Recommended Reading
The following books can be purchased at Powell's, the largest new and used bookstore in the world. Powell's will donate 7.5% of every purchase to the Rivers Foundation of the Americas' conservation efforts when you use the links on this page. Powell's offers free shipping for orders over $50.
Coyote Warrior
Described as a "gripping," "compelling," and "poignant" story by various reviewers, this book provides the account of one American Indian, Raymond Cross, who fights diligently to save the land lost by his ancestors, the people of the Three Affiliated Tribes of North Dakota. Cross represents a true "coyote warrior" in that he is part of a new era of Ivy League-trained American Indian lawyers and scientists dedicated to attaining post-colonial justice for the many wrongs endured by their tribes in the past.
Forest Communities, Community Forests
A collection of stories (including two chapters by Rivers Foundation president Peter Lavigne) about twelve communities in the United States in their efforts to protect and restore community forests. It explores the struggles and opportunities faced by people as they work to invest in natural capital, reverse decades of poor forest practices, tackle policy gridlock, and address community as well as ecological health.
Stillwater
In 1938, five towns in western Massachusetts were flooded to create a huge reservoir. A beautifully rendered novel of coming of age, of loyalty and betrayal, good and evil, and of bravery and an abiding love. Stillwater illuminates nature's magnificence, man's inhumanity, people's courage, and the destiny of place that is characteristic of America.
Watershed: The Undamming of America
Offers a close examination of the questions facing communities across North America where dam removal is on the political and ecological agenda. This is a story of people and place, as watersheds become an increasingly important part of local identity throughout the country.
All My Rivers Are Gone
Celebrates the great American landscape of Glen Canyon, while also mourning its loss. Lee's book challenges us to undo the environmental damage and forever prevent such mindless destruction in the future.
Ten Thousand Goddam Cattle
Subtitled "A History of the American Cowboy in Song, Story and Verse," this classic of cowboy lore includes illustrations by artist William Moyers. First published in 1976, Ten Thousand Goddam Cattle is now available only from the University of New Mexico Press.
How to Save a River: A Handbook for Citizen Action
Full of wisdom gleaned from years of river protection campaigns, this makes an excellent source book for people who wish to start their own campaign. Includes information on how to form an organization and raise money, work with other groups, build public support, and cultivate the media.
Silent Spring
The outcry that followed Rachel Carson's Silent Spring's publication in 1962 forced the government to ban DDT and spurred revolutionary changes in the laws affecting our air, land, and water. Carson's book was instrumental in launching the environmental movement. It is without question one of the landmark books of the twentieth century.
Our Stolen Future
Two leading environmental scientists, writing with an award-winning journalist, provide an investigative account that dramatically explores the causes and implications of chemical pollutants on human fertility and general health.
My Story as Told by Water
In these 22 essays, David James Duncan, one of America's most celebrated nature writers and activists, meditates on the many aspects of water conservation, including the havoc wrought by the mining industry.
The River Why
Leaving behind a madcap, fishing-obsessed family, Gus embarks on an extraordinary voyage of self-discovery along his beloved Oregon rivers. What he unexpectedly finds is man's wanton destruction of nature and a burning desire to commit himself to its preservation. This is the funny, sensitive, very special story of one man's search for meaning, love, and a sane way to live.
River Teeth
A book of short stories and memoirs by the Montana-based writer. At the heart of Duncan's tales are characters undergoing the complex and violent process of transformation, with results both painful and wondrous. Equally affecting are his nonfiction reminiscences, the "river teeth" of the title. He likens his memories to the remains of old-growth trees that fall into Northwestern rivers and are sculpted by time and water.
Earth in Mind: On Education, Environment, and the Human Prospect
The author argues that much of what has gone wrong with the world is the result of inadequate and misdirected education that alienates us from life in the name of human domination, overemphasizes success and careers, and deadens our sense of wonder at the world.
A New Era for Irrigation
A New Era for Irrigation draws important conclusions about whether irrigation can continue to be the nation's most significant water user, what role the federal government should play, and what the irrigation industry must do to adapt to conditions in the future.
James Bay Memoirs: A Cree Woman’s Ode to her Homeland
Poems written over a period of seven years, from 1985 to 1992. They tell of Margaret Sam-Cromarty's love for and fond memories of her land and life. Her tales of life as a young child, of her parents, her Elders - her people - all described with great depth of feeling the importance of a lifestyle speedily being lost.
Seven Hands, Seven Hearts: Prose and Poems
Seven Hands, Seven Hearts: Prose and Poems is united by common themes: Elizabeth's love for Northwest landscapes, the histories of her ancestors, and the ongoing struggle to define what it means to be a tribal member, an American, and a woman at the end of the twentieth century.
The Cost of Living
For those who have been mesmerized by Ms. Roy's vision of India, here is a sketch, traced in fire, of its topsy-turvy society, where the lives of the many are sacrificed for the comforts of the few. Merging her inimitable voice with a great moral outrage and imaginative sweep, Roy peels away the mask of democracy and prosperity to show the true costs hidden beneath.
Alaska’s Copper River Delta
With a foreword by Paul R. Ehrlich, here 22 artists from 11 countries present their visions of the vast delta, largest in Pacific North America, together with the mountains, glaciers, rain forests, and wildlife of this largely unspoiled remote area. Published by U. of Washington Press in association with Artists for Nature Foundation, The Netherlands. 10x8"
Messages From Frank’s Landing
A chronicle of treaty rights of tribal fishermen on Frank's Landing along the Nisqually River in the Pacific Northwest. Explores the historical, legal, and social context of Indian fishing rights in the Pacific Northwest, providing a dramatic account of the people and issues involved. Photo essay by Hank Adams, includes maps.
The Essential Aldo Leopold: Quotations and Commentaries
For the first time, the most important quotations of the great conservationist Aldo Leopold, author of "A Sand County Almanac," are gathered in one volume. From conservation education to wildlife ecology, from wilderness protection to soil and water conservation, the writings of Aldo Leopold continue to have profound influence on those seeking to understand the earth and its care.
Sacred Monkey River: A Canoe Trip with the Gods
A canoeist and former whitewater guide describes his journey down the Usumacinta River and its tributaries which run through Mexico and Guatemala. Exploring these areas of ancient Mesoamerican civilizations, he recounts a near-death experiences in a rapid, the Zapatista uprising in Chiapas, and encounters with the region's inhabitants, as well as his appreciation of the region's natural beauty.
Canaries on the Rim: Living Downwind in the West
Canaries on the Rim is Chip Ward's firsthand account of how lessons learned from local sickness and death along the edge of the Great Basin Desert wilderness were later applied to building opposition to toxic waste disposal, chemical weapons incineration, industrial pollution, and nuclear waste storage. The secret holocaust that is unfolding along the toxic shadow of America's Great Basin Desert is grim, but Ward's colorful and often-humorous story is not. Canaries on the Rim is a warning and a call to arms, but it is also a compelling drama and a lively primer on environmental activism. If civil action took place in Edward Abbey's West, this is the book that would result.
Hope’s Horizon: Three Visions for Healing the American Land
At a time of widespread environmental pessimism, Hope's Horizon goes on an inspirational offensive. In this thought-provoking book, author Chip Ward tells of his travels among a new generation of activists who are moving beyond defensive environmental struggles and advocating pioneering, proactive strategies for healing the land.
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Explore Our Watersheds
Copper River
The Copper River Delta has the largest concentration of nesting shorebirds in North America, is an important nursery for prized salmon and other fisheries, and is a relatively unspoiled wilderness area with keystone predators including wolves and grizzlies.
Columbia River
The Columbia River watershed is a critical link in the mega-linkages of the Pacific flyway and predator migration corridor. It is the nerve center for salmon restoration, and one of the world's most highly manipulated great river systems.
Colorado River
The Colorado River system flows 1,450 miles through nine states and Mexico; the Grand Canyon was created by its waters. The aridity of most of this region has made its water into a valuable commodity, and the fragile desert, canyon, and delta ecosystems it supports have suffered as a result.
Donating to RFA
The Rivers Foundation of the Americas is a public foundation dedicated to promoting and funding the protection and restoration of rivers in the Americas. Your passion for environmental preservation and social justice is a passion shared by all RFA board and staff members and by the organizations the Rivers Foundation helps to fund.
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