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Goodbye to a River

A Narrative By John Graves



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Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Vintage; Reprint edition (July 9, 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0375727787
ISBN-13: 978-0375727788
Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.7 x 8 inches

In 1960 John Graves wrote "Goodbye to a River". It was an immediate success and has been continuously in print since that time. (2015) He is often called the Thoreau of Texas. I understand that he hated that comparison.

John Graves motive for writing this narrative was the proposed building of five flood control dams from Possum Kingdom Lake to Lake Whitney. This 160 mile stretch of the Brazos River was the river that raised a young John Graves, who from childhood had hunted, fished and camped on its banks. This last trip was to remember those times and the times of the old ones and Native Americans that made history along the rivers banks. It was to share with the reader the observations and history of almost every bend and low water crossing along the way and to reminisce with us his own remembrances and experiences as shaped by the river. John Graves, a combat veteran of World War II, a member of the greatest generation, was just trying to capture his past before it was inundated by the waters of change.

The dams were never built. The river is nearly the same as it was in 1960 but we still get to enjoy the book, "Goodbye to a River"

Texas Bob