From the Bottom Up

March 15, 2007
Pregracke grew up on the shores of the Mississippi; as a young adult, working on the river, he was shocked by the amount of garbage littering the water. Deciding to clean up the river--at least the portion of it he called home--he approached corporate sponsors and quickly became something of a folk hero, the leader of a band of environmentally conscious volunteers who sailed the Mississippi, pulling old tires, appliances, pieces of furniture, even automobiles, out of the river. This simply written book chronicles the birth and growth of Pregracke's nonprofit organization, Living Lands & Waters, and introduces us to some of the spirited volunteers who have helped make his dream a reality. Pregracke has made plenty of headlines over the years (early stories on several networks gave his cause a big financial boost), and readers familiar only with the news stories will welcome this opportunity to see the men and women who have dedicated themselves to the seemingly impossible: cleaning up the third-longest river in the world.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)

March 15, 2007
Armed with an $8400 check from an Alcoa administrator and an insurmountable amount of enthusiasm, Pregracke set out on the historical, humbling, and ultimately inspiring task of cleaning up the Mississippi River...all by himself. Ten years later, he had founded the not-for-profit environmental organization Living Lands & Waters, earned countless awards, attracted the attention of such political giants as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and been profiled several times on CNN and inUSA Today . In this first-person narrative, he details the daily ins and outs of life on the river, which entailed standing knee-deep in discarded milk jugs; floating armies of light bulbs; half-submerged, discarded refrigerators; and miles and miles of old tires. Though this is a rewarding read for the personal tone Pregracke sets from the outset, it suffers slightly from its microscopic and intensely personal focusreaders don't get the larger picture of national estuarine health. Still, it is an engrossing read that would well supplement any environmental history or wetland ecology course's reading list. Recommended for public libraries and for students at both the undergraduate and the graduate levels.S. Brazer, Salisbury Univ. Lib., MD

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2007
Adult/High SchoolPre-gracke loves the Mississippi. He grew up on its shores, spending an idyllic childhood fishing, boating, and playing on the river. At age 15, he began diving for mussels, a tough-going but fairly lucrative occupation for residents of his rural Illinois town. While diving, he first became aware of the incredible amount of filth and garbage dumped into the river. Cleaning it up became his mission. Starting out with a leaky boat and a wheelbarrow, he tirelessly began on the garbage. Naturally exuberant, relentless, inexhaustible, and fearless, Pregracke soon attracted a steady crew of workers, corporate sponsors, and local and national media to his quest. He professed no political agenda and refused to pigeonhole himself as an environmentalist; his motivation was clear and simple: "I just want to clean up the river." His grassroots efforts snowballed, picking up a dedicated paid crew, houseboats as living quarters, barges to transport garbage, and a barge on which to conduct educational outreach to young students. He eventually found himself in Washington, DC, receiving the prestigious Jefferson Award. This is an adventure tale complete with sinking boats, attacking catfish, and finding a human skull. Educational and inspiring for budding environmentalists, it will also hold appeal for nature lovers, river rats, and the Huck Finn inside all of us. This book proves that one young man can make a difference."Jodi Mitchell, Durham County Library, NC"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.