A fine and true journey, May 10 2009
By John L. Hart
This review is from: Reading the River: A Traveller’s Companion to the North Saskatchewn River (Paperback)
Allowing a reader to discover a place, a history and a nature is a kind of gift. The book takes the reader on a journey that sees this river through First Nation, explorer, exploiter, politician, and settlers’ eyes. The level of research into all of this is enormous, yet the book flows through ages of facts,maps, stories, and literature that always leaves you looking around the next bend for what this river will show you next. A remarkable read it made me want to find a way to float down and see it all.
“Myrna Kostash and Duane Burton catch the North Saskatchewan in full literary flood, as a river of stories, poetry, and romance.” Candace Savage, author of Prairie: A Natural History
“What a marvellous journey this book takes us on, from the foothills of the Rockies to the marshes of Cumberland Lake. We hear the voices of witnesses, from buffalo hunter Peter Erasmus to Saskatchewan’s former poet laureate, Glen Sorestad. This is Myrna Kostash at her imaginative best.” Maggie Siggins, author of Revenge of the Land
“The most noticeable of natural landmarks in Edmonton, the North Saskatchewan River divides the city in two like a beautiful scar, and writer Myrna Kostash’s new anthology takes the reader on an historical and literal exploration of the mighty ol’ waterway, all the way from the Saskatchewan Crossing to Winnipeg….Featuring writers such as Hugn McLennan, Eli Mandel, Aritha van Herk, John V. Hicks, Tomson Highway, and even the rendering of a Cree legend, Reading the River is an anthology that encompasses all things written and watery.” Trent Wilkie, Vue Weekly, Oct 13-19/05