We Swam the Grand Canyon: The True Story of a Cheap Vacation that Got a Little Out of Hand

by Bill Beer

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Ridiculous & charming

This account of a unique 1950's trip down the Grand Canyon is highly entertaining, especially because the whole thing seems like such a bad idea. Beers and his friend's equipment & preparation were laughable, and they had no escape plan or backup. But they plunge into the Colorado River (pre-Glen Canyon Dam, even), validate every stereotype about 50's American optimism/naivety, and somehow don't die. Beers' writing is not fancy, but the unaffected prose is well-matched to detailing the no-frills style of his incredible boatless river run.
I enjoyed this book a lot, and admired the author's courage at least as often as I laughed out loud at his actions.

Amazing

From the three books on explorations of the unknown I've read in the past few months I enjoyed this the most. (The others where Ryback, The High Adventure from Canada to Mexico, and Cousteau, The Silent World). I admit that I enjoy backpacking, so far mostly in the Sierra Nevada and in the Grand Canyon. I also skin dive and hopefully will get a SCUBA licence this spring. So each of these three books displayed a piece of history about one of my hobbies. Nevertheless Bill's book left me in awe: it is such a fantastic, modern adventure, nearly unbelievable without the detailed descriptions and photographs. I've hiked along the Colorado in the GCNP and (maybe because of the warnings of the rangers or maybe because the river 'diagonals' down rapidly the thight canyons) would have never considered swimming in it. The book is really well written and the pictures give you a feeling of being close to what happened 50 years ago. (My only wish would be to get rid of some of the scratches using digital retouching. But then again the scratches give them an authentic feeling.) Bill, I really have to thank you for republishing this book!