"We were afraid of its impenetrable darkness. Afraid of its industrial smell. We were afraid of the things that lived beneath its surface and the things that had died there. We were afraid of spotting a hand or a head bobbing in the rafts of garbage that floated by. We were afraid of submerged intake valves that sucked water into the factories along the banks. We were afraid of the river's filth. It wasn't the kind of filth that came from playing with your friends. It was grownup filth. The kind that scared the blue out of water and coated the riverbank with oily black goo. It was the kind of filth you could taste, the kind that could make you sick, maybe even kill you. We were afraid of getting splashed with river water or of touching river rocks. We were afraid of falling in or-God forbid-going under. We were afraid of the river's anger at being so befouled, and afraid, most of all, of the revenge we felt certain the river would exact." New Jersey's Passaic River rises in a pristine wetland and ends in a federal Superfund site. In "An American River," author and New Jersey native Mary Bruno kayaks its length in an effort to discover what happened to her hometown river. The Passaic's wildly convoluted course invites detours into the river's flood-prone natural history, New Jersey's unique geology, the corrupt practices of the Newark chemical plant that produced Agent Orange and poisoned the river with dioxin, and into the lives of an unforgettable cast of characters who have lived and worked along the Passaic and who are trying, even now, to save it. Part natural history, part personal history, part rollicking adventure, the book is a narrative meditation on the wonder of nature, the enduring ties of family, and the power of water and loss. "My great grandmother liked to say, 'Don't shit in the nest, '" writes Bruno. "The Passaic River is an object lesson in what can happen when we ignore that simple, salty advice." ""An American River" is an intricate and satisfying braid of memoir, history, science, nature writing, and acute social observation. This is an invigorating and hopeful book, and its sense of wonder is infectious. It's not, I think, too great a stretch to say that it holds its own on the shelf alongside "Walden," "Silent Spring" and "A Sand County Almanac."" Jonathan Raban Author of "Driving Home: An American Journey"

When James Marshall found a small, soft shiny stone in a California stream, he knew it could only be one thing: Gold! His cry of discovery would be heard around the world. In the third installment of Don Brown's Actual Times series, Gold! Gold from the American River! is the story of the California gold rush--the uncharted journey across hostile land, the laborious process of panning for gold, the success of savvy entrepreneurs, and the fortunes of the marginalized, from slaves and American Indians to women and foreigners.

Produced by the California State Park volunteer group, Auburn State Recreation Area Canyon Keepers (ASRACK), for trails in the Auburn State Recreation Area (ASRA) in the Northern California Sierra foothills.

In the mid-1800s, three immigrant familiesIrish, Japanese, and Mexicansettle along the American River in Northern California. A century later, only one family remains. Owen McPhalans Mockingbird Valley Ranch is still a thriving family business in 1959. But when his wife, Marian, leaves Mockingbird to follow her dream of becoming a successful artist, she ignites a firestorm that impacts the descendants of all three families. As artists, musicians, writers, and politicians inherit their immigrant parents hopes, they are torn apart by ambition, prejudice, and deception while struggling through the turbulent 1960s. From the concert halls of Europe to Kyotos ancient avenues, and Manhattans artists lofts to San Franciscos North Beach, they each learn the price they must pay in order to realize their dreams. But just as the river is drawn to the sea, they eventually find themselves pulled back to the place that forged the original link between their destiniesa place called Mockingbird. American River: Tributaries follows three California families as the descendants of Irish, Japanese, and Mexican immigrants embark on unique journeys to pursue their dreams amid an unsettled 1960s world.

For sixty million years, the Gila River, longer than the Hudson and the Delaware combined, has shaped the ecology of the Southwest from its source in New Mexico to its confluence with the Colorado River in Arizona. Today, for at least half its length, the Gila is dead, like so many of the West’s great rivers, owing to overgrazing, damming, and other practices. This richly documented cautionary tale narrates the Gila’s natural and human history. Now updated, McNamee’s study traces recent efforts to resuscitate portions of this important riparian corridor.

Water Gold Soil: The American River tells the story of a single flow of water in present-day California from origin to end use. Beginning at the river's headwaters in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, the book follows the water through pipes and dams, past Sutter's Mill and the birthplace of the Gold Rush, to the corporate agricultural fields until it eventually disappears into the ground, finding veins in the soil. Including a short essay by Elizabeth Kolbert, the book brings together a series of narrative text, photographs, and archival images that represent the history of extraction in California and testify to the social and ecological consequences of watershed colonialism.

A New York Times Bestseller This is a full-length companion novel to the International Bestselling Phenomenon, The Fixed Trilogy. It is not meant to be read as a stand-alone. This book includes new scenes as well as a few scenes from the Fixed Trilogy in Hudson's point of view. I can easily divide my life into two parts—before her and after. I’ve led a life few others could even imagine. With all the money and power of the Pierce empire at my fingertips, I’ve wanted for almost nothing. The only thing I’ve never experienced is love, however, not that I’ve seen many examples of it in my dysfunctional family. The ridiculous notion of romance has always intrigued me. I’ve studied it, controlled it, manipulated it, and have yet to understand it. Until I meet Alayna Withers. Now, the games I’ve played in my quest for comprehension can finally come to an end. Or are they just beginning? This is my side of the epic love story—my past with Celia, my courtship with Alayna, and the secrets I’ve kept from them both...even now. (Or you could keep the original third person wrap-up) Told from his point of view, Hudson fills the holes in his love story with Alayna Withers. His past and relationship with his long-time friend Celia is further revealed and light is shed on his actions during his courtship with Alayna. MUST BE READ IN ORDER. Book One: FIXED ON YOU Book Two: FOUND IN YOU Book Three: FOREVER WITH YOU Book Four: HUDSON Book Five: FIXED FOREVER