Downstream Toward Home - A Book of Rivers (Hardcover)

Rivers have played a remarkable role throughout our national history. The outcome of battles, the fate of pioneers, and the survival of early settlers were inextricable from the course and temperament of surrounding rivers. Depicted in songs, art, and fiction, these waterways found a place in the American psyche and continue to wind through the imaginations of modern adventurers. In Downstream Toward Home, Oliver A. Houck recounts his thrilling, meditative, and humorous experi-ences on these oft-neglected tributaries and streams. Spanning more than sixty years and exploring more than thirty-two rivers, this collection of travel essays demonstrates how each creek and channel plays an outsized role in its surrounding environment. Houck's homage to America's rivers includes both exciting adventures and near disasters, as he moves from his childhood memories of Egypt Creek in New Jersey to the Great Falls of the Potomac, the bayous of Louisiana, and the snake-infested Grande Ronde in Oregon. Throughout, his musings on details such as the footprints of red wolves on a sandbank or the otherworldly beauty of a cypress forest reveal a distinct and extraordinary vision of the national landscape. A gifted storyteller, Houck captures the fleeting excitement of cascading through rapids and the peaceful joy of resting on a shoal-while subtly reminding us of the far-reaching human impact on this fragile but vital part of our ecosystem.