Grand Canyon Trust Book Recommendations

Reading is a great way to gain a deeper understanding of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado Plateau.

Life gets busy. With dishes to wash and dogs to walk, or, in my case, cats to snuggle, sometimes it’s hard to find time to curl up with a good book. But carving out even a few minutes a day to read can help rejuvenate you, while also expanding your understanding of the Grand Canyon and the surrounding Colorado Plateau. Here are a few of our recent favorite reads.

All of these authors have given or will give virtual talks for Grand Canyon Trust members. You can get access to events with these and similar authors by becoming a member of the Trust for just $25 a year. See your options

Grand Canyon adventure books

Rafting the Colorado River and hiking are two common ways that people experience the Grand Canyon. But there’s nothing common about the stories authors Kevin Fedarko and Melissa Sevigny chronicle.

A Walk in the Park

by Kevin Fedarko

Many readers know Kevin Fedarko from his New York Times-bestselling book, “The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon,” a fascinating account of the 1983 flood that nearly toppled Glen Canyon Dam and sent a surge of whitewater ripping through the Grand Canyon.

His 2024 book, “A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon,” also a New York Times bestseller, is another not-to-be-missed Grand Canyon read. It tells the story of an ill-conceived and dangerous attempt to walk the entire length of the canyon. It’s also incredibly funny thanks to Fedarko’s copious self-deprecating humor. Part memoir, part natural history, part cautionary tale, it’s sure to appeal to anyone who has ever set foot on a hiking trail in the Grand Canyon or aspires to someday.

Brave the Wild River

By Melissa Sevigny

Melissa Sevigny’s 2023 book,”Brave the Wild River: The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped the Botany of the Grand Canyon,” follows botanists Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter on a wild ride along the Colorado River, through the Grand Canyon, to survey the canyon’s plant life.

In 1938, before Glen Canyon Dam, the Colorado was notoriously known as the most dangerous river in the world. Science journalist Sevigny reconstructs Clovis and Jotter’s journey by meticulously weaving together the two women’s delightful letters and journal entries. Clover and Jotter’s plant list, including four new cactus species, would one day become vital for efforts to protect and restore the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.

Stories about hidden worlds within the Grand Canyon

From 50,000-year-old bats to the hidden wonders of Glen Canyon emerging as Lake Powell dries up, writers Zak Podmore and Stephen Eginoire take you deep into the Grand Canyon region as you’ve never seen it before.

Life After Deadpool

By Zak Podmore

Zak Podmore’s 2024 book, “Life After Deadpool: Lake Powell’s Last Days and the Rebirth of the Colorado River,” examines the future of Lake Powell, behind Glen Canyon Dam, and the reemerging world of Glen Canyon, more spectacular than the Grand Canyon, according to some who visited before it was flooded.

Podmore, a journalist, spent years visiting the area with experts, an experience he wrote about on the Trust’s blog. “Life After Deadpool” offers a deep dive into the history of one of the nation’s largest reservoirs and chronicles the remarkable ecological rebirth happening in Glen Canyon as lake levels drop.

Ancient Bats: Inside the Grand Canyon’s Longest Known Cave

By Stephen Eginoire

Writer and photographer Stephen Eginoire takes you deep inside a world few have ever seen. His photo essay, published in the Trust’s Colorado Plateau Advocate magazine in 2024, plunges you into the total darkness of a 42-mile cave in a remote section of the canyon, and reveals the incredible wonders found within. 

These include fantastical mineral formations and hundreds of perfectly preserved dead bats, some of which are older than the 50,000-year limit of radiocarbon dating. Eginoire talks to cavers and scientists studying the cave and its contents and working to map other caves in the Grand Canyon.

Books about the Indigenous experience and Native history in the Southwest

From a modern-day memoir that also digs deep into the Indigenous experience, to an in-depth look at the rock writings left behind by the ancestors of Native peoples who remain strongly rooted on the Colorado Plateau to this day, authors Deborah Taffa and Craig Childs have written books that will keep you curled up on the couch for hours.

Whiskey Tender

By Deborah Taffa

Deborah Taffa’s 2024 memoir, “Whiskey Tender,” was a finalist for the National Book Award and one of Time Magazine’s top 10 books of 2024. A citizen of the Quechan (Yuma) Nation and Laguna Pueblo, Taffa spent part of her childhood on the Navajo reservation. Her memoir of growing up on and off the Colorado Plateau interweaves her childhood experiences with historical analysis and shows how the policies and traumas of the past trickle down into modern life. 

Taffa’s story of family is also a deeply moving and insightful meditation on the legacy of the United States’ actions toward Indigenous peoples, and on the power of resilience.

Tracing Time

By Craig Childs

In his 2022 book, “Tracing Time,” celebrated author Craig Childs travels across the Southwest to visit and reflect on rock writings — petroglyphs carved into stone. From bighorn sheep etched in rock to spirals to what appear to be human figures with upstretched arms, these rock writings are a reminder of the presence of Indigenous peoples in the Southwest since time immemorial.

Through his meditations on these rock writing panels and interviews with modern Native people, Childs invites readers to consider the Colorado Plateau’s human history, carved in stone.

Join Grand Canyon Trust author talks to learn the story behind the book

Here at the Grand Canyon Trust, we recognize that one of the best ways to get to know the Grand Canyon and the Colorado Plateau is through books. That’s why, as one of our member benefits, we offer several author talks throughout the year. These virtual talks give you a front-row seat to hear directly from talented, engaging writers and ask questions. Topics range from everything from the future of Glen Canyon to the hilarious misadventures of two friends who set out to walk the length of the entire Grand Canyon. In fact, every book on this list was or will be featured in an author talk.

If you’re already a member, you should already get invites in your inbox. You can also peruse upcoming talks on our events calendar. If you’re not a member, and our book tastes align, consider becoming one and we’ll invite you to the next talk.

Grand Canyon Trust membership starts at just $25 per year, and includes the author talks and two issues of the Trust’s award-winning Advocate magazine annually. Happy reading!