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.

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.

Epic story!

Book was very well written and told. Did not expect all the history lessons and at first was a little annoyed by them but I am glad they were there as they added so much to the story. Great job Kevin!!

Incredible dive into all the history not simply the speed run.

Loved this, well read! It was a great lens into many areas of the history of Grand Canyon.

Even better than the first time I read it

I’ve always loved this book. I love to hear about the engineering of the dam, and the story of the speed run is unparalleled. He tells it so well. I laughed out loud a few times
Great story!!

Bits of Stegner, Reisner and Martin with a healthy dose of adrenaline set in America’s greatest gem.

This book beautifully conveys the pricelessness of the Grand Canyon and the incredibly complex process to save it from eternal destruction.
There so much more than the cover suggests. It is a truly audacious adventure tale but against the backdrop of equally audacious engineering, politics, and public will. A history lesson for white water adrenaline junkies.
As a bonus, I thoroughly enjoyed the authors narration which isn’t always the case.

Well Written; Evokes Emotion

I listened to the audio version of this book a few years after I went on a motorized raft trip on the Colorado River. I both wished I had read it before I went and I am glad I didn’t. If I had read it, I would have had a deeper understanding of the landmarks we encountered on our trip. I’m glad I didn’t as it may have made me more fearful of certain rapids as we approached them. Instead. I was blissfully ignorant of how dangerous some of them were, completely trusting our skilled guides to get us through. The author does a great job of setting forth the history of the Grand Canyon since the Spaniards first saw it, through its more recent environmental challenges, and the competing interests that still continue to challenge it today. Yet he does so in a fully engaging manner. Once I started listening, I had a hard time putting this down. The author did an admirable job of narrating his own book. I have also listened to A Walk in the Park, written and narrated by Kevin Fedarko, and will definitely read any other books he writes.