Acknowledgments

I am grateful to the Alicia Patterson Foundation, which helped make this book possible by subsidizing my travels along the river. I also owe thanks to the Washington Post for granting me a longer leave of absence than I had solemnly promised I would need. My editor at Norton, Carol Houck Smith, worked very hard to clear cobwebs from my head and give this book shape. Mary Battiata, who among her many talents is an extraordinary reader, helped me put the book together.

A number of people at the Northwest Power Planning Council, especially John Harrison, gave generously of their time and expertise. At the Fish Passage Center in Portland, Michelle DeHart and Larry Basham spent many hours teaching me about salmon in a machine river. I also want to thank Tidewater Barge Lines for giving me a long ride on the river, as well as the pilots and deckhands who fed me and endured my questions, and who will endure what I have written about them. Jerry Erickson and his family in Richland, Washington, were invaluable in explaining what there is to love about a plutonium factory. Tom Bailie, on the downwind side of Hanford, showed me what there is to hate. Farmer Ted Osborne and his wife Barbara welcomed me into their kitchen, where they introduced me to the peculiar world of western irrigation. Norm Whittlesey of Washington State University explained how federal subsidies make that world possible. On the Colville Indian Reservation, Vern Seward, Martin Louie Sr., and tribe historian Adeline Fredin helped me understand my neighbors.

Finally, I thank my family: my parents and my sisters, Debbie and Mary. They supported this project, never once showing impatience with my endless jabber about the river. My mother listened when she was ill and my father opened up his life for me to write about. More than ever, I am proud to be their son.