In many ways, Niagara Falls is a tourist trap.And yet.There is something primal about the falls. If you go to the Grand Canyon or Monument Valley, you see the beauty of nature. If you go up the Hudson River Valley, you learn why there was a Hudson River School and you realize that the East Coast has scenic nature to rival the West, it just looks different.Niagara Falls, in particular Horseshoe Falls, is different.When I went there, it was over a very crowded weekened. The sheer mass of humanity seemed to rival Disney World. There was some house called Frankenstien (which looked corny from the outside), and there was some type of avairy (which looked cool from the outside).Then I saw the FALLS.I don't mean the Jounrey Behind the Falls, which is something everyone should do. I mean I saw the Falls from what is, incorrectly it seems, Table Rock. When you watch the Falls, truly watch them with your camera dangling by your side; your ears closed to everything but the water's roar - when you do that, you realize -Nature's one big momma!The Falls enable the view even when surronded by hunderds of people aboard the Maid of the Mist to see and hear only them. Even though you're on a big boat, it's just you and them. You can see the power, glory, anger, and beauty of nature.The Falls can kill you and won't care.Nature will outlast everything while destorying it at the same time. And that's okay, because she looks good doing it.How does one play homage to this?Not by heart shaped hot tubs that's for sure.Pierre Berton, however, can. He presents a history of the Falls from the geological birth to Love Canal. Berton's first chapter is about the birth of the Falls and is a prose love poem. He makes geology sexy.Berton gives the stories of the hucksters, daredevils, business men , actvists, and inventors who live, work, performed, and in some cases, died at the Falls. The reader learns about the two famous tightrope walkers (who sound really crazy, to be honest), that the first person to go over the Falls in a barrel was a 60 plus year old woman, who never really got a fortune out of her fame, and that those Canucks could be lawless in thier own way.With all these stories, Berton uses a wonderful writing style. He makes electricity, well, electric, if you'll pardon the pun.It is the perfect history of the Falls. I hope he gets knighted.
In this very entertaining history I learned about John Roebling, the engineer best known for his building of the Brooklyn Bridge. Mr. Roebling built the first successful suspension bridge to span the Niagara River. His designs made suspension bridges safer than earlier versions. I also leaned about the painter Frederick Church who became a famous American artist who painted glorious landscapes. His masterpiece was The Great Fall, Niagara, painted in 1856. The painting enjoyed a tour of Europe. This history details the stuntmen (and women) who dared to challenge the falls and the deadly whirlpool further below. It describes the commercialization and industrialization of this place that once was a sacred site of Native Americans. This book is a must for anyone interested in the history of one of America’s most treasured natural features.
Do You like book Niagara: A History Of The Falls (1998)?
Starting in primeval Earth and the actual formation of the falls and reaching to roughly now, this history of the famous falls starts slow and dry, but as soon as people start settling the area it gets interesting.The stuff about Tesla, how the place has been a tourist trap since nearly day one and the history of people who have performed stunts over or going down the falls are fascinating.The stuff about Love Canal, while interesting, is deeply depressing.An interesting overview of one of the most amazing places in the USA.
—Travis
I recently saw the fall for the first time and can relate to the fascination they've held over the years. They are, in a word, mesmerizing. I heard a little bit about the history of the falls when I was there and wanted to know more so I purchased this history. It was interesting and covered a lot of disparate material which must have been difficult to organize. There were times when things were worded in a way that made the material difficult to understand and, since it was published in 2002, the information in the afterword about the area around the falls today is out of date. But, all in all, I enjoyed this book and it expanded my knowledge not only of this spectacular natural phenomenon but also about how man has reacted to it in ways both wise and foolish.
—Debbie
