Goodbye to a River

Where do I start? The author grew up in Fort Worth, as did I, and knew this stretch of the Brazos, as did I, though his knowledge is much more intimate; I never, in my memory, set foot in the river. My paternal grandparents and a couple of my father's siblings lived in Granbury, as do some of my cou......more

To this day, the Brazos is unpredictable, mesmerizing, frustrating and beautiful. It is this work by John Graves that once saved the Brazos from being dammed into nonexistence. In Waco, one sees the hoboes that still fish down by the riverwalk, and the fireworks on the 4th of July reflecting in its w......more

I'd give it 3 1/2 stars if it allowed me to. His prose about the Texas landscape is beautiful, and I enjoyed the many stories he collected from the people he encountered along his journey. The book paces slowly, and perhaps rightfully so to expound on how a journey like that causes one to slow down......more

This book has been sitting on my shelf for 15 years, unread. For reasons that escape me, I thought it would be boring and poorly written. And perhaps, at the time I bought it, that would have been true. I attended and worked at the Worth Ranch Boy Scout camp (mentioned in one 2 sentence segment in t......more

A man and a canoe and his 6 month old dachshund canoe the Brazos. The author finds out they are going to damn a part of the Brazos River in west Texas, his part to be precise. He grew up on its waters and when he hears the news he canoes it a final time. He tells of his time on the river, but also t......more