The Last Grand Canyon Ambition—

Earle E. Spamer's Bibliography of the Grand Canyon and the Lower Colorado River, online at http://www.grandcanyon.org, has over 25,000 citations; of those, there are only 164 entries under “fiction,” with less than 40 that might be considered novels. Lisa Michaels' recently published Grand Ambition: A Novel (W.W. Norton & Company, 2001, $23.95 cloth, 275 pp., 0-393-05047-5) and John Vernon's upcoming The Last Canyon (Houghton Mifflin Company, October 16, 2001, $24.00, 352 pp., 0-618-10940-4) increase not only the quantity, but also the quality, of Grand Canyon and Colorado River fiction.
“‘Glennie?' [his younger sister Jeanne] asked… ‘Where they put her, will mother have the books she likes?' He turned away. ‘Of course, silly. They have a huge library in heaven. Every book ever written.'” (Michaels, p. 188)
New publications on the Canyon and the River seem to be appearing almost constantly. Obvious comparisons of Michaels' novel about Glen and Bessie Hyde might be made to contemporary non-fiction release Sunk Without a Sound: The Tragic Colorado River Honeymoon of Glen and Bessie Hyde by Brad Dimock; that of Vernon's novel about John Wesley Powell's 1869 river trip with Donald Worster's biography, A River Running West: The Life of John Wesley Powell. Perhaps less obvious might be this review of the works in regards to the novelization of these historical stories.
It is evident from the reading that both Michaels and Vernon have done considerable historical research and are to be commended. Although neither purports to be writing a history, it is this accuracy that can lend a feeling of believability. The craft of the novelist allows both the freedom to add dialogue, thoughts, and emotions without having to speculate, and thus they are not limited to “just the facts, ma'am.” It is hard to read for pleasure after reading history; this reviewer must fight the tendency to always look for the picayune, so I'll get it out of the way now.
It seems Michaels may have had a couple of things off, one being Glen Hyde's dad being named Reith instead of Rollin, which could have come from some information in the Marston Collection, and can be excused as poetic license. More obvious is the dust jacket illustration, a combination of at least three images, placing Glen and Bessie in more of a skiff, not a scow, and on a river not obviously recognizable as the Green or the Colorado.
More has been written, and there is more information available, about Powell, thus nit-picking is easier.

Vernon has accepted Powell in his assignment of men to boats, although that has been corrected long ago by researchers consulting others letters and diaries, most recently Ardian Gill in “Who Was ‘Kitty Clyde' Anyway?” in the summer 2001 boatman's quarterly review. Much debate has occurred concerning the oaring configuration in Powell's 1869 Whitehall boats: were there sweep oars on that first trip, and, if so, when were they put to use? Because of the numbers of men and boats at the beginning of the trip, they probably did not start with steering oars. In discussions with Brad Dimock, Al Holland, and Michael Ghiglieri, it might be concluded that lack of “steerage” contributed to the wreck and loss of the “No Name,” and that the men figured out pretty quickly thereafter that since they had extra men and needed more control, that they needed sweeps. Vernon has “ruddermen” in the boats prior to Disaster Falls, but that really is a picayune nit. Another is did Powell wear his lifejacket around his neck or his body?
That out of the way, both novels were fun and enjoyable reads, with Michaels' being the more gripping and therefore my preference. She alternates short chapters from Reith Hyde's point of view to longer ones from Glen and Bessie's; Vernon divides his book into two alternating stories by parts, that of Powell's trip with travels by Paiutes, so that some members of each party are destined to meet at the end. Although endings for the Powell party and the Hydes are generally well known to river runners and readers of this publication, as such these stories are not real mysteries but delve rather into the mysterious inner workings of the minds and feelings of the characters.
“They were stuck in time, thought [Sumner], like flies in fresh amber. They'd be here forever and no one seemed to care.” (Vernon, p. 244)
When you have a bit of time on the river, or are waiting at home for that next trip, I recommend either novel for that dreamtime escape.
C.V. Abyssus