As a thirty-five-year resident of Stillwater, MN--one the world's most beautiful cities, located on the banks of the St. Croix River--I can attest to the quality of Debra Chial's book. This rather small pamphlet-like coffee table book contains stunning photographs of some of the river highlights, including fall foliage, bridges, bluffs, cascades, historic sites, trains, boats, and scenic cityscapes. With a well-crafted foreword on the history of the river, and clear captions throughout, this out-of-print masterpiece is worth locating for photo buffs and all Valley residents. --Christopher Bonn Jonnes, author of Wake Up Dead.

I thought this book was terrible. There are only black & white pictures and few of them. The directions provided are very confusing and are not accompanied by any sort of map. It is full of information and places to go but VERY poorly organized.

I have not visited St. Croix (in the Virgin Islands), but I would want to have this guide with me if I did. It consists exclusively of milepost lists for all significant roads and trails on the island. The B+W photos are not too pretty, and the book does not provide any of the usual tourist info on hotels, food and travel, but it contains an exceptional density of data for hikers and auto explorers. I would use it as a supplement to some other mainstream tourist guide.

Great pictures and a real bargain at under $20! This is THE must-have book for anyone who wants to explore or know more about St. Croix -- whether visitor or island resident. The authors did extensive research, and have identified places and things that even many Cruzans don't know about. Impeccable details. Highly recommended.

The book is a good history of the St. Croix River that is now the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. The book was originally written in 1964/5 and this version is only updated in the introduction so the history ends before Congress passed the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.
Dunn does give a thorough history of the river prior to 1965. The book is a good read especially if you are from the Minnesota Wisconsin area.

The book has a definate Left bias but it is still a very good read and illustrates the importance of community involvement in protecting a river. In this case it is the St. Croix River versus a coal fired power plant. The plant was built along the shores of what was called the cleanest water system in the midwest. The book delas with the ways in which public involvment forced NSP to change some of the plans for their plant to be more environmentally friendly.