River and I

'An exhilarating adventure story ...also a significant description of life in the region [of the Missouri River] as it was ...years ago, enlivened by humor, social criticism, and philosophic speculation' - "Western American Literature". 'For pleasure reading, the story has much charm and interest. The reader gets the 'feel' of the journey but escapes its actual hardships' - "Journal of the West". 'A memorable blending of poetry, realistic on-the-spot reporting, fur trade history, Greek mythology, and love for the river ...that reaches a high-water mark in the literature of the West' - "Denver Westerners Monthly Roundup".'It is hard not to be caught up in this enthusiastic young man's glimpse of Americana' - "Christian Century". In 1908, John Neihardt (1881-1973) and two companions traveled the Missouri River in a twenty-foot canoe, beginning at the headwaters in Montana and ending up at Sioux City, Iowa. "The River and I" describes their adventures on that wild waterway before it was dammed by the Army Corps of Engineers and points out storied sites along the shore. In sum, Neihardt does for the Missouri what Twain did for the Mississippi. Internationally known for Black Elk Speaks (also available as a Bison Book), John G. Neihardt wrote in almost all major genres: fiction, lyric and epic poetry, biography, autobiography, travelogue, literary criticism, and the familiar essay. Timothy G. Anderson is an editor at the "New York Times". He is currently conducting research for a biography of John G. Neihardt.