Listen free for 30 days
-
Down the Great Unknown
- John Wesley Powell's 1869 Journey of Discovery and Tragedy Through the Grand Canyon
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Down the Great Unknown
Buy Now for $45.74
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's Summary
Drawing on rarely examined diaries and journals, Down the Great Unknown is the first book to tell the full, dramatic story of the Powell expedition.
On May 24, 1869 a one-armed Civil War veteran, John Wesley Powell, and a ragtag band of nine mountain men embarked on the last great quest in the American West. The Grand Canyon, not explored before, was as mysterious as Atlantis - and as perilous. The 10 men set out from Green River Station, Wyoming Territory, down the Colorado in four wooden rowboats. Ninety-nine days later, six half-starved wretches came ashore near Callville, Arizona.
Lewis and Clark opened the West in 1803; six decades later Powell and his scruffy band aimed to resolve the West’s last mystery. A brilliant narrative, a thrilling journey, a cast of memorable heroes - all these mark Down the Great Unknown, the true story of the last epic adventure on American soil.
More from the same
What listeners say about Down the Great Unknown
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall2 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- HC-2 NAS Norfolk '92
- 2019-08-17
Modern references take away
The story and history is, of course, wonderful. The stupid modern analogies of race cars and airplanes is annoying. These modern references distract and take away from the spirit of the diaries and works from where it came.
It would have been much better to keep it in the 1860s. If I wanted to hear how airplanes and race cars work, how highways and speedometers work, I would ,. Anyway, .
14 people found this helpful
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- Driscoll
- 2021-08-13
Great story but the endless comparisons
The story is great and important to learn about. Lots of interesting history. The endless silly comparisons and redundant telling of trivial information make the book far longer than it needs to be and at times very hard to listen to.
9 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Beth
- 2022-06-19
No exaggerations
With regard to the reviewer that opined that the author had laid it on a bit thick: I wonder if they have experienced the power of the Colorado through the Canyon. I just finished my seventh trip. A woman died about 2 minutes ahead of my trip. I have already lost a colleague on a previous trip. I had the opportunity to “safely swim” a baby rapid late in one of my trips. Let me just say it was humbling and in many regards terrifying. To attempt such without a life jacket is clearly hopeless. What Powell accomplished in the regions preventing even scouting rapids is evidence of a beneficent God, to say the least!
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Matthew Stein
- 2019-07-06
Great story, perhaps over-narrated.
Good listening, also enjoyed diversions into geology, historical context and side stories of other explorers. My only critique is the extent to which Dolnick seeks to convince the reader that navigating a river is dangerous: employing analogies of bucking Broncos, plunging dolfins etc.- I might suggest excessively.
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall2 out of 5 stars
-
Performance1 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- David Aglar
- 2022-07-30
Hokey narration cheapens the book
The book is a good enough history in itself and is well researched and structured. The reading of it is done in a hokey “old-timey” voice which feels like the producers who chose the voice direction are trying to harken back to some idea of the old West, which some Easterners may have, but which never truly existed. Makes what is an amazing history feel like some bad western from the 1950’s.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mundus
- 2020-05-26
Spectacular
Truly amazing, highly recommended. 11 more words required. 7 more words required. 3 more words
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Brian Hill
- 2019-07-03
Entertaining Story
This book held my interest the entire time. It’s a great story with just the right amount of detail.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kelly Nelson
- 2021-06-08
Such a well-written true story of adventure & history
The way Mr. Dolnick uses analogies, descriptions, and metaphors to bring the reader into a solid understanding of the times and the intricacies of the expedition is absolutely brilliant. For the layman who knows nothing of white-water rafting, you will gain a base understanding of it so you are able to follow along with the significant challenges the expedition faced. For someone who does not know how people lived in the late nineteenth century, you will gain an understanding. There is even a chapter dedicated to the civil war battle of Shiloh that educates the reader in a captivating way of the horrors of the war. Mr. Campbell has an old, gruff voice with great energy and inflection, who perfectly reads the story. Highly recommend this book. A+
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance3 out of 5 stars
-
Story2 out of 5 stars
- Suzi B.
- 2022-08-15
Long on biographies and Civil War, short on canyon
For me, it overtelling of biographical detail of Powell and others. It had too brief Intel on Canyon features and names of rapids, which when it was there kept up my interest. Good for enthusiasts of Civil War detail.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Justsumguy
- 2023-01-17
A must read/listen for all river runners!
I’m not a great book reviewer but I found the story fascinating and the way it was told kept me excited for every word. Rather than the dry and blunt reading of the journals this story with some freedoms of speculation kept me interested! I rather enjoy Mr. Campbell’s reading as I have heard him narrate an Abbey book as well if I’m not mistaken. If I’m correct, that made for an interesting connection for me. I think this book was worth the credit without a doubt.
1 person found this helpful