The C& O Canal Companion

by Mike High

Book Overview

The first comprehensive guide to one of America's unique national parks, The C& O Canal Companion takes readers on a mile-by-mile tour of the C& O Canal, the 184-mile Potomac River waterway that... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0801855705
• ISBN13: 9780801855702
• Release Date: April 1997
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.87 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

The C & O Canal Companion

One of the best books I have ever read on the C & O Canal. Great combination of history and facts.

Detailed Guide on C & O Canal

Wonderful guide to the C & O Canal park that includes history and detailed information about the various mile marks. This edition is revised from the original. However, with the make-over of the Monocacy Aqueduct in 2005 and other changes the book should again be updated to include this information. Still this book covers every aspect of this unique national park that spans almost 185 miles from Georgetown to Cumberland, Maryland, whether you are a hiker or biker or just a traveler visiting the various sites along the canal.

Excellent guide

I organized and led our high school youth group (23 people) for a week long ride on the trail. This book was invaluable in pulling it off. It has all the info for logistical planning, as well as providing excellent historical context (which the high schoolers loved.) While we were on the trail, I was tracking our progress via the book at every water stop. Even if you have minimal map reading skills, the maps in the book will allow you to determine your location with great accuracy (again, which the high schoolers loved.) Finally, the book is organized wonderfully and is an easy and interesting read. It combines information with background and context. In sum, if you are going to ride the C & O Canal trail, don't leave home without this book in your possession. It is as important as water and a first aid kit.

Fascinating Study of the Canal

I was thrilled to find and read this book, the most complete one about the Canal I've found. As a frequent runner on and veteran of several cycling trips along the entire length of the Canal--as well as a resident of Georgetown--I have long had an interest in and love for the Canal.The author, Mike High, uses many interesting and entertaining vignettes to tell the story of the Canal. He divides the book into four parts: "Historical Sketch", "Structures along the Canal", "Visiting the Canal", and "Canal Guide". The first two sections put the Canal into a fascinating historical and engineering context, including George Washington's role in the development of the Canal, and the Canal's involvement in the Civil War. The last section is a concise, mile-by-mile guidebook.In addition to history, High also presents useful information, including accommodations located nearby the Canal and suggested activities on/near the Canal.For $... a "best buy".

Great History, Great Guide

My family lived in Washington for ten years. We often hiked on the C & O Canal. I studied for a masters in American history while we were there. The C & O Canal Companion would have added enormously to all of those experiences.Reading this book's vignettes provides intimate connections to our nation's past. For example, The Companion reports that after the Revolutionary War, George Washington founded the Patowmack Company, an early attempt at making the Potomac River navigable because of his interest in his "western properties" across the Appalachian mountains. This guide gives a glimpse of the first President that we do not always see while pointing out visible remnants of those efforts. In a notation about Chain Bridge, a beloved route to many of today's Washington suburbs, the guide shows the Civil War up close and personal. A Confederate sentinel was posted on the south side of the bridge, a Union soldier, mere yards away, on the north side. Furthermore, that same entry gives a brief sketch of Private William Scott who fell asleep there on his post. Court-marshaled by McClellan, pardoned by President Lincoln, William Scott went on to fight and die in battle for the Union cause. The Companion furnishes helpful information about parking, hiking, bed and board opportunities which are difficult to find elsewhere. It gives addresses and telephone numbers for reservations or further information. Having looked at the Companion for specific data on one short stretch of the Canal, I have been lured into reading further, more like following a story than studying a guide. It made me want to return to Washington with children, hiking boots and The Companion in hand.