A River Without Banks

A River Without Banks chronicles one familys journey to Idaho, with all of its uncertainties, promises, and hopes. The book explores their encounters with a place still partly wild, whose communities and landscapes teach them how to respect the earth and each other. William Johnsons essays move from a family vacation spent observing moose, to a comparison of the creation myths from Genesis and the Nez Perce, to watching a raptor seeking prey. Johnson meditates on how places, animals, and people teach us how to see, and how we do, and dont, belong. In prose that reveals a poets eye, Johnson examines how family relationships affect how we see the natural world. He explores the power of words to divide and to heal. He illuminates the challenges of sustaining a vital relationship with a home place. A River Without Banks will appeal to readers interested in the literature of place, ecology, natural history, indigenous culture, and conservation.