The Emerald Mile

The entire title of this book is The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History through the Hear of the Grand Canyon by Kevin Fedarko.  Now if that doesn't pique your interest, then this book probably isn't for you, but you should try it out anyway.  I love adventure stories and this was definitely a good one.  The book starts first with an epic history of the Grand Canyon, it's discovery, river running, and dam building.  I learned more about dams by reading this book than I ever thought I would know ever.  Then you get to learn more about the epic run-off flood of Spring 1983 and the conditions that led to the famous (or infamous) speed run down the great Colorado.  

It is fast paced and an easy read.  But beware, the actual story of the fastest ride doesn't actually start until about 250 pages into the book.  Before that it is just very interesting back story.  While reading The Emerald Mile you will meet a myriad of interesting people and hear all sorts of wild and interesting stories.  The author has gone to great lengths to do accurate research to provide a fabulous chronicle of the greatest canyon on earth.

At my library there is a hold list of 124 people so be prepared to wait for this one.  There is probably a little language but I don't remember it.