The Gift of Rivers: True Stories of Life on the Water

Rating:
Summary: Praise for The Gift of Rivers
Review: "If rivers are a source of life, which we know they are, then The Gift of Rivers is a source of spiritual renewal. Through these stories, we remember why water is holy and the sacred obligation that is ours to keep these waterways pure." -Terry Tempest Williams, author of Leap

"A marvelous and varied collection, put together with intelligence, playfulness, and passion. I was swept along by the current of words, constantly surprised by what was revealed around the next bend. What an exuberant, reflective, soul-satisfying trip!" -Malcolm Margolin, publisher, and author of The Way We Lived

"Rivers from every continent will plunge you into distant cultures and strange lands. From thrills and chills of champion kayakers' rapids to the spiritual tranquility of calm water, The Gift of Rivers is a journey well worth taking." -Susan Zwinger, author of The Last Wild Edge

Rating:
Summary: grazie grazie
Review: I feel fortunate to have had the chance to read the precious river stories contained in this collection. Some brought me and my friends to fits of laughter, others to tears and amazement- most of all they inspired us to listen more carefully to the rivers and waterways that bring nourishment and joy to all our lives.

Thank you Pamela Michael for sharing these stories from around the world with us!

Rating:
Summary: Thanks for the River Time
Review: If all of the world's rivers formed a giant continuous watershed (which in a sense they do), I'd put-in at the top and proceed to ride, glide and meander my way down the arteries of our earth. As I entered into each unique river system - Congo, Amazon, Seine, Futaleufu, Siuslaw, Mississippi, Narmada - the human and natural histories of each river would be revealed to me, uncovered, discovered like the layers of time and tide of the Grand Canyon. At the take-out I'd be changed. I'd better understand John Calderazzo's observation that a river can "turn into a state of mind, a kind of feeling." That is the gift of rivers. Of course, there is no such thing as a put-in at the top of the world's watershed, but just as good is Pamela Michael's book, "The Gift of Rivers." Turn the page, enter into river time, hear the stories, and fall in love with our watery ancestors, the world's rivers.

Rating:
Summary: The gift of "The Gift of Rivers"
Review: This book really is a gift. Once you read former Poet Laureate Robert Hass's beautiful introduction, you won't want to stop -- and you won't be disappointed. We're talking range here -- from Isabel Allende's Amazon to Lorian Hemingway's Arkansas to William Least Heat-Moon's Mississippi ... and from icy mountain torrents like the En in Switzerland to cultural main streets like the Seine in France and the Nile in Egypt and the Ganges in India, to rivers choked by industry and neglect like the Columbia in the U.S. -- honestly, you'll laugh, you'll cry.