Woman of the River: Georgie White Clark, White Water Pioneer

Dick Westwood | Richard E. Westwood

1 Trips, travails, and triumphs?
You may be as surprised by this book as I was - I bought it thinking that I OUGHT to read it to learn more about a river-running legend, but I didn't expect to enjoy it all that much. I was wrong. Author Richard Westwood engagingly tells the story of Georgie White Clark and how she came to be one of the most celebrated pioneers of Western United State river-running, especially on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. In surprising detail (including the names of many of her passengers and boatmen) this book describes the trips, travails, and triumphs of Georgie's long career here in the United State and elsewhere. The book gives brief details of Georgie's early years, but focuses on her river-running years starting in 1945 when she and Harry Aleson swam from Diamond Creek to Lake Mead, through 1992 when she died.

To the author's credit he does not dodge the controversies that have marred Georgie's legend. Westwood frankly acknowledges and, in some instances, documents the validity of some of the criticisms leveled at Georgie over the years. He states what he knows or what his considerable research revealed, and leaves the conclusions up to the reader.

Through this book you will get an unvarnished portrait of a unique individual, someone who left her imprint on a sport that largely didn't exist when she started and was a multi-million dollar industry when she died. You'll learn about an incredibly complex person: alternately engaging or aloof, compassionate or driven -- but always a pioneer. This very readable book includes over 50 photographs and maps that bring to life much of what is written, and give the reader a glimpse of Georgie's world.

Canyon Solitude: A Woman's Solo River Journey Through the Grand Canyon