Backyard and Beyond

Starting out from Brooklyn, an amateur naturalist explores our world.

As John Burroughs said, “The place to observe nature is where you are.”

Rivers

RiversThe Rivers of America series started in 1937 and ended in 1974. Sixty-five books were ultimately published. I recently tried reading the volumes on the Hudson, the Colorado, and the St. Lawrence, but I couldn’t get past the first chapter of any of them. They were too Forties for me, a whitewashed, cheerleading view of history. Ah, well.

Anyway, here’s the listing as of the 1940s. Because the names of American rivers have a magic to them: Housatonic, Shenandoah, Susquehanna, Monongahela, Mississippi…. Many, of course, have Native American names (or European debasement of Native names); rivers often hold on the oldest languages.

mthew

3 responses to “Rivers”

  1. drdann

    Yay! So glad you found your way to them!

    Reply
  2. Tom Andersen

    I think you’re right about their lasting merits. They are artifacts more than anything, although I used The Housatonic and The Connecticut for research. I know of a conservation organization (not mine) that reprinted hundreds of copies of The Connecticut in hopes of selling them and then ended up shipping them to another conservation organization to give away. I think I’ve mentioned this before as well — the Octagon House, in Irvington, which appears elsewhere on your blog, was the home of Carl Carmer, author of The Hudson (I couldn’t get through that either).

    Reply
    1. mthew

      Yes, “artifacts” is the perfect description. I think the idea is pretty amazing, though, and would like to see it tackled again.

      Reply

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