mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
4.0
Readable but uneven. Parts of this book, especially in the front half, are just beautiful and yet the writing doesn't get in the way. This book comes across as balanced and sad, kind of a hard middle. Basically it's the technological and political story of the Columbia River. It doesn't go into the geological history or the recreational usage. It's mostly about the barging and the dams and Hanford and how it relates to Salmon. Given how much I go up and down the Gorge, definitely was worth reading.
ian_'s review against another edition
4.0
Huge eye opener for someone who grew up near the Columbia Basin Project in a farming community. The treatment of many interviewees appeared significantly biased based on their perspective on the river, but overall a great read.
bobbo49's review against another edition
5.0
Having recently read "Salmon, People and Place", this powerful and well-written account of the politics of the Columbia River was a different perspective on the same issue: the destruction of the river and its ecosystem, as well as the horrible mistreatment of the Native Americans who lived in this area for thousands of years before the coming of the white people. This is a searing look into the nearly 100 year history of the government/corporate collaboration in establishing priorities in favor of dams for irrigation, hydropower and barge transportation, and against the natural river system - and of course, the rapidly disappearing salmon. I'm old enough that nothing about politics and money can really shock me anymore, but this is another close-up view of the powers that be, and a sad but honest depiction of the right-left gulf and enmity that results in the complete disrespect that has become common in our American society.
mattstebbins's review against another edition
5.0
Five years I lived in Wenatchee. While there, I learned a bit about the Columbia, a bit about the dams, but had no idea the full history, the power plays involved.
Harden's research is astounding, and he manages to present all sides without dehumanizing or failing to understand what's at stake for any of the players, while also giving clear facts. (For instance, he does a great job of debunking quite a few common myths re: dams and dam advocates, as well as pointing out the economics of such projects, which benefit a few at cost to many.)
I read this just after The Big Burn, and both books together changed my idea of what historical nonfiction could be, but in different ways. Both are also books I'm sure I'll return to, and books I thoroughly recommend to anyone looking for good natural history reads.
[4.5 stars for excellent research, great writing, and solid insights.]
Harden's research is astounding, and he manages to present all sides without dehumanizing or failing to understand what's at stake for any of the players, while also giving clear facts. (For instance, he does a great job of debunking quite a few common myths re: dams and dam advocates, as well as pointing out the economics of such projects, which benefit a few at cost to many.)
I read this just after The Big Burn, and both books together changed my idea of what historical nonfiction could be, but in different ways. Both are also books I'm sure I'll return to, and books I thoroughly recommend to anyone looking for good natural history reads.
[4.5 stars for excellent research, great writing, and solid insights.]
elyssarenae's review against another edition
More narrative than I was expecting! Didn’t get into it as much as I thought I would.
jaibin's review against another edition
4.0
A sad look at the transition of a river into a machine and the lives altered from this switch
inkletter7's review against another edition
3.0
Another interesting non-fiction book, and one that hit closer to home. I will say that working in the engineering field helped me to understand the more technical aspects of damming the river better than had I read the book without the background (riprap, aggregate, and the giant pain that is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would otherwise have been Greek to me). My job also made it more difficult for me to pick a side. Although his language is sometimes biases, Harden does not take sides between the environmentalists and the conservatives. He makes it clear that the dams, Hanford, aluminum companies, and barges all take a toll on the river. At the same time, the environmentalists also go far overboard with campaigning and pointing fingers. I found myself in a funny niche - too environmentally inclined to not be appalled at the damage done to the Columbia, but also dependent on the income from the engineering firm I work for that is not unlike the ones that dammed up the river in the 1930s. Harden himself seemed to be in a similar situation; had it not been for his father's jobs that depended on engineering the Columbia, his family wouldn't have had an income, but after leaving the area for years he returned to a different area. The book covered a handful of issues, including fish, Native Americans, employment, and the health hazards of living downwind from a plutonium plant. It was dry in places, but ultimately full of interesting tidbits about the pros and cons of machining the river.
perri's review
4.0
Harden does a great job of sharing the story of the damming of the Columbia River and its effects. A complex issue, he breaks it down and shares opposing viewpoints What most impressed me was how fairly he balanced the benefits and the cost of the project.
kerrianne's review
5.0
Do you know where your electricity comes from? (I often find myself wondering how often people wonder about where any of their (natural or otherwise) resources originate; this book definitely changed the way I think about a river I grew up near my entire life.)
If you live anywhere from Alaska to California to Oregon to Montana, and all the way southeast to Arizona (and parts of Texas!), your electricity likely comes from the Columbia River, via a huge dam in a tiny town in Washington State that most people wouldn't have ever heard of unless they've also heard of Grand Coulee Dam.
It's a city that wouldn't exist without that dam, just like so much of our current power grid also wouldn't exist without that dam. The dam that successfully harnessed the once wildest river in the West and turned it into a mighty machine to power our every waking moment, while simultaneously shutting down successful salmon spawning and displacing and bankrupting countless Native Americans in the process.
Harden's premise (and an undeniably factually accurate one): A mighty working river is a double-edged sword, and this country is bleeding.
We're bleeding at our rivers, at our dams, and that's trickling down to our oceans, and our groundwater, and our food sources.
This book is a deep-dive into both the river in its historical form, and the working river as it existed in 1996, when this book was originally researched and published. (Sadly, very little has changed since then.) Harden doesn't skirt any issues surrounding what it means to create and maintain a "working river," and instead spends copious amounts of time talking to people on both sides of the proverbial and literal waters, including a great recap of farm and irrigation subsidies, and how many small and large farms were (and potentially still are) misusing water allocations and other assistance provided by the government and taxpayer dollars.
Definitely one of my favorite reads of the year, and a book I know I want for our home library.
[Four-point-five stars for historical accuracy and the inherent power of telling the truth, no matter how unpopular it may make you.]
If you live anywhere from Alaska to California to Oregon to Montana, and all the way southeast to Arizona (and parts of Texas!), your electricity likely comes from the Columbia River, via a huge dam in a tiny town in Washington State that most people wouldn't have ever heard of unless they've also heard of Grand Coulee Dam.
It's a city that wouldn't exist without that dam, just like so much of our current power grid also wouldn't exist without that dam. The dam that successfully harnessed the once wildest river in the West and turned it into a mighty machine to power our every waking moment, while simultaneously shutting down successful salmon spawning and displacing and bankrupting countless Native Americans in the process.
Harden's premise (and an undeniably factually accurate one): A mighty working river is a double-edged sword, and this country is bleeding.
We're bleeding at our rivers, at our dams, and that's trickling down to our oceans, and our groundwater, and our food sources.
This book is a deep-dive into both the river in its historical form, and the working river as it existed in 1996, when this book was originally researched and published. (Sadly, very little has changed since then.) Harden doesn't skirt any issues surrounding what it means to create and maintain a "working river," and instead spends copious amounts of time talking to people on both sides of the proverbial and literal waters, including a great recap of farm and irrigation subsidies, and how many small and large farms were (and potentially still are) misusing water allocations and other assistance provided by the government and taxpayer dollars.
Definitely one of my favorite reads of the year, and a book I know I want for our home library.
[Four-point-five stars for historical accuracy and the inherent power of telling the truth, no matter how unpopular it may make you.]
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