THE CUYAHOGA
By
Latest installment in the Rivers of America series, The Cuyahoga tends to founder on a superabundance of detail and lack of narrative interest. Nor has the river itself quite the historical color of many other rivers in this series, despite the Sandbergian intonations author Ellis sometimes brings to his writing. In size the Cuyahoga is practically just a fishing stream, a mere hogbacked hundred miles in length, cutting through Akron and emptying into Lake Erie by Cleveland. Yet, according to Ellis, this river--as revamped by man--became as important as any river in the development of the nation. Levelled, straightened, dredged and dammed, it is the main artery of the country's steel, oil and rubber economy, which are described here, as are the growth of Akron and Cleveland and the inland sailing fleets.