The Emerald Mile

The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon

De: Kevin Fedarko

Narrado por: Kevin Fedarko

From one of Outside magazine’s “Literary All-Stars” comes the thrilling true tale of the fastest boat ride ever through the Grand Canyon, atop the legendary Colorado River flood of 1983.

In the spring of 1983, massive flooding along the length of the Colorado River confronted a team of engineers at the Glen Canyon Dam with an unprecedented emergency that may have resulted in the most catastrophic dam failure in history. In the midst of this crisis, the decision to launch a small wooden dory named “The Emerald Mile” at the head of the Grand Canyon, just fifteen miles downstream from the Glen Canyon Dam, seemed not just odd, but downright suicidal.

The Emerald Mile, at one time slated to be destroyed, was rescued and brought back to life by Kenton Grua, the man at the oars, who intended to use this flood as a kind of hydraulic sling-shot. The goal was to nail the all-time record for the fastest boat ever propelled—by oar, by motor, or by the grace of God himself—through the heart of the Grand Canyon atop the Colorado River from Lee’s Ferry to Lake Mead. Did he survive? Just barely. Now, this remarkable, epic feat unfolds here, in The Emerald Mile.

©2013 Kevin Fedarko (P)2024 Simon & Schuster Audio

Amazing story about the canyon, a wooden boat and a dam

With a love of wooden boats, and adventure this book captured me! The tale is incredible as it intertwines the history of the Colorado River, it sheer force and the will and determination of so many to conquer and control it! What a fantastic story!

History lessons abounding

Fantastic high suspense story with great characters and a wonderful end. Super interesting history as well.

The Canyon and the Colorado River.

A beautifully written series of stories brought together in one book. It brought the Canyon and the River back to me again.

Fedarko is one of the best adventure/outdoors narratives writers

Excellent narrative with a good dose of well-researched history, entertaining and very well written. Fedarko is also a wonderful reader, very pleasant to listen to. His other book “A Walk in the Park” is equally great! Can’t wait for his next book!

enormous scope

this book is about much more than the title and cover shot would lead you to believe. the amount of research that went into this story is admirable. it's a masterpiece.

Great Story

This author is amazing. He knows how to tell a story. As with his other book (A Walk In The Park) I lost a lot of sleep in order to finish it.

How is this not a hit thriller film?!

Kevin Fedarko’s “Emerald Mile” joins the rare pantheon of my listens of hundreds of audiobooks over the last 20+ years in which the author is an incredibly talented writer & narrator. My wife recommended it after reading the book, &, as usual, she was right. An intriguing story written in a way that draws you in with characters you learn to care about accomplishing heroic feats of amazing grit, strength & determination. The writing is genius, weaving an interesting historical foundation with an incredibly action-packed story told in tantalizing bits woven together & spiced with a wry sense of humor.
I somtetimes drag out listening to excellent titles to prolong the experience & delay gratification. “The Emerald Mile” is the first book I was so enraptured by that I stopped listening with 2 hours to go & shifted to another book. I bought the hardcover book to appreciate the photos, & started alternating reading & then listening.
How is this not a hit movie?
My other favorite author/narrators are:
Steven King- “Fairy Tale.”
Neil Gaiman- “Fragile Things” & many others as part of a cast.
Robin Wall Kimmerer- “Braiding Sweetgrass...”
Ed Yong’s- “An Immense World...”
Merlin Sheldrake’s- “Entangled Life…”
Once again, I am so grateful for my Audible membership.

history that reads like fiction

Excellent narration, expansive history of the Grand Canyon, wonderful character studies. The story of the damage to Glan Canyon dam is fascinating.

Amazing and compelling tale

After just white water rafting the Grand Canyon I sought out this book. I wish I would’ve read it before I went on the trip, but maybe not. The way the author weaves history more remote and then more present, as well as the history of the dam and the Colorado river is compelling. I had a hard time turning off my phone to accomplish other things while I was listening to this book. Also, I’m glad the author read it himself. Many times when an author reads their own book, they are really not that good of a reader, but he has an amazing voice, calm, soothing with good cadence. You could actually hear the love he had for the canyon and the players in his voice.

Thin places- rare locales where the distance between heaven and earth collapses.

Great story. Great performance

Having the author read his own story was excellent. He really did a great job relating the speed run to the history of the canyon