Last Canyon

A historical novel about John Wesley Powell’s nineteenth-century expedition through the Grand Canyon: “A riveting adventure tale” (The Seattle Times).

In 1869, John Wesley Powell set out on a voyage of exploration through the Grand Canyon, the last great expedition of discovery in US history. In this vivid novel, John Vernon intertwines two stories—that of Powell and his crew, and that of a band of Paiute Indians, known as the Shivwits, who lived on the north rim of the canyon. As the novel moves inexorably toward a violent encounter between the two groups, Vernon deftly leads us into perilous geographical and emotional territory in a story of triumph, hardship, bravery, and loss.

“Richly imagined.” —Los Angeles Times

“No author has tried to put the reader as squarely in Powell’s waterlogged shoes . . . Packs a wallop.” —Salt Lake Tribune