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Title: How the Canyon Became Grand: A Short History by Stephen J. Pyne ISBN: 0-14-028056-1 Publisher: Penguin Books Pub. Date: 01 July, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.3 (10 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Academic tedium
Comment: This is the second book of Stephen Pyne's that I have labored through. Living and working at the bottom of the Grand Canyon for ten years I have read many titles that concern itself with the area. This reads just as it was created, a college thesis. I am sorry that Mr. Pyne bemoans the lack of intellectual approaches to interpreting the Grand Canyon. But this gets a bit stuffy if not pompous as I turned the pages. To call Zane Grey a literary hack is a bit of a stretch to say the least. As I gazed out my window last week to one magnificent snowstorm I was reminded how Mr. Pyne had written that Thomas Moran exaggerated the mists of the Canyon. I think not. It's on the shelf and over now. The subtitle is what salvaged the book for me - a SHORT history.
Rating: 4
Summary: Sometimes difficult but rewarding reading
Comment: Grand Canyon lovers, get ready for something different. There are plenty of tourist guides and trail guides to the Canyon, and plenty of excellent works of introspective "nature writing", but this work is unique as a cultural history of the Grand Canyon and its emergence as something of an American icon. Stephen Pyne has been a groundbreaking author in the cultural history field with his earlier works on wildland fire, and here he applies his extensive personal knowledge of the Grand Canyon to the same treatment.
It's probably not for everyone. This is one of those books where some prior knowledge of the Canyon helps. Pyne's writing style is wordy and florid, which some people find makes his books difficult reading. A perusal of the other reviews of this and Pyne's other books shows a lot of unfair criticism and even dismissal of his books because of this one flaw. Thus, a Grand Canyon fanatic like myself would love this book and find it hard to put down, while the more casual reader looking for an easily readable background on the Canyon might find this book hard to finish. Pyne clearly knows his subject matter well, and manages to cram a lot of information into this short book, which again might be overwhelming to some readers.
Overall, this is an excellent and unique addition to any library about the Canyon, or about natural or cultural history in general. But again, it's not for everyone.
Rating: 2
Summary: Take this off the Gift Shop Shelves!
Comment: I agree with most of the reviews here. I'm not sure why this book was included at the gift shop at the Grand Canyon. I'd better imagine it gathering dust on a shelf at an academic library, where it belongs. On my honeymoon out west, I continually tried to read this book, but every time I picked it up, I was confused and frustrated with the deliberately obtuse and arrogant language Pyne uses throughout this impenetrable tome. As most other reviewers said--view the canyon through your own eyes and avoid this book at all costs
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Title: The Majesty of the Grand Canyon: 150 Years in Art by Joni Kinsey ISBN: 1885440316 Publisher: Ogp Pub. Date: 01 June, 1998 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Ecological Revolutions: Nature, Gender, and Science in New England by Carolyn Merchant ISBN: 0807842540 Publisher: University of North Carolina Press Pub. Date: 01 November, 1989 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
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Title: Encounters with the Archdruid by John McPhee ISBN: 0374514313 Publisher: Noonday Press Pub. Date: 01 October, 1977 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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