Allen, John Eliot, Marjorie Burns, and Sam C. Sargent. 1986. Cataclysms on the Columbia. The geological story of the massive floods that swept out of Lake Missoula in western Montana and scoured eastern Washington and the Columbia Gorge.
Clark, Robert. 1995. River of the West: A Chronicle of the Columbia. A history of exploration and development along the river.
Cody, Robin. 1995. Voyage of a Summer Sun: Canoeing the Columbia River. Alfred A. Knopf, NY. A charming narrative of a solo paddle the length of the river.
Cone, Joseph. 1995. A Common Fate: Endangered Salmon and the People of the Pacific Northwest. Henry Holt & Co., N.Y. Reviews the rise and fall of the salmon fishery.
Coues, Elliott (ed.) 1893. The History of the Lews and Clark Expedition. Reprinted by Dover Publications, New York. Easier to read than the original journals, this three-volume series includes annotations and interpretations of the originals.
Dietrich, William. 1995. Northwest Passage: The Great Columbia River. Simon & Schuster, New York. An outstanding review of the history of settlement and exploitation of the Columbia River and its basin, packed with facts but very readable.
Dill, Clarence C. 1970. Where Water Falls. C.W. Hill Printers, Spokane, WA. By a former congressman and senator from Washington state, this book includes personal, behind-the-scenes stories in Congress that led to the development of the Columbia River.
Donaldson, Ivan J., and Frederick K. Cramer. 1971. Fishwheels on the Columbia. Binfords & Mort, Portland, OR. An illustrated history of fish wheels, which caught huge amounts of salmon until they were banned in the 1920s and 1930s.
Fadich, Ray. 1993. Last of the Rivermen. Self-published. Depicts life on the lower river during the mid-1900s, when the salmon fishery collapsed.
Freeman, Lewis R. 1921. Down the Columbia. Dodd, Mead, and Company, N.Y. Narrative of a reporter's journey down the river told in an irreverent and idiosyncratic style.
Harden, Blaine. 1996. A River Lost: The Life and Death of the Columbia. W.W. Norton, New York. A personal exploration of the river's history by an author whose family had long lived in the middle river basin.
Hayes, Derek. 1999. Historical Atlas of the Pacific Northwest. Sasquatch Books, Seattle, WA. Illustrations of maps and discussions of cartography, politics, and commerce from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries.
Holbrook, Stewart H. 1956. Rivers of America: The Columbia. Rinehart and Co., N.Y. The history of exploration and exploitation of the river mixed with narratives of personal travels.
Irving, Washington. 1839. Astoria: Adventure in the Pacific Northwest. Reprinted by KPI, London. A thorough and readable history of John Jacob Astor's Pacific Fur Company.
Jones, Philip N. (ed.) 1992. Columbia River Gorge: A Complete Guide. The Mountaineers, Seattle, Washington. A guide to hiking, climbing, camping, windsurfing, and other recreational pursuits in the Gorge.
Layman, William D. 2002. Native River: The Columbia Remembered Washington University Press. Images and narratives of the mid-Columbia before the dams.
Lorraine, M.J. 1924. The Columbia Unveiled. Times-Mirror Press, Los Angeles. The narrative of an analytical and daring boatman who built a dory at the headwaters and navigated the entire free-running river.
Lyman, William. 1909. The Columbia River: Its history, its myths, its scenery, its commerce.G.P. Putnam, N.Y.
McCoy, Keith. 1995. Melodic Whistles in the Columbia River Gorge. Pahto Publications, White Salmon, WA. Reviews the golden age of steamboats on the Columbia River.
Mills, Randall V. 1947. Stern-Wheelers Up Columbia. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Nebraska. A history of steam navigation on the river, including tales of daring pilots, avaricious owners, and fortunes made and lost.
Morrison, Dorothy Nafus. 1984. The Eagle & the Fort: The Story of John McLoughlin. Oregon Historical Society, Portland, Oregon. Often called "The Father of Oregon," Dr. McLoughlin was Chief Factor for the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver, Washington.
National Research Council Committee. 2004. Managing The Columbia River: Instream Flows, Water Withdrawals And Salmon Survival. National Academies Press, Washington, D.C.
Nelson, Sharlene P., Ted W. Nelson, and Joan LeMieux. 1986. Cruising the Columbia and Snake Rivers. Second edition. Pacific Search Press, Seattle, Washington. An essential guide book for anyone sailing or paddling the Columbia River.
Nisbet, Jack. 1994. Sources of the River. Sasquatch Books, Seattle, WA. The explorations of David Thompson in the early 19th century.
Orr, Elizabeth L., and William N. Orr. 1996. Geology of the Pacific Northwest. McGraw-Hill, N.Y. Includes a comprehensive overview of the geology of the Columbia River basin.
Palmer, Tim. 1991. The Snake River: Window to the West. Island Press, Washington, DC. A personal narrative of river travel with insights into historical changes and environmental issues.
Palmer, Tim 1997. The Columbia: Sustaining a Modern Resource. The Mountaineers, Seattle, WA. A beautifully-illustrated examination of environmental issues in the Columbia basin.
Pitzer, Paul C. 1994. Grand Coulee: Harnessing a Dream. WSU Press, Pullman, WA. An extensive examination of the politics and construction of the Grand Coulee Dam.
Reisner, Marc. 1987. Cadillac Desert: The American West and its Disappearing Water. Penguin Books. A passionate and comprehensive examination of water policy in the west.
Roberge, Earl. 1985? Columbia: Great River of the West. Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA. A beautifully illustrated book that is part history, part personal voyage, with a pro-development flavor.
Roe, JoAnn. 1992. The Columbia River: A Historical Travel Guide. Fulcrum Publishing, Golden, Colorado. Highly recommended reading for anyone touring the river and its basin.
Ross, Alexander. 1986. Adventures of the First Settlers on the Oregon or Columbia River, 1810-1813. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Nebraska. An eyewitness narrative of the attempts of Astor's Pacific Fur Company to establish fur trade in the Pacific Northwest.
Ruby, Robert H., and John A. Brown. 1976. The Chinook Indians: Traders of the Lower Columbia River. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma. A survey of the many tribes that inhabited the lower river and the consequences of their contacts with white culture and diseases.
Ruby, Robert H., and John A. Brown. 1974. Ferryboats on the Columbia River. Superior Publishing Company, Seattle, Washington. A thorough history of the boats that enabled cross-river transportation, from giant train ferries to a sidewheeler driven by horses named Pete and Ginger.
Seufert, Francis. 1980. Wheels of Fortune. Oregon Historical Society. The history of salmon fishing in the mid-Columbia, well illustrated with historic photographs.
Smith, Courtland L. 1979. Salmon Fishers of the Columbia. Oregon State University Press, Corvallis, Oregon. A documentation of the exploitation of anadromous fish from tribal fishing through the great boom of the late 19th and early 20th centuries to the catastrophic decline that began in the 1950s.
Strong, Emory. 1959. Stone Age on the Columbia River. Binford & Mort, Portland, Oregon. The archaeological discoveries of relics, artifacts, and petroglyphs along the river from its mouth to the confluence of the Snake River.
Strong, Emory. 1976. Wakemap Mound: A Stratified Site on the Columbia River. Second Edition. Binford & Mort, Portland, Oregon. The excavation and interpretation of Wishram, an Indian fishing village on the Columbia River.
Thompson, David. (ed. Barbara Belyea) 1994. Columbia Journals. Excerpts from the daily log of one of the first explorers of the Columbia River.
Victor, Frances Fuller. 1985. The River of the West: The Adventures of Joe Meek. Volume Two, The Oregon Years. Mountain Press Publishing, Missoula, Montana. The biography of a pioneer of the Oregon Territory.
Weir, Winnifred Ariel. 1980. Tales of the Windermere. Self-published. Histories of pioneering families at the headwaters of the Columbia River.
White, Richard. 1995. The Organic Machine: The Remaking of the Columbia River. Hill and Wang, N.Y. Emphasizes the river as an energy system, intertwining natural history and human history.
Williams, Chuck. 1993. Bridge of the Gods, Mountains of Fire: A Return to the Columbia Gorge. Friends of the Earth, Seattle, Washington. Features beautiful photographs and a compelling narrative.
Info sources reviewed by HC 441 students
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