Grand Ambition: A Novel

Grand Ambition by Lisa Michaels details the true and amazing story about the trip that newly weds Bessie and Glen Hyde took in 1928. They set out to run the rapids of the Grand Canyon in a home made boat and they hoped to set a record as she would be the first woman to run that treacherous stretch of the Colorado River. Unfortunately they vanished a month later without a trace.

The author based her book on the few known facts of their story, and as it unfolds, she adds, in alternate chapters, the story of Glen’s father and the efforts he made to find out what happened to the young couple. I had heard of this couple before and found the book to be realistic and believable. These two young Americans were very much a product of their show more time, when the world was enchanted by feats of daring such as Charles Lindbergh’s solo flight across the Atlantic and eighteen year old Trudy Ederle’s swim across the English Channel.

I found Grand Ambition to be an interesting adventure story and the descriptions of the river and canyon were fascinating. Anyone who has visited the Grand Canyon will know how rugged and remote this country is and it was even more so in the 1920s before the river was dammed. Although the bodies of Bessie and Glen were never recovered, their boat was found and proved to be intact which fuelled many rumors over the years, but I believe this author’s vision is correct. show less

The year is 1928. America is spellbound by adventurous feats like the one of Charles Lindbergh's first transatlantic flight. Amelia Earhart is in the news with her own daring flight. It's only natural that a man by the name of Glen Hyde, interested in running whitewater, would want to set some records of his own.

Grand Ambition starts with the first person narrative of Reith Hyde, father of Glen Hyde. Reith sets the ominous tone and the sense of foreboding. Keeping track of his son and new wife's progress down the rapids of the Colorado River he knows they are late reaching their next point. Surely, something is wrong...
Glen, 30 and Bessie Hyde, 23 are a true life ambitious and adventurous newlywed couple who dared to go down the rapids show more of the Grand Canyon in a homemade boat in late 1928. Glen, an experienced boater, wanted to be the fastest man to complete the journey. Bessie was romanced by the idea of being the first woman to do so even though she was a novice. They were almost at the end when something went horribly wrong and they were never heard from again. Lisa Michaels takes to task telling their heroic story, imagining what they went though and their ultimate demise. Interspersed between the adventure is the story of Bessie and how she came to meet Glen, fall in love with him and find herself boating down the Colorado River. On the other side of the story is the search for Glen and Bessie. Glen's father, Reith, will stop at nothing to find his son. show less