the book was better as we got into the 20th century. too many people trying to beat the falls and become famous and mostly dying. ( )

Episodic accounts of the site and the people that have made this place what it is today. Con men and sensation seekers have been part of its European history almost from the start. It finishes with the debacle of the Love Canal crime.
The tales varied, but this was quite interesting on the whole.
Probably 3.5 stars. ( )

Pierre Berton (1920-2004), famous popularizer of Canadian history, is my favourite non-fiction author. His telling of the story of Niagara follows all the same patterns as his other great works. Here he takes a James Michener approach, framing a location through multiple generations; yet rather than fictionalizing the story, he lets the true events and people populate the tale. He also keeps his work to a reasonable length. The result is just enough coverage of each related tale for a good story before he's moved on to the next vignette, so I was frequently consulting Wikipedia and other online sources to get the rest.

And you do want to get the rest. What's presented here is a fascinating overview of the earliest explorers and their impressions, then the next generation of explorers, then the first generation of visitors, etc. Soon these are joined by the geologists, the engineers, the entrepreneurs, the opportunists, the conservationists, the showmen, the daredevils, the activists - all the facets of human activity in the region are present and touched upon [or nearly: military history is omitted, as the author has covered those events in detail elsewhere]. I was reluctantly pulled forward each time, not quite done with wanting more of the previous section, only to become equally fascinated with the next.

I've been to the Falls two or three times, so I could easily imagine the scenes. This book is understandably not as popular among his works as his others with more national coverage and relevance. But if you've any intention of visiting Niagara Falls yourself, whether again or for the first time, this book provides what is probably the most excellent pre-reading available - not to mention a wonderful introduction to this author. ( )