Down the Great Unknown by Edward Dolnick: Book Review

Title: Down the Great Unknown: John Wesley Powell’s 1869 Journey of Discovery and Tragedy Through the Grand Canyon
Author: Edward Dolnick
Genre: Exploration, Biography, History, Travel
Audience: Adult

My Review:

John Wesley Powell caught my attention when my husband and I visited the Grand Canyon in 2013. I would periodically think that I should read a book about him and then I would forget about it. When we visited Lake Powell and Horseshoe Canyon in Page, AZ a few months ago, I decided that it was finally time to learn more about this explorer.

I kind of wanted a book that was about Powell’s entire life but I didn’t really see anything like that at my libraries. I was most interested about his trip down the Colorado River and through the Grand Canyon anyway, so this was a fine substitute.

I will never raft the Colorado River, and especially not the section through the Grand Canyon. That was my biggest takeaway. The descriptions of the rapids and the power of the water were terrifying.

But this was a truly interesting book. I honestly couldn’t wait to read more about Powell and his crew every night. The fact that the first European team to raft the Grand Canyon was led by a Civil War veteran with only one arm and practically no experience on the water is mind-boggling to me. The entire group was made up of novices! Sure there were some “mountain men” who were used to living off the land but that knowledge doesn’t lend itself to reading rapids and finding the best way through them. Holy smokes.

The author takes a lot of tangents on the river journey. I’m a tangential thinker and storyteller myself so it didn’t bother me but his style might not be for everyone. There were sections about the Battle of Shiloh, where Powell lost his arm, that segued into the state of medicine and infection control at the time. There were interviews with today’s river guides who know the river like the backs of their hands. There was some history of the areas they were passing through and some then-current events. It all added up to an interesting whole for me.

If you like reading about explorers doing the seemingly-impossible, this book is a great choice. But if you’re planning a rafting trip down the Grand Canyon and you’re feeling a little hesitant about it, maybe wait until after your trip.

Synopsis from GoodReads:

Drawing on rarely examined diaries and journals, Down the Great Unknown is the first book to tell the full, dramatic story of the Powell expedition.

On May 24, 1869 a one-armed Civil War veteran, John Wesley Powell and a ragtag band of nine mountain men embarked on the last great quest in the American West. The Grand Canyon, not explored before, was as mysterious as Atlantis—and as perilous. The ten men set out from Green River Station, Wyoming Territory down the Colorado in four wooden rowboats. Ninety-nine days later, six half-starved wretches came ashore near Callville, Arizona.

Lewis and Clark opened the West in 1803, six decades later Powell and his scruffy band aimed to resolve the West’s last mystery. A brilliant narrative, a thrilling journey, a cast of memorable heroes—all these mark Down the Great Unknown, the true story of the last epic adventure on American soil.

Similar Books:

If you liked Down the Great Unknown: John Wesley Powell’s 1869 Journey of Discovery and Tragedy Through the Grand Canyon, you might also like my reviews of

• In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette by Hampton Sides
• A Woman in the Polar Night by Christiane Ritter, translated by Jane Degras
• Into the Planet: My Life as a Cave Diver by Jill Heinerth

Reading Challenge:

Purchase:

Buy Down the Great Unknown: John Wesley Powell’s 1869 Journey of Discovery and Tragedy Through the Grand Canyon from Malaprop’s Bookstore in beautiful Asheville, NC or

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