All My Rivers Are Gone: A Journey of Discovery Through Glen Canyon

In 1963, Glen Canyon, a 170-mile gorge that spans the border between southern Utah and northern Arizona along the Colorado River, was flooded and Glen Canyon dam built to generate hydroelectric power. The flooded gorge became Lake Powell, now a recreation area. Before the creation of the dam, during the 1950s and early 1960s, Lee--an actress, folk singer, song writer and author (Ten Thousand Goddam Cattle)--made 16 trips down the river, exploring the canyon and venturing into little-known side canyons. After her first experience running the river, Lee fell in love with Glen Canyon, becoming a part of regular expeditions on which she would sing and play her songs for the passengers. In the journals she kept, portions of which are excerpted here, the author successfully evokes the magnificent trails, beaches and waterfalls, as well as the unusual colors and smells, of the canyon. Lee was adamantly opposed to building the dam and, at the time, lobbied politicians to stop the project. She is now part of an effort, spearheaded by the Glen Canyon Institute and the Sierra Club, to drain Lake Powell and restore the canyon. Lee's disorganized ramblings, while testifying to the beauty of the canyon, fail to clarify the complexities of the controversy for her readers. B&w illustrations. (Nov.) FYI: An audiotape of Lee's Colorado River Songs is available from Katydid Books & Music (P.O. Box 395, Jerome, Ariz. 86331; 602-634-8075).