At age sixty-seven Colin Fletcher, the guru of American backpacking whose treks through the California desert and the Grand Canyon have entertained hundreds of thousands of readers, undertook a strenuous voyage down the full length of the Colorado River -- solo. He needed "something to pare the fat off my soul...to make me grateful, again, for being alive".

The 1700 miles between the Colorado's source in Wyoming and its conclusion at Mexico's Gulf of California contain some of the most spectacular vistas on earth, and Fletcher -- engaging, opinionated, and unconventional -- is the ideal guide for the terrain. As his privileged companions, we travel to Disaster Falls and Desolation Canyon, experience sandstorms and whitewater rapids, and share Fletcher's thoughts on the human race, the environment, and the joys of solitude. River is the journey of a lifetime, served up with delectable brio and wit.

"Fletcher earthily conveys high drama....River is a human-scale story about a continent-sized national wonder". -- Newsday