What an absolutely beautiful book! It doesn't really come as a surprise to me because Helen Humphreys' writing has always been superb. But in this book it is more than the writing that makes one catch one's breath. The illustrations, the pictures, the structure and the cover are all superb.

Humphreys lives (at least part-time) on the eponymous river. It is actually called Depot Creek where she lives but it is part of a whole tributary system called the Napanee River. Humphreys has swum and canoed and kayaked and walked the river for years and knows it in all its seasons and attributes. She details the geological history and the geographical history and the human history. She has catalogued its flora and fauna. There are fictional stories and there are stories about people who lived on the river. Accompanying it all are photographs by Tama Baldwin made, I believe, purposely for this book.

This will be a book that I will keep for a long time. ( )

This is a gem of a book, The River by Helen Humphreys It's another one of those books that you don't want to start a new book in fear of disturbing the atmosphere left to linger. It is a book about nature, about time, about the changing environment, about how science can look at things in many directions (Michael Pollan, The Botany of Desire) that is how nature infuences and changes us and how we change nature, about beauty, about harm. It is full of the most gorgeous illustrations and stories. Humphreys is a swimmer. She loves the water and I loved that about it as I too am water baby. She is an amazing writer and somehow chooses the perfect word. More of her books will be on my plate. ( )