title: Reading Water: Lessons from the River (Capital Discovery)
author:  Rebecca Lawton 
description: Rivers provided the main routes for discovery of the American West. Today, rafting or boating those same rivers can still provide a vehicle for a different kind of discovery-of one's self. Lawton is a seasoned, licensed boatwoman who has navigated many of the most beautiful and technically difficult rivers of the West. Her experiences as a woman succeeding in a very physically demanding profession (she was one of the first female river guides) and the people with whom she works are interesting by themselves, as are her passing observations about the geology and natural history of the rivers. The overarching theme of these short essays, though, is how she connects with nature, and ultimately with herself, on the water. Her reflections are not especially profound, and her prose tends to be a bit airy, but the thoughts and feelings that she expresses are affirmative, introspective, and unpretentious. For its honesty and relative simplicity, if this book were a river it would be broad, not deep. For larger general collections of nature essays. <br />Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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  PRAISE FOR MARTIN MICHAEL DRIESSEN’S _RIVERS_
  
  
  
  
  
  “Driessen’s craftsmanship is a sheer delight: like a puppeteer, he makes his
  characters run in circles around each other, suspecting a bit too much and
  discovering too little, while showing his readers the big picture through
  ingenious shifts in perspective.”
  
  
  
  
  
  — _NRC Handelsblad_ (Netherlands)
  
  
  
  
  
  “Driessen’s noteworthy collection displays humanity at its best and worst in
  relation to the waters his characters depend on for their lives, as we all are
  sustained by the earth’s rivers and streams.”
  
  
  
  
  
  — _Booklist_
  
  
  
  
  
  “The stories’ power comes from the restraint the writer uses as he seems to
  hold each and every word hostage until that word can prove its worth. As a
  result, the slow build of pressure seems more like a rising tide than water
  bursting from a dam. These stories will make you struggle with ideas as well
  as plot points. Fascinating work.”
  
  
  
  
  
  —Historical Novel Society
  
  
  
  
  
  “Those who acknowledge Geor