he Doing of the Thing, the Brief Brilliant Whitewater Career of Buzz Holmstrom, by Vince Welch, Cort Conley, and Brad Dimock; Fretwater Press,

1998 Many of us who run rivers have heard of Buzz Holmstrom. In Belknap¹s Grand Canyon River Guide, (Westwater Press, 1969), we had our introduction to Buzz Holmstrom on the first page, the fifth paragraph, with the short sentence, ³Buzz Holmstrom built his own boat and made the trip alone.² That line, and Haldane ³Buzz² Holmstrom¹s picture across from mile 127 on the map, put Holmstrom in the history of the canyon between the Hydes and Norman Nevills. For the majority of guides, boatmen, boatwomen, and passengers, that was the extent of our knowledge about this colorful character.

Thanks to this new publication, the gaps in our knowledge about this pioneer river runner are filled. The book is well researched, referenced and indexed. It is written with a style that belies the multiple authors. It reads easier than the run at Nankoweap Rapid. In chronological order that takes you from his family¹s roots to his untimely death, the authors reveal the complexities of a simple man, involved with extraordinary circumstances, in an age of discovery and triumph. Buzz Holmstrom had exposure to boat building, boats, and water throughout his childhood. Between their daily struggles to put food on the table and keep a shelter over their heads, the family ³messed around with boats.² So when Buzz decided he wanted to run the Rogue River in 1934, he just built himself a boat, hauled it over to the put-in with a ten dollar car, and shoved off. The next year he built another boat and went on the Rogue again, and the year after that he ran the Salmon. In 1937, he built another boat and put on the Green, at Green River, Wyoming, and rowed all the way through to Hoover Dam. Because of when he went, his reluctance to do more portages, and the filling of Lake Mead, he became the first and the last person to run all the rapids on the Colorado between Lees Ferry and Pearce Ferry. Furthermore, he did it solo.

The biography continues with the other accomplishments of a man who seemed ill-suited for his fame. Buzz was hit hard with the same struggles boatmen have always had readjusting to life off the river. The authors rely on letters and journals, and for the most part avoid speculation in caulking the cracks in the documentation that supports his life history. The authors add perspective to the account by including contemporaneous world events as a backdrop to Buzz¹s activities. The geography of the rivers is explained enough to appreciate the challenges Buzz faced, and the technological aspects of running rivers in the late ¹30s are made clear. The book leads the reader through the period with the ease of floating the San Juan in high water. The river community is indebted to Welch, Conley and Dimock for this meaningful contribution to our libraries. The book is a ³must read² for all boatpeople, guides, history buffs, boat lovers, river runners, river lovers, and anyone else with a penchant for a good biography. Dr. Gary D. Call Blackfoot, Idaho Available at 10% discount to members.