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brookey8888's review
adventurous
funny
informative
medium-paced
3.0
I just love these. They are just so informative and funny. I honestly didn’t know hardly any of this, so it was nice to learn about it.
alissabar's review
3.0
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales are a great way to get kids (and adults) to learn about history. This one about Major John Wesley Powell was well done and shows just how difficult river exploration was during this time period, and I loved learning about Powell, whom I knew next to nothing about.
orangerful's review
5.0
This might be my new favorite book in the series! Though I was not ready to get that amount of detail about Civil War battlefield amputations in a children's comic, let alone find out that even cartoony drawings of amputations would make my stomach turn. I can't wait to take this one out for booktalks!
Also, I kind of want to go to the Grand Canyon now. How have I never been?
Also, I kind of want to go to the Grand Canyon now. How have I never been?
purplepenning's review
4.0
This is the ninth book in Nathan Hale's graphic novel history series for middle graders, but the first I've read. I get why they're so popular — the entire premise is the kind of cartoon gallows humor that plays so well with kids and can make adults a little squeamish. And I mean "gallows humor" literally: Our narrator, Nathan Hale (the Revolutionary-era spy who had but one life to give for his country), is on the gallows, stalling his British executioner and hangman by telling them outrageous but true tales from history. The hangman acts as a co-narrator, calling out flashbacks, injecting humor, and requesting clarification throughout. Despite the humor, no punches are pulled about the sometimes dark and gruesome bits of history.
This particular tale is about Major John Wesley Powell (1834–1902), a geologist, Civil War soldier and engineer, and tenacious one-armed explorer who led the Colorado River Expedition through the Grand Canyon.
Content notes: childhood bullying, war (gruesome step-by-step amputation, mass causalities of battle, horrid conditions of prisoner of war camps and resultant psychological breakdown and institutionalization of a character), brief nudity, "butte" jokes, whiskey, off-screen death of expedition members, discussion of possible murders
This particular tale is about Major John Wesley Powell (1834–1902), a geologist, Civil War soldier and engineer, and tenacious one-armed explorer who led the Colorado River Expedition through the Grand Canyon.
Content notes: childhood bullying, war (gruesome step-by-step amputation, mass causalities of battle, horrid conditions of prisoner of war camps and resultant psychological breakdown and institutionalization of a character), brief nudity, "butte" jokes, whiskey, off-screen death of expedition members, discussion of possible murders
stephb413's review
5.0
Another great one in the series,,, this one complete with a young John Wesley rocking a handlebar mustache at the age of 9 (ish)!
maidmarianlib's review against another edition
4.0
Another great addition to the series. Mentions Mormons.
erine's review
4.0
I started watching Godless last week, and was struck by Frank Griffin’s story of his family being massacred by what sounded like Mormons. Imagine my surprise when I reached page 118 of Major Impossible which describes the hypothesized fate of a few members of the expedition. The highlight was a mention of the Mountain Meadows Massacre of 1857, in which Mormons slaughtered over 100 people in a westward bound wagon train. The Mormons were “prickly,” indeed, and I have realized I am largely ignorant of Mormon history, how it influenced westward movement, and the way that they used local Native tribes as scapegoats for their violence.
The story bounces back and forth between John Wesley Powell’s childhood (up to and including his involvement in the Civil War) and his Colorado River Expedition that began in 1869. Powell’s childhood was an endless quest for scientific education combined with harassment due to his preacher father’s anti slavery sentiments. He struggled mightily for education and got it, but before he struck out as an adult or could marry his love, the Civil War began and Powell was off learning Military Science the same way he learned everything else: with extreme drive. This back-and-forth, combined with the narrative interludes, created a kind of reader whiplash.
The river expedition was an ultimate survival challenge, but Hale conveys the beauty and wildness and adventure so well. I found out why in the afterward, when it’s revealed that Hale floated through the Grand Canyon several times himself to get the artwork right. There were rapids and waterfalls, portages and food shortages. Loss of clothing and paddles and people. But the spirit of exploration shines through, and there is no nonsense about the white men “discovering” these places: it’s clear that they were not the first people to witness these wonders, just the first white men to map them.
The Civil War chapters were gritty. Powell is shot in the arm and must have it amputated. I just happened to have the book open to page 82 when my eight year old walked by and said, “what is that!?” Well, it was a detailed, step-by-step depiction of a nineteenth century amputation, complete with bone, bone saw, skin flap and stitches. It led to a rather graphic discussion. Later I got to the part where Powell’s brother goes mad in a POW camp after spending many months or maybe years starving and deprived. It was a rough tale, and I get why it was broken up with the gorgeous river and canyon bits, although by and large, the whole thing was i.n.t.e.n.s.e.
In the end, I wanted to know what happened to Powell’s wife, who got married and then vanished from the story completely.
The story bounces back and forth between John Wesley Powell’s childhood (up to and including his involvement in the Civil War) and his Colorado River Expedition that began in 1869. Powell’s childhood was an endless quest for scientific education combined with harassment due to his preacher father’s anti slavery sentiments. He struggled mightily for education and got it, but before he struck out as an adult or could marry his love, the Civil War began and Powell was off learning Military Science the same way he learned everything else: with extreme drive. This back-and-forth, combined with the narrative interludes, created a kind of reader whiplash.
The river expedition was an ultimate survival challenge, but Hale conveys the beauty and wildness and adventure so well. I found out why in the afterward, when it’s revealed that Hale floated through the Grand Canyon several times himself to get the artwork right. There were rapids and waterfalls, portages and food shortages. Loss of clothing and paddles and people. But the spirit of exploration shines through, and there is no nonsense about the white men “discovering” these places: it’s clear that they were not the first people to witness these wonders, just the first white men to map them.
The Civil War chapters were gritty. Powell is shot in the arm and must have it amputated. I just happened to have the book open to page 82 when my eight year old walked by and said, “what is that!?” Well, it was a detailed, step-by-step depiction of a nineteenth century amputation, complete with bone, bone saw, skin flap and stitches. It led to a rather graphic discussion. Later I got to the part where Powell’s brother goes mad in a POW camp after spending many months or maybe years starving and deprived. It was a rough tale, and I get why it was broken up with the gorgeous river and canyon bits, although by and large, the whole thing was i.n.t.e.n.s.e.
In the end, I wanted to know what happened to Powell’s wife, who got married and then vanished from the story completely.
friendlydisaster101's review
3.0
Major Impossible tells the story of Major John Wesley Powell, through his time in the American Civil War, as well as his expedition down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. As is characteristic of the 'Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales' series, the story was captivating while being extremely informative, along with a touch of humor here and there.
That being said, I'm not sure if I was the only one but I felt that this book was shorter than the others in the series. That might have been because I was anticipating it so much that I read it all at once, or because there simply wasn't as much content as there is in other major events that the books have covered.
Overall, an interesting read with amusing illustrations, and I would definitely recommend if you'd like to learn more about an expedition that, in my experience, isn't spoken of much.
That being said, I'm not sure if I was the only one but I felt that this book was shorter than the others in the series. That might have been because I was anticipating it so much that I read it all at once, or because there simply wasn't as much content as there is in other major events that the books have covered.
Overall, an interesting read with amusing illustrations, and I would definitely recommend if you'd like to learn more about an expedition that, in my experience, isn't spoken of much.