By taking us back to a period when Niagara Falls was appreciated as much for its utopian promise as for its natural beauty, The New Niagara reveals America's remarkable romance with technology and its faith in human mastery of the ...

In all of these portraits and texts, she notes a common pattern of response from the observers — moving from anticipation, to disappointment, to a kind of recovery. But in the end, there is fear.

Strand reveals the hidden history of America's most iconic natural wonder, Niagara Falls, illuminating what it says about our history, our relationship with the environment, and ourselves.

For the reader who wants to extend appreciation of the "Thunder of Waters" to a deeper knowledge of the geological formation of Niagara Falls, Colossal Cataract is the guide.