The smell of rain : where it starts -- The two names of the river : geological beginnings -- Big river in the Driftless : the Ice Age -- Roots and fire : 8,000-500 B.C.E. -- The old ones : 500 B.C.E.-1633 C.E. -- Unknown world : 1634-1832 -- We have never sold any country : 1833-1848 -- The great improvement : 1849-1869 -- Steam, wind and the powers of the earth : 1870-1917 -- Aiding the land -- 1914-1945 -- The juice : 1946-1970 -- On the place by the river they raise children : 1971-2004
Summary
Faldet moves through the history of life along the now-polluted Upper Iowa, always focusing on the ways people depend on the river, the environment, and the resources of the region. He blends contemporary conversations, readings from the historical record, environmental research, and personal experience to show us that the health of the river is best guaranteed by maintaining the biological communities that nurture it. In return, taking care of the Upper Iowa is the best way to take care of our future
