A View of the River

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Summary: A scholarly, college level text.
Review: Excellent, and up to date,overview of rivers and the hows' and whys' of their existence. Great book for a college course or to keep around for professional reference. Loaded with diagrams, well organized, and very comprehensive. Covers; river channels, measurement, flow, distribution of discharge, floods, hydraulic geometry, drainage networks, river morphology, sediment load, etc, etc. Includes just enough equations that are light to moderate in complexity, about college sophomore level. Moderately easy to read, but not for casual reading. Overall a super book for those who are interested in the "nuts and bolts" of how and why a river works.

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Summary: Luna Leopold: the godfather of hydrology.
Review: This book is a must-have for your library if you will only have ONE book on freshwater hydrology. Leopold thoroughly explains the essential processes in a way that is clear and understandable. Also show ways to put this knowledge to work near your home. Reading this book is critical to your competent understanding of basic hydrologic processes, so you can be an intelligent consumer of the stuff put out by the mass media. Get it. Read it. Re-read it.

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Summary: A magnificent book for anyone interested in fluvial systems
Review: This is one of the best books about river systems that I have yet read. The author covers the basics of fluvial hydrology and geomorphology as he explains what he has learned about rivers over his many years of study. Written for the general public the author speaks to you as a mentor, not a professor lecturing his students. Chapters cover the following topics: The river channel; River measurement; Meanders and bars; Distribution of discharge in space and time; Rivers of the world; Flow variability and floods; Relationships between channel and discharge; Hydraulic geometry; Sediment load; The drainage network; Energy utilization; River morphology - the most probable state. Each chapter could be the topic of a college-level symposium or course. The references include many classic USGS Professional Papers. As a geologist I have gained a deeper appreciation for fluvial systems and their deposits because of the material contained in this book. Any fluvial stratigrapher, sedimentologist, hydrologist or geomorphologist should have a copy of this book. I recommend it for anyone whose livelihood depends upon rivers as well as those who just want to learn why rivers behave as they do. C. J. Donofrio