Down the Great Unknown Reviews

“This stirring tale of John Wesley Powell’s 1869 ten-man expedition by boat 1,000 miles down the unmapped Colorado River through the uncharted mile-high Grand Canyon is as dramatic as the adversities Conan Doyle dreamed up for Professor Challenger in The Lost World . . . Dolnick keeps his narrative flowing like a strong current, pioneering in prose with much of one-armed Powell’s own self-confidence.”

– The Times (London)

“Down the Great Unknown brushes against perfection. This is history written as it should be — and too rarely is: enthusiastic, rigorous, painterly, gloriously free of both pedantry and hyperbole.”

– Amazon.com editorial review

“A formidable reminder of America’s forgotten bravery. Dolnick spins an epic tale of ambition, curiosity, ingenuity, and hard-earned survival as magnificent as the Grand Canyon itself. Terrific — an incredible adventure story — gripping.”

– Tony Hillerman