powell story

A worthy addition to the literature on John Wesley Powell's impact on the settlement of the American West. New material on Powell's early years, and in-depth assesment of his contributions as a Federal bureaucrat and visionary nicely suppliment the older works by Stegner and others. Powell's exploration of the Grand Canyon is covered but the book, fortunately, emphasizes his contributions after 1872.

A Man and Story for the Ages

There are few sagas that come close to being comparable to the story of John Wesley Powell. His curiosity, vision, tenacity, and dedication to purpose are seldom found in any others. This account is comprehensive, detailed, and best taken on a trip through the places described in the book - Canyonlands, through the plateaus and mountains of Colorado and northern Arizona, and into the Grand Canyon. Have as many online photographic resources handy as you can if you take the trip from home. Powell belongs with Columbus, John Glen, and Neal Armstrong.

Compelling bio of Powell

The pre-river Powell & river trip are amazing; switching to Congressional appropriations gets a little sleepy. But overall, a well-done, broad story of an incredible human.

Superb History, but a bit too detailed.

A superb telling of the first trip down the canyon, but the remainder of Powell's life was a bit too detailed for my liking. I did like discovering his Civil War history. Overall worth a credit for any fan of American History.