About the Book An engaging, informative, and personal exploration of some of the great rivers of North America. Book Synopsis An engaging, informative, and personal exploration of some of the great rivers of North America. The physical nature of rivers has influenced the course of human history and development, whether it be in the prosecution of major conflicts (US Civil War), patterns of development and social change (dams on the Columbia River), the economy (gold rushes, agricultural development), or international relations (US and Mexico and the Colorado River). The centrality of human-river interactions has had great impacts on the biodiversity of rivers (salmon and other threatened species) that have been the focus of historical and current intense conflicts of values (e.g., water in the Sacramento-San Joaquin system and California water wars in general). Of the thousands of rivers in North America, 10 are profiled in Rivers Run Through Us : Mackenzie River Yukon River Fraser River Columbia River Sacramento-San Joaquin River Colorado River Rio Grande/Rio Bravo River Mississippi River Hudson River St. Lawrence River In this engaging new work, Eric Taylor takes readers on a grand tour of 10 of North Americas more important river systems, exploring one fundamental issue for each that illustrates the critical role each particular stream has had -- and will have -- in the human development of North America. Review Quotes Praise for Rivers Run Through Us : An inspired and thoughtfully informed guided raft ride down the great rivers of North America. --Robert W. Sandford, EPCOR Chair for Water and Climate Security at the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health and author of Rain Comin Down: Water, Memory and Identity in a Changed World and numerous other titles Eric Taylors ambitious and sweeping Rivers Run Through Us offers readers a close look at some of North Americas largest and most controversial river systems. Framed by a belief that rivers and people influence each other and must be studied together, this thoughtful, intelligent book makes an important contribution to 21st-century self-reckoning about industrial overdevelopment. --Eileen Delehanty Pearkes, author of A River Captured: The Columbia River Treaty and Catastrophic Change My new favourite book about rivers. Eric Taylors grand tour of major North American basins is socially and geographically perceptive. --Laurence C. Smith, author of Rivers of Power and The World in 2050 Rivers are products of the landscapes we occupy and use, and so they are reflections of our cultures. In that sense, each river is a report card on a civilization. Eric Taylor takes us deep into the nature and meaning of some of the most magnificent and important rivers on this continent. The science and writing are exceptional, and the timing is critical. Never before have our rivers and civilization faced such daunting threats than in the midst of a climate crisis that is changing everything. Taylor has stepped up just in time to help us understand the deeper meanings of our relationships with the rivers that sustain us. --Kevin Van Tighem, author of Heart Waters: Sources of the Bow River ; Wild Roses Are Worth It: Reimagining the Alberta Advantage ; Bears Without Fear About the Author Mark Angelo is a river conservationist, writer, speaker, teacher, and paddler. He is the founder and chair of both B.C. and World Rivers Day and is rivers chair of the Outdoor Recreation Council of BC, as well as a Fellow of the New York-based Explorers Club and a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. He lives in Burnaby, British Columbia.