Beyond the Hundredth Meridian: John Wesley Powell and the Second Opening of the West

...wrapped up in a lyrically written and finely researched history.I had not read anything by Wallace Stegner for many years, until a recent trip to the Grand Canyon restored my interest in the history of its exploration. Many choices are available to discover the history of the last part of the American west to become marked as something other than "unknown" on government maps. In "Beyond the Hundredth Meridian" Stegner expands the horizon beyond the confines of the dangerous canyon walls that threatened John Wesley Powell's 1869 expedition through the Grand Canyon.To be sure, Stegner is an excellent chronicler of the that trip down the Colorado. He captures the adventure, the danger, the great unknowns that faced Powell's crew. That voyage is the centerpiece of the first half of the book, and could stand on its own as a a tour de force of American discover.Stegner gives us much more. He incorporates sophisticated discussions of the cultural climate, and the intersection of antebellum political mores in Washington, the fabric of relationships between the US government, native Americans, the Mormons and western settlers. He illustrates fine points of topography, geology, geography and river hydrology as he focuses on the essential element of any migration to the west: water. He explores the grand topics and the often overlooked (would "Big Canyon" be as good a name as "Grand Canyon" ? It almost got this name!).As these lessons unfold, the book never comes across as a textbook. The writing is vibrant and often lyrical, without being overblown or self important. If you've spent any time in the parts of the United States where the rain is scarce and the vistas are vast, this book will provide an important education in the many forces that came to bear on its settlement. Even if you haven't, you'll acquire a solid foundation in the complex calculus that provides the initiative for discovery.This quite simply a great piece of historical writing.

Wallace Stegner writes wonderful descriptions. I think the description of the first Colorado trip is much better than Powell's. I felt right there. I have been down most of the Colorado In fact was on a reenactment of Powell's trip with dories built like his several years ago with Holiday Expeditions and Oars.The old dories spilled in most of the rapids and were not at all like our present day dories. Those men were a breed apart. We do this for fun with good food and equipment. They did it with inadequate everything. They were amazing adventurers. The rest of the book about the development of the west was llso interesting and absorbing

History, from the perspective of individual ambitions and conflict have always been more interesting than anything undertaken with the academician's wider view to social impact and development. Stegner seems to know this going in and makes Powell's personality the locus of his narrative. Beyond the Hundredth Meridian is a highly literary depiction of Powell's concomitant American go-and-do-it-ness and its ironically corrosive effect on the optimism of the time. It's a truly beautiful story in its own right. As a moral tale it has few parallels, in my reading anyway, in quietly dismantling cultural myth and boosterism in favor of the objectivist's creed of seeking truth without agenda.There is a cautionary tale here that rings true politically today, in as much as the story is a call to resist group think in any form, the extremes of alarmist predictions of doom on one hand, and, as well, the sometimes dismissive pursuit of human enterprise and exploitation on the other. In reading it, I wondered if the global warming crowd could meet the standard of Powell's commitment to truth any better than, say, a mindless real estate developer more interested in industrial nodes than in the land being subjected to his economic models. Stegner makes waypoints of the hyperbole of Powell's time in both directions.Recommended reading for the intellectually independent. Learned and beautifully wrought.

The initial description of Powell's Grand Canyon transit is wonderful. Stegner becomes tedious and plodding during the remainder of the book. Interesting historical perspective and nice description of Powell's career but this could have been handled in a more concise manner and with more reference to the interactions of the principal characters to create the historical sense and context. For example, the impact that the application of the traditional homestead size had on the development of the West and how this played out with respect to the current mess of senior versus junior water rights and the creation of large ranches instead of smaller homesteads would have been fascinating.

Whoever works at the kindle factory turning these old texts into kindles: do a better job. The worst bit were the photographic reproduction s, pure mud on my display. Also tons of scanned text snafus that a simple proofread should have caught. Maybe, read this one in print?

I have read earlier stories about Powell and his trip down the Grand Canyon and enjoyed them for their important exploration and adventure aspects. What I did not realize then and do now is how important a person Powell was in government and his contribution to the scientific approach and mapping of the West. We also see the political intrigue that took place in the past. Seeing it historically, it makes one think about how today's events will be seen in 100 years. It is a engaging read.

Saskatchewan has produced some able people, Stegner amongst them. HIs writing has a timelessness admired by many.