If We Had a Boat: Green River Explorers, Adventurers, and Runners

Excellent Synopsis of the History of Upper Green River, July 16, 2000
This review is from: If We Had a Boat: Green River Explorers, Adventurers, and Runners (Bonneville Books)
I've read a number of books on the rivers of the west. None are as clear, concise and fun as this. It's like the greatest hits of the Green River running. It will certainly act as an excellent starting point for your future dsicoveries on the Green.

The book contains in more or less chronological order the history of adventurers who ran the Green River from Green River, Wyoming down to the confluence with the Colorado. It's replete with stories of John Wesley Powell, William Manly, William Ashley, the Kolb Brothers, Julius Stone, etc. The book also describes the technological advances in boating from Ashley's willow and buffalo skin bull boats through Powell's heavy, oaken row boats, to fold boats, to the ascendency of rubber rafts as a result of army surplus after WWII.

Think of this as an index to the history of the river - and when (not if) something interests you there are lots and lots of footnotes and a thorough bibliography to point you in the right direction.

This is THE book to have on a week long river trip to tickle loose all those stories you know.