If you love long expedition trips, and reading about long expedition trips in-between long expedition trips, here are three good books I recommend about long canoe-camping trips, all right here in good ol' Texas.

"Goodbye to a River", by John Graves, published 1960

"Goodbye" is a semi-historical account of a canoe trip made by John Graves in 1957 down a stretch of the Brazos River in North Central Texas, between Possum Kingdom Dam and Lake Whitney. The book presents both the author's account of the trip itself and numerous stories about the history and settlement of the area around the river.

The title refers to Graves' childhood connection to the river and the country surrounding it, and his fear of the "drowning" effect that a proposed series of flood-control dams would have on the river. At one time, up to 13 dams were proposed on the river, but only three were built. The success of "Goodbye to a River" is often cited as a major reason that the proposed dams were never built.

The book is acclaimed as a work of both conservationism and history and has been compared to Walden by Henry David Thoreau.

"Paddling the Wild Neches", by Richard Donovan, published 2006

From its origins on a sandy hillside in Van Zandt County, the Neches River flows through the heart of East Texas. In its watershed lies some of the wildest country in Texas, tucked amid the remains of one of the finest hardwood forests in the world.

With the goal of keeping the Neches flowing free, East Texas native and riverman Richard Donovan takes readers canoeing down a two-hundred-mile stretch of the upper Neches. Through two national forests and mile after mile of remote river woodlands, he chronicles the river’s natural and cultural history, describes its animal and plant inhabitants, recounts stories of early settlers and East Texas hunting traditions, and calls attention to the recreational potential of the river for paddlers and others.

Donovan also makes a case against damming the river. He convincingly promotes the idea of turning the Neches into a National Wild and Scenic River, preserving forever the river’s natural flow and what remains of the verdant bottomlands of this historic watercourse.

"The Tecate Journals", by Keith Bowden, published 2007

The Rio Grande is a national border, a water source, has dangerous rapids with house-sized boulders, a nature refuge, a garbage dump, and a playground, depending on where you are on its 1885-mile course.

That's why journalist Keith Bowden decided to become the first person to travel the entire length of the Rio Grande along the border between America and Mexico. This is his fascinating account of the journey by bike, canoe, and raft along one of North America's most overlooked resources. From illegal immigrants and drug runners trying to make it into America to the border patrol working to stop them; from human coyotes -- smugglers who help people navigate their way into the United States -- to encounters with real coyotes, mountain lions, and other flora and fauna, Bowden reveals a side of America that few of us ever see. The border between the U.S. and Mexico is, in many ways, a country unto itself, where inhabitants share more in common with fellow riverside dwellers than they do with the rest of their countrymen. With this isolated and colorful micro-world as his backdrop, Bowden not only explores his surroundings, but also tests his inner mettle along some of the most dangerous and remote riparian wilderness in North America.

Oh, and title of the book refers to a brand of Mexican beer, which the author would sip each evening in camp while writing in his journal of the day's adventures, from which the book was born.

I've read all three, enjoyed them immensely, and recommend each of the trio to you.

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The reviewer, John Rich